Dual courses of study continue upwards trend

Over 100,000 students registered on the BIBB's "AusbildungPlus" database.

The current analysis of the BIBB's "AusbildungPlus" database reveals that the upwards trend in dual courses of study is set to continue. Over 100,000 dual students have registered with AusbildungPlus for the first time. There are also signs of continued growth in terms of courses of study with currently 1,592 courses registered by universities. At the same time, increasing numbers of companies are offering training positions as part of a dual course of study.

Whereas in 2004 just under 18,200 training places were available from companies, at the time of the current analysis the figure was around 48,000 offers of cooperation. Over this period the number of students (2004: 40,982) and cooperating companies have therefore more than doubled in each case. The number of dual courses of study has more than tripled since 2004—back then there were 512.

It remains the case that the largest number of dual courses of study on offer are in the specialisms of engineering, with 600, and economic sciences, with 540. When compared to the overall offer this is 38 per cent and 34 per cent respectively of all dual courses of study available.

The most popular specialisms are economic sciences with 44,631 students, followed by engineering with 27,410 students and social welfare/education/health and care together accounting for 10,661 students.

A further increase in the differentiation among the range of courses can be observed. Increased growth has been identified over recent years in economics and social sciences provision. This is followed by growth of provision in public administration and the police service. Development in the area of social welfare, health and care has remained constant with 159 courses offered, though the number of students is increasing here. Courses of study offered in this case most frequently come under the category of nursing. Here, combinations with training occupations in care for the elderly and in commercial occupations dominate.

The BIBB board is where representatives of employers, employees, Germany's federal states and the Federal Government work together, with each group having an equal share of the votes and is referred to as the "Vocational education and training Parliament".

In 2017 the board highlighted dual courses of study as innovative training provision for ensuring the supply of skilled labour and creating individual educational careers, and put together "Recommendations for quality dimensions for dual courses of study as a stimulus for practice/Guideline".

"AusbildungPlus" is a specialist portal run by the BIBB since 2015. The core element in this is a database which provides information throughout Germany on dual courses of study and additional qualifications in vocational training in the dual system, for example about qualification provision which links vocational training in the dual system with other training provision.

Young people who are interested can search the database for appropriate offers. Providers, for example universities (of applied science) or colleges of advanced vocational studies, can publish the range of training and study courses offered by them free of charge.