Executive summary

A decade of robust economic and employment growth in Germany was brought to an abrupt end by the COVID-19 pandemic. Already in a state of flux due to digitalisation, population ageing and the transition to a low-carbon economy, the labour market is likely to undergo further changes at an accelerating rate. Now more than ever, policymakers must support future-ready continuing education and training systems that allow individuals and enterprises to adapt to these changes, and ensure that Germany’s strong economic performance endures, and continues to support its high standards of living and well-being.

Germany has a strong skill development system. The country’s 15-year-old students performed above the OECD average in the last (2018) edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), continuing a trend of significant improvement since PISA’s first edition in 2000. Its adult population between the ages of 15 and 65 also has above-average literacy and numeracy skills, according to the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). A strong and well-respected vocational education and training system is seen as one of the success factors behind these achievements. However, participation in learning beyond initial education lags behind other high-performing OECD countries and varies considerably across different groups of the population. This is problematic in a rapidly changing labour market, where participation in continuing education and training is a precondition for individuals, enterprises and economies to harness the benefits of these changes.

This report assesses the current state of the German continuing education and training (CET) system. It examines how effectively and efficiently the system prepares people and enterprises for the changes occurring in the world of work, and identifies what changes are necessary to make the CET system more future-ready. The report makes recommendations for the further development of the CET system based on international good practice.

Two findings recur across the different themes considered in this report:

• Germany has one of the most complex governance structures of CET across the OECD. It is characterised by decentralisation, federalism, pluralism, competition between providers and self-responsibility. Responsibility for CET is shared by companies, the social and economic partners, CET providers and the government at national and federal state level. This is both a great strength, as provision can cater to the diverse needs of individuals, organisations and labour markets, and a weakness, as it creates challenges with regard to co-ordination and co-operation. From a user perspective, this complexity makes the German CET landscape challenging to navigate, whether in finding high-quality CET opportunities or in identifying suitable financial support options.

• Germany has made great progress identifying and working on key issues to improve the future-readiness of its CET system. In line with international good practice, this includes developing approaches for the validation of prior learning, establishing partial qualifications in some areas and advancing CET opportunities at higher education institutions. However, having developed along historical path dependencies and within the constraints of the existing institutional context, these reforms have often taken place without an overarching systematic approach. They are sometimes implemented in a piecemeal fashion and on a project-specific basis. Structural integration of these projects into the CET system happens only slowly, if at all. Greater effectivenessand equity of the German CET system will only be achieved through fundamentally restructuring key aspects of the system and significantly reducing its complexity.

Launched in June 2019, the National Skills Strategy (Nationale Weiterbildungsstrategie, NWS), aims to address some of these historical challenges. In bringing together federal ministries, federal states, the Federal Employment Agency, the social partners (trade unions and employer organisations) and the economic partners (chambers of commerce and trade, chambers of skilled crafts), it is an important step towards greater co-ordination and collaboration in this policy area. By taking a joint-up approach along 10 overarching objectives, it moves towards more coherent and strategic policy-making on CET. This report is intended to support the implementation of the National Skills Strategy.

The report consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the assessment and recommendations made in the report. Chapter 2 sets out the changing skill needs of the German labour market and discusses patterns of participation in CET. Chapter 3 describes the key features of the German CET landscape, investigating its governance, the structure of provision and the providers. Chapter 4 reviews the current state of guidance, validation and partial qualifications in Germany. Chapter 5 looks at the funding of CET in Germany, as well as the landscape of financial incentives available to individuals and enterprises. Finally, Chapter 6 investigates the learning participation of low-skilled adults, the CET opportunities available to them, and the barriers that may prevent them from engaging in learning. The report highlights key challenges and develops recommendations based on international evidence.

Table 1. Main findings and key recommendations of the report
Main findings	Key recommendations
Improving the governance of the CET landscape
Decentralisation, competition and federalism pose challenges for collaboration and coherence of the CET landscape.	Deepen co-operation between stakeholders in the context of the NWS and commit to a continuation beyond mid-2021, while increasing its ambition.
The regulatory landscape of CET is fragmented, with various laws regulating specific aspects, lacking an overall framework.	Develop a German CET law that ensures a common framework throughout the German territory.
Many providers of non-formal learning are subject to minimal public supervision and quality control.	Develop and introduce minimum standards for providers to increase transparency for individuals and companies.
Taking a systematic approach to career guidance, skill validation and partial qualifications
Career guidance structures across the territory are as diverse as the CET landscape itself, and are hard to navigate from a user perspective.	Set up a nationwide initiative on career guidance to network and streamline current provision, close regional supply gaps and offer guidance under a single brand, including online.
The system for skill validation is underdeveloped in comparison to other OECD countries.	Develop a nationwide legal framework for the validation of prior learning.
The development of partial qualifications primarily takes place on a project-specific basis.	Establish partial qualifications as a structural feature of the German CET landscape by making them available nationwide and speeding up efforts to standardise them.
Policy developments on career guidance, skill validation and partial qualifications are not conceived together from a user perspective.	Establish a stakeholder working group that systematises the connections between guidance, validation and partial qualifications.
Increasing funding and streamlining financial incentives
The landscape of financial incentives is complex and difficult to navigate for individuals and enterprises.	Streamline financial incentives and close funding gaps through a single financial incentive for individuals.
There is no nationwide legislation on education and training leave, the regulatory framework is heterogeneous.	Introduce nationwide framework legislation on education and training leave.
CET makes up a small part of overall investment in education and training.	Make use of existing opportunities to channel federal CET investments to the federal states.
	Increase overall investment in CET and explore the introduction of additional funding streams in the medium term.
Engaging more low-skilled adults in learning
By international standards, there are large differences in CET participation between low- and high-skilled adults.	Develop a Bund-Länder initiative on up-skilling adults with low levels of basic skills or qualifications.
Returns on investment are perceived to be limited, and low-skilled individuals have limited capacity to pay for CET.	Improve financial incentives for low-skilled adults through a top-up benefit for unemployed people and a progressive individual incentive for employed people.
Adults with low skills face multiple, multi-layered and interconnected barriers to participation, with lack of interest being a key barrier.	Finance outreach activities to activate the target group and approach them in their workplace, including through work-based guidance and mentoring schemes.