ESRC
ECONOMIC
& SOCIAL
RESEARCH
COUNCIL

LEARNING SOCIETY
PROGRAMME

PRINCIPAL
RESEARCHERS

Professor Philip Cooke
Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
Cardiff University

Professor Brian Davies
School of Social Sciences
Cardiff University

Dr John Fitz
School of Social Sciences
Cardiff University

Dr Antje Cockrill
Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
Cardiff University

Dr Peter Scott
Department of Management
Manchester Metropolitan University

CONTACT 
ADDRESS

Dr Antje Cockrill
Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
Cardiff University
33 Corbett Road
Cathays Park
Cardiff  CF1 3EB
Tel:  01222 876296
Fax:  01222 874994
E-mail:  cockrill@cf.ac.uk

Duration
24 Months
TRAINING FOR MULTI-SKILLING: A COMPARISON OF
BRITISH AND GERMAN EXPERIENCE

OBJECTIVES

The project aimed to compare training systems, skills provision and multi-skilling in two German regions (North Rhine Westfalia and Baden Wuerttemberg) and one British (South Wales).

Concentrating on three sectors – engineering, construction and care - the aim was to investigate the contribution of specific programmes to the evolution of the UK Vocational Education and Training (VET) regime on to a more sophisticated level and to compare these with German programmes in meeting the needs for changing skill requirements and for multi-skilled personnel.  The programmes included: General and National Vocational Qualifications (G/NVQs). National Training and Education Targets (NTETs) and Investors in People (IiP).

The project also aimed at:

Contributing to the exploration of a learning society, taking particular note of the possible role and significance at institutional and individual levels of the interaction and co-operation between society and culture.  Understanding the processes by which a learning culture develops and to benchmark the UK and Germany in these respects.

APPROACH

	Review of the framework of research on work based learning, skills and vocational education and training in both countries.
	Identification of comparable small- and medium-sized firms in the regions of both countries (‘matched pair approach’), and of appropriate training providers, sectoral umbrella organisations, employer organisations, trade unions and policy making bodies in both countries.
	Personal or telephone interviews with these organisations, based on a semi-structured schedule, followed by the collation, analysis and dissemination of results.

MAIN FINDINGS

Germany has a higher skills base than Britain which is the product of more thorough, broader based initial training.

In both countries, further training is less structured than initial training.  It is often on an ad hoc basis and learning on the job.  Where employers do offer structured training, it is mostly to counteract received skill shortages rather than to follow long term strategic plans providing for future needs.

Training for multi-skilling has only had a real effect in the care sector in Germany.  In the other sectors, it was often introduced following job cuts and so was more job enlargement than true multi-skilling.

Training for multi-skilling in Germany concentrated mostly on already skilled staff rather than upskilling unskilled or semi-skilled personnel, although the German system provides an excellent base on which to build multi-skilling with its initial vocational training within the dual system.

In South Wales, the combined strengths of training being based increasingly on a modular system and more flexible internal labour markets than in Germany are not being fully exploited.  All too often, the existing skills base could not be enhanced without prior remedial work.

Specific programmes in Britain designed to raise training to a more sophisticated level have had mixed results.  NVQs have raised the level of certification in the three sectors and had some success in providing a framework of transferable qualifications.  But they also seem to have lowered rather than raised skills levels in some areas.

The Modern Apprenticeship (MA) scheme seems to be hindered rather than helped by its NVQ base.  There is a clear demand from employers in engineering and construction in particular for apprenticeship training 

in some form but many doubt that the MA scheme will be able to provide the skills levels needed.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

The research produced some strong evidence that it is not sufficient to regard a learning society in terms of fostering access to learning in the form of education, training and/or qualifications, but that structural barriers need to be addressed and removed.

There were indications that there is ‘no such thing as one learning society’ but that within one nation there may be multiple, regional and even local learning societies.  It seemed that these underlying structures have a defining influence on participation in and access to a ‘learning society’.

Even with increased political and societal pressures towards learning and training, not all individuals can be convinced of their value.

If they are, some people face such significant barriers that access to learning becomes virtually impossible.  The two biggest barriers to learning in Wales were: lack of transport links; and lack of motivation - the prospect of unemployment or low skilled employment are powerful disincentives for learning.

Lack of time due to child care or other family commitments was raised as an issue in a number of firms and organisations in the context of barriers to further training/multi-skilling.
To address such issues would require a regional strategy not only in education and training but also one which tackles structural and societal barriers.

To create a ‘learning economy’, where individuals and organisations take part in economically beneficial learning processes that include reducing skills shortages and addressing the ‘low skills equilibrium’ in Britain, as well as permit real access to a ‘learning society’, substantial financial commitment would be needed and easy access to these funds.  An emphasis on improving relationships between the potential stakeholders in learning processes would also be needed.

But it is debatable whether such issues can be solved at policy level.  The limited impact of such initiatives as NTETs suggests that imposing aims from above provides little incentive for individuals or organisations to attempt to reach these targets because they are perceived to be of little or no relevance.  It seems that perhaps one of the most promising ways towards a ‘learning society’ might be attempts to improve the motivation to learn and train, both at individual and organisational level, rather than merely offering opportunities to do so.

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Cockrill, Antje, Peter Scott and John Fitz (1999) “Planning, implementation and practical issues in cross-national comparative research” in Frank Coffield (ed) Why’s the beer always stronger up North?, ESRC Learning Society Series Report No. 2, Bristol, Policy Press, 73-81
Scott, Peter and Antje Cockrill (1998) “Artisans in the making? Comparing construction training in Wales and Germany”, in Frank Coffield (ed) Learning at work, ESRC Learning Society Series Report No. 1, Bristol, Policy Press, 7-14
Cockrill, Antje and Peter Scott (1997) “Vocational education and training in Germany: trends and issues”, Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 49/3, 337-350
Cockrill, Antje and Peter Scott (1997) Training for multi-skilling in residential care homes for the elderly: a Welsh German comparison, Regional Industrial Research Report no. 27, Cardiff, CASS, University of Wales
Cockrill, Antje and Peter Scott (1997) “Vocational education and training in Germany: trends and issues”, Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 49/3, 337-350