Objectives of the DECVET Pilot Initiative

Based on ten pilot projects all over Germany, the pilot initiative aims at developing and testing crediting systems for learning outcomes in vocational education and training which help increase both mobility and permeability within and between educational systems. The initiative is geared to meet the needs of the German vocational education and training system (“Duales System” - dual vocational education and training system, which is a combination of in-company training and vocational school], while at the same time considering European framework conditions and cornerstones (European Qualifications Framework (EQF), European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET)).
The ten pilot projects cover four areas within the vocational education and training system where qualification programmes interface or share the same contents: areas of interest are (1) the point of contact between vocational training preparation schemes and the dual vocational education and training system (2) qualification modules of vocational education and training which are shared by several occupational profiles, (3) the point of contact between dual vocational training and vocational school-only training, and (4) the point of contact between vocational training and advanced training.

Point of Contact 1 – Where Vocational Training Preparation Schemes and the Dual Education System Meet

BWHW and INBAS were commissioned to develop and test a transferable crediting system at the point of contact between vocational training preparation and vocational training. With a focus on the metalworking industry, the result will show what such a system may look like.
Objectives of the pilot projects:

• definition of units of learing outcomes (i)
• evaluation, validation and documentation of learning outcomes (ii)
• Allocation of credit points (performance standards) (iii)
• development and testing of crediting systems (iv)

Implementation:

• A steering committee provides advice to the project on a strategic level, whereas a reflection and consultation committee provides support on the technical level, as one prerequisite for successful implementation and sound results is the active involvement of key players and vocational education and training institutions (bottom-up approach). Through this and because of close co-ordination and co-operation between the actors, the ambitious objectives will be achieved and the creative power of everyone involved will be unleashed by a continuous exchange of views and ideas.
• The definition of "units of learning outcomes" is at the core of the project. They describe, in an outcome-oriented way, the knowledge, skills and competencies a trainee should have at the end of a learning process – independent of the learning location. The units, which are to be defined, are derivated from the education and training master plans and the education and training master curriculum plans for the metalworking industry. A key prerequisite for the crediting of learning outcomes is quality assurance. This is why participants in vocational training preparation programmes have to deliver learning results which compare to typical results achieved after (six or) twelve months of vocational training (equivalence).
• Evaluation procedures and methods to validate and document learning outcomes will be developed and existing procedures will be adapted to find out whether the learning outcomes are in keeping with the expectations.
• The "units of learning outcomes" and the evaluation procedures will be subjected to real-life tests with the support of young persons participating in BWHW vocational training preparation programmes.