terns and lifelong learn-
ing.
(1) Such a development would put Ger- many in a situation that clearly already exists in other countries, but without the institutional resources to cope with the consequential problems that those coun- tries have already been able to develop under better economic conditions. We refer to laws on further training and a system of funding able to ensure a mini- mum of further training activity. The task would be rendered all the more difficult because it would have to be coped with at a time of government spending cut- backs, the radical restructuring of whole sectors of industry, individual firms, oc- cupations and job contents - thus at a time where exceptional demands on large seg- ments of the working population are be- ing expressed in a call to lifelong learn- ing.
The demands of this restructuring proc- ess cannot be met to an optimum degree by mere appeals, nor by pressure through the labour market. The only way to achieve the necessary restructuring and upgrading of qualifications in an afford- able manner will be with a new model for the interplay of interests of the par- ties concerned which, like that of the postwar years, is capable of mobilising and maintaining the necessary formal and informal qualification processes. This model could well follow a similar pattern for all the EU member states, though its
CEDEFOP
“In this changed situation firms who have hitherto been largely able to meet their need for skills and qualifications from an ex- isting pool would be obliged to pursue them with spe- cific further training meas- ures.”
“The only way to achieve the necessary restructuring and upgrading of qualifica- tions in an affordable man- ner will be with a new model for the interplay of interests of the parties con- cerned which...is capable of mobilising and maintaining the necessary formal and infor mal qualification processes.”
“There would seem to be a need for what have been called “diagonal career pat- terns” able to replace the traditional vertical path of career advancement in a de-layered structure and at the same time to generalise the positive aspects of im- provement and change (in the employment situation).”
specific features might vary according to their different education and employment systems, labour market structures and in- dustrial relations.
Clearly, given the present trend of com- panies to de-layer, the new model could not simply reproduce traditional models of further training and career advance- ment. Even so, the latter - which after all have given good service over many years - could well provide some general guide- lines for the future. Especially important are effective incentives to people to un- dertake further training and a form of certification that would be recognised throughout the labour market, as an as- surance that their activities would be ap- preciated even in the event of their own employers being unable or unwilling to do so.
(2) What form might a forward-looking model, able to support the process of qualification upgrading inherent in the concept of lifelong learning, actually take? We shall no doubt have to rethink sys- tematically the forces behind the desire for career advancement. For an employee, promotion invariably implies an improve- ment in his situation vis-a-vis his employer - in his wages. job content, working con- ditions and general employability, as well as a change in this situation as his career progresses. These two aspects of career progression can and must find new ex- pression in de-layered company structures and must and can be linked in new ways with different processes of qualification in the course of education, training and working career.
To put it more specifically: there would seem to be a need for what have been
called “diagonal career patterns” (DREXEL 1993a, 1994) able to replace the traditional vertical path of career advancement in a de-layered structure and at the same time generalise the positive aspects of improve- ment and change. This idea is not so ab- stract and Utopian as might at first appear. Precedents for such diagonal careers al- ready exist - such as the switch out of manufacturing industry into maintenance, or out of maintenance into technical mar- keting and sales, always accompanied by further training, more interesting work and a pay increase, although hitherto they have often been the result of chance or the per- sonnel policy of a particular firm, and hence restricted to certain groups of em- ployees. New career paths of this type would have to be thought out on a broad base, negotiated and tested in a carefully weighted mix of flexibility and reliability. And further training systems would have to be devised to support this kind of di- agonal career progression with the relevant qualifications, capable of developing em- ployees’ multiple skills for each new job and guaranteeing their validity in the la- bour market as a whole by certification, against the event of job loss or change. Such diagonal careers could take place not just within a single firm but between firms - as between manufacturers and their sup- pliers.
There is much to argue that the concept of lifelong learning can only develop its potential positive effects in such a radi- cally different, generalised, revitalised relationship between further training and improvement plus change, for as Jacques Delors has written: “Adult education can only be negotiated training that builds on the goals, needs and strengths of those being trained.” (Delors 1991, p.31)
BMBF: Grund- und Strukturdaten 1994/95, Bonn 1994
J.Delors: Genèse d’une loi et stratégie du changement. In: Formation Emploi 34/1991
I.Drexel: Das Ende des Facharbeiteraufstiegs? Neue mittlere Bildungs- und Karrierewege in Deutschland und Frankreich - ein Vergleich, Frankfurt, New York 1993a
I.Drexel: Le segment intermédiaire des systèmes de formation en France et en République Féderale d’Allemagne. In: Formation Emploi 44, 1993b
I.Dr exel: B r ü c k e n q u a l i f i k a t i o n e n z w i s c h e n Facharbeiter und Ingenieur. In BWP 4/1994.
M.Tesaring: Das duale System der Berufsausbildung in Deutschland: Attraktivität und Beschäftigungs- perspektiven, In MittAB 2/1993.
J.Zabeck, M.Zimmermann (publ.): Anspruch und Wirklichkeit der Berufsakadie Baden-Württemberg, Weinheim 1995.
CEDEFOP