作者/ Thomas J. Duesterberg
編譯/ 鐘敏綺
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八成學子選技職 失業率最低的歐盟國家─奧地利
我最近以來賓身分參與了馬歇爾中心（George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies）為期半年的參訪行程，仔細觀察奧地利這個小卻繁榮的國家所實行的技職教育與訓練計畫（Vocational Education and Training Program, VET），在美國，技職教育這個詞長久以來被負面解讀，從美國人汲汲營營於讓所有學生順利完成大學四年教育可見一斑。
美國現面臨高等教育支出成本日益增高，相關問題如畢業就職、職涯穩定性及整體經濟影響一一浮出檯面，奧地利在初等教育階段採取跟美國相當不一樣的作法，雖然在德國、瑞士及丹麥也有類似的技職教育與訓練計畫（VET），但奧地利的作法相當成功，值得我們進行深入探討。
接受完九年初等義務教育後，奧地利學生根據在學表現、考試及個人生涯規劃選擇大學教育或是職業教育。學生15歲時就得做出選擇，比美國早了許多。
在每個年齡層中，大約有80%的人選擇進入技職體制，這個比例高於其他亦重視技職教育的國家，如德國（60-70%）及瑞士（66%）。選擇技職教育與訓練計畫 （VET）的學生中，一半的學生進入傳統的學徒制，每周大約三至四天的時間接受公司的訓練課程，可選擇的職業相當多元，如金屬加工、電機工程、機械維護、焊接、模具製作及其他工藝技術，剩下的時間（每週大約一至兩天）在學校學習數學、語言及一般技能；而另一半的學生則進入全職且以校為本的方案，其中能選擇各式各樣在美國被視為白領階級的工作，例如零售業、銀行業、會計業、護理業及飯店業。
奧地利的經濟相當依賴工業輸出，約有30%的經濟與工業相關，因此在全球高度競爭的環境中，學徒制補足了日益漸增的高度專業化職缺。與其他中歐國家相似，奧地利的技職教育特色在於私營公司的參與，奧地利所有公司都隸屬於當地的經濟體系中，協助學徒制課程設計。
參與計劃的公司聽完勞工代表的建議後，決定公司接下來的技術需求，並接受當地及地區的教育機構幫助，共同策劃訓練方案。面試成功的15或16歲學徒將被雇用、給予談好的薪水，並在工廠及學校接受兩者共同開發的課程。
3至4年的學徒制結束後，若學生通過檢定考試，能獲得國家認證的技能證書。若他們表現出色，甚至通過其他額外的考試，他們可以繼續進修成為更專精的技工或進入大學教育體系。拜制度所賜，公司受惠良多，如擁有穩定且受過專業訓練的人才來源 （大部分的學徒最會留在受訓公司內），甚至在學生完成學徒制前就得到其產出。另一部分在學校接受完整技職訓練的學生需花3至5年完成課程，並依規定暑假到公司實習。
大約86%選擇技職體制的學生能完成，這個比例遠高於歐盟的平均值，部分原因是學生在相當小的年紀就分流，相較於歐盟23%和美國的15%的平均值，奧地利青年失業率約只有8%，而沒有推行此種技職教育的國家，如法國、義大利及西班牙的青年失業率甚至更高。大致來說，奧地利的公司找的到符合公司需求的勞動力，雖然公司高層仍表示基於奧地利人口成長停滯，他們希望能有更完善健全的人才來源。奧地利的產值約15%，此數值高於歐盟平均值，專家將部份原因歸於技職教育體系的成功。
另外，讓人覺得困惑的是，其他20%選擇進入大學體制的學生，有三分之二未完成學業，造成此種情況的原因我並不清楚，因為大部分高等教育的花費都由奧地利政府支付，且接受大學教育的學生比起技職學生有更多的特權及升遷機會。
技職教育，源自於德國二戰後出現的社會市場經濟產物，在奧地利被廣為接受。但若此制度在個人主義較強烈且服務至上的美國運行的話，會得到相當不同的結果，因為美國重視大學學歷高於一切，不希望小孩小小就選擇職業，且重視白領階級職業更勝藍領。
我們能從奧地利的技職教育體制中學到什麼？首先，我們要讓政府正視眾多產業（特別是製造業）技術短缺的問題；第二，美國公司需與當地學校更緊密地配合，設計出更適合的課程訓練技職人才，當年長的勞動者相繼退休時，會有更急迫的需求；第三，如果承認技職人才在經濟發展過程中功不可沒，有可能改變技職長久以來受社會污名化的現象。
最後，學生若能明白學徒制的運作和優點，也許就不會再這麼盲目地追求大學學歷了。
【作者介紹： Thomas J. Duesterberg 】
美國華盛頓特區教育政策機構The Aspen Institute工業部執行董事
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Lessons for the US Workforce: Austria’s Vocational Education System
I recently had the opportunity as a guest of the semi-annual George C. Marshall Visit to Austria program to take a close look at the Vocational Education and Training Program (VET) in that small but prosperous country. The term “vocational education” has long had a negative connotation in the United States, as we rush headlong to meet a goal of helping all of our students to achieve a four-year college education.
Apart from the problem of the rapidly rising cost of higher education in the US is the question of its impact on employment, stability of careers, and contributions to the health of the overall economy. Austria offers a much different approach to post-primary education in the US — though similar to VET systems in Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark — and one whose success merits a close look for this country.
After nine years of mandatory primary school training, Austrian youth make a choice of preparing for a university education or going into a VET track. This decision is made much earlier than in the United States, as the triage is made normally at the age of 15 in Austria. It’s based on school performance, testing, and individual choice.
Roughly 80 percent of each age cohort goes into the VET program, a proportion higher than other VET-friendly countries such as Germany (about 60-70 percent go into VET tracks) and Switzerland (almost two-thirds). Half of those in the VET track are in traditional apprenticeship programs, which feature three to four days per week in a company training regimen in one of over 200 specialized occupations such as metal working, mechatronics, machine repair and control, welding, tool and die making, and other crafts. The other one to two days are spent in formal schooling to learn math, languages, and other general skills. The rest of the Austrian VET students go into full-time, school-based programs in a variety of areas that would be considered white-collar jobs in the United States: retail trade, banking, accounting, nursing, and hospitality, among others.
Austria is a heavily industrialized economy, with some 30 percent of output related to this sector, so the major roles apprenticeships play is appropriate for filling the increasingly specialized jobs required to compete in a highly competitive global economy. Similar to other central European countries, a key feature of the Austrian system is the buy-in of private firms to the VET system. All firms in Austria are required to belong to local economic chambers and contribute to the VET system, both financially and in terms of developing curricula for apprenticeship training.
With the cooperation and input of labor representatives, participating companies decide on the skills they need for the future success of their companies and set up the training programs with the help of local and regional educational institutions. Apprenticeships are awarded by each company, and the successful applicants are hired (at the age of 15 or 16), paid negotiated salaries, and trained in factories and schools according to the curriculum that is jointly developed.
At the end of the three-to-four-year apprenticeship, if the students pass the qualifying exam they are awarded a nationally recognized skill certificate. If they do well and pass additional exams, they can go on to become master craftsmen or to university education. Companies benefit by having a pipeline of trained workers (a high percentage of apprentices stay with the sponsoring company) and get increasing output from the students even before they complete the programs. Students in the full-time school VET tracks generally require three to five years of training, with mandatory summer company internships.
Almost 86 percent of those entering the VET track complete the program, a rate much higher than the European Union average. In part because so many young people enter VET at an early age, the youth unemployment rate in Austria is only about 8 percent, compared to an EU average of 23 percent and a US rate of 15 percent. Non-VET countries like France, Italy, and Spain have even higher youth unemployment rates. Austrian firms are generally able to meet their needs for skilled labor — although company executives often report they would like to see a more robust pipeline due to demographic stagnation in Austria. Productivity in the country is about 15 percent higher than the EU average, which authorities attribute at least in part to the success of the VET system.
As an aside, it is perplexing to note that of the 20 percent of those who enter the university system, more than two-thirds do not finish. It is unclear why this is the case, as financing of higher education in Austria is largely paid by the government, and a university education, like in the United States, generally confers more privilege and advancement opportunities than the VET tracks.
The VET system is widely accepted in Austria and indeed is a product of the Germanic “social market economy,” which emerged in the last century after World War II. It is highly unlikely that it would be imported to the US — which has a more individually-oriented and services-dominated economy — because it places a higher value in college degrees for all students, frowns on making career choices at a young age, and generally values white collar over what are traditionally considered blue collar occupations.
There are, however, some lessons from the VET system that ought to receive a better hearing in the US. First, we do need to address the question of skills shortages in many industries, especially if the resurgence many predict for US manufacturing is to be realized. Secondly, US companies need to become more engaged with local school systems to craft the right training programs to fill the jobs pipeline, especially with an already aging workforce in the industrial sector now beginning to retire. Thirdly, the economic results of the VET system for both workers and companies, if better understood, might help overcome the social and cultural stigma for this type of training and career path, which has grown over the years.
Finally, the aspirational goal of a university degree for every student might be tempered by understanding the high level of skills obtained in apprenticeship programs, the job satisfaction and career paths resulting from successful nurturing of skills, and the economic outcomes possible with a well-run VET system.
【Author： Thomas J. Duesterberg 】
Executive Director of the Manufacturing and Society program at the Aspen Institute
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圖片來源：flickr@Michael Dawes
原文刊登於《Huffington Post》，經作者Thomas J. Duesterberg授權編譯，未經許可不得轉載
