Tertiarization and academization of vocational education and training in China and Germany

Vocational education and training (VET) and higher education serve different purposes and pursue different logics. However, in view of the increase of qualification requirements for skilled workers, many education systems are responding by linking VET to higher education. Therefore, the borders between VET and higher education have developed in different ways in different nations. In our paper, we analyze different approaches of tertiarization and academization of VET to answer to what extent VET and higher education are affected by the described changes. To answer these questions, we use a heuristic that includes an objective, an organization, a program, and a system dimension. We analyze the cases of China and Germany as they differ greatly in the dimensions of the heuristic. The study is based on the analysis of documents in the selected countries. Based on our findings, we point out consequences for the purpose and equality between VET and higher education.