2020 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 27-38
The purpose of this paper is to study competence in vocational education and training (VET) in Germany, improvements in Germany’s domestic system to achieve consistency with the VET of EU countries, and trends in the advancement of VET. The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) is a common European reference framework whose purpose is to make qualifications more readable and understandable across different countries and systems, while in Germany, Deutscher Qualifikationsrahmen für lebenslanges Lernen (DQR) is implemented. VET that strengthens higher education results in a mismatch with the labor market. In addition, level descriptors of DQR describe the competences required to obtain a qualification. Because of the Bologna Process, a degree is obtained by acquiring units, the degree shows the level of DQR, and recognition of equivalent competence is facilitated. This trend results in competence being considered a possession, just as qualifications are. Moreover, this trend leads to the viewpoint that it is the responsibility of the individual to acquire competences.
