Vocational Education in European Regions. Lower Saxony and Lombardy in Comparison

Comparative studies on vocational education and training (VET) vary in scope and approach. While rich in analysis and methodologically precise, they often struggle to fully capture the complexity of regional and/or local labor and training ecosystems. The editors of this book published by wbv Publikation, strongly believe that a regional focus can reveal distinctive characteristics of VET structures that might otherwise remain hidden in national comparisons. This collective work presents the research findings of a joint project between Universität Osnabrück and Università degli Studi di Bergamo, funded by DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst. It includes in-depth contributions on the VET systems in Lower Saxony (Germany) and Lombardy (Italy). Fabienne-Agnes Baumann introduces the skill ecosystem approach to analyze VET systems at a regional level. Dietmar Frommberger highlights the diversity of German VET beyond the well-known dual system. In his paper, Tim Migura examines the specific challenges of the dual apprenticeship system in Lower Saxony. Silke Lange describes the landscape of VET schools in this region, while Lange, Rampe, Porcher, and Frommberger explore VET teacher training issues. Passing to the Italian side, Francesco Magni and Virginia Capriotti analyze Lombardy's VET system, discussing its strengths and challenges. The paper by Evelina Scaglia takes a historical perspective, while Giada Ragone describes Lombardy as a ‘laboratory for new legislative solutions’ in the VET sector. Finally, Paolo Bertuletti and Andrea Potestio study the role of short-cycle Lombardy’s tertiary VET in innovation processes. As underlined in the conclusions by Johannes Karl Schmees and Paolo Bertuletti, all these contributions highlight the potential of a regional focus in comparative studies on VET.