Some Practical Aspects of Human Capital Investment: Training Standards in Five Occupations in Britain and Germany

Government policy to increase substantially the amount of vocational training and education available to school-leavers in this country raises the issue of how much and what kind of training is provided elsewhere. This article describes the training given in Britain and Germany in five of the more popular occupations: mechanical fitter, electrician, construction worker, office worker and retailing. Comparisons are made of the scope of the syllabus, and the standard reached at final tests. One of the important differences is the greater emphasis on practical (in contrast to theoretical or written) tests in all these occupations in Germany, which are carried out under examination conditions. It also appears that a greater proportion have reached basic and tested standards in mathematics at school; this provides a firmer basis for subsequent vocational instruction. The gap between the two countries in training standards and numbers of trainees is particularly marked for the two occupations catering mainly for female entrants-office workers and retailing. Shortcomings in Britain's industrial performance have often centred as much on delivery delays and poor ‘progress chasing’—which require responsible and competent office personnel—as on technical faults. These comparisons indicate the scope for very substantial advances in both the quantity and the quality of training in this country.