Abstract
In Dutch vocational education and training, representatives of business and labour traditionally play a role in the definition of qualifications and the access to work place learning. Over the past few years, direct concerns about innovation and the labour market have gained significance in the world of vocational education in both upper-secondary (VET, MBO in Dutch) and tertiary level (HPE, HBO in Dutch). However, innovation and labour markets differ widely between regions and sectors. National policies and local schools need to cope with this variety. In this chapter, we explore the combination of national policy goals and economic variety by analysing a new policy approach of creating public-private partnerships (PPP) between companies and institutes of vocational education at regional level. These investments were made under specific institutional conditions, which aim to combine national goals of advocating innovation with freedom to act for regional actors. This open, explorative approach of experimental governance corresponds with the national ambition to transform Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Professional Education (HPE).
To explore the underlying institutional conditions, we conducted four cases varying on two axis. First, we study the distance of companies to the innovation frontier (or the degree to which the region hosts a complete innovation system). Second, we analyse the extent to which businesses are physically clustered or geographically concentrated. Our cases include the ‘top sector Agrifood’, the ‘topsector Creative Industry’, the ‘top sector High Tech Systems and Materials’ in Twente and the Manufacturing Industry in North Holland. We analyse how PPP-agreements came into being. To explain the variance from intense (High Tech Systems and Materials region Twente) to low cooperation (creative sector) a third factor is taken into account. Relevant is the level of organization of the industry in administrative networks, which enables and facilitates agreement with other parties such as educational institutes and (local) governments. In our conclusions, we discuss the further conditions for transformation of VET.
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Notes
- 1.
For the regional ambitions see the chapter in this book by Anneke Westerhuis/ Marc van der Meer.
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Annex: Visualisation of the Empirical Cases
Annex: Visualisation of the Empirical Cases
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van der Meer, M., van den Toren, J.P., Lie, T. (2017). Transforming Vocational Education: Encouraging Innovation via Public Private Partnerships. In: de Bruijn, E., Billett, S., Onstenk, J. (eds) Enhancing Teaching and Learning in the Dutch Vocational Education System. Professional and Practice-based Learning, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50734-7_3
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