On 9 February 2022, the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) organised the webinar ‘Apprenticeships and permeability’ to discuss the educational paths linked to apprenticeships, and how apprentices can continue to higher education.

Generally, apprentices in Europe find it difficult to move on to higher education. This is because universities often do not recognise apprenticeship qualifications as a valid preparation for higher education.

Many young people want to keep their options open, so it is important for them to know that apprenticeships and higher education are not mutually exclusive.

To address this issue, the EU has taken several measures. The first principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that:

‘Everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market’

The 2018 Council Recommendation on the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships underlines the importance of flexible pathways and mobility in its quality criteria. In addition, the 2020 Council Recommendation on Vocational Education and Training (VET) stresses the importance of putting in place flexible and permeable pathways to make VET a more attractive choice.

With this webinar, EAfA opened up the discussion on the challenges of improving the permeability of apprenticeships and shared good practice examples from Austria and Denmark, among other countries.

The webinar included the following speakers:

• Ana Carrero, Deputy Head of the Vocational Education and Training Unit of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion;
• Jeff Bridgford, Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the School of Education, Communication and Society at King’s College London, UK;
• Jörg Markowitsch, Senior Partner at 3s Research & Consulting, Austria.

The speakers drew several conclusions based on the case studies presented. These included:

• Apprentices need additional pedagogical support because practical learning in the dual system differs considerably from the more theoretical learning at universities.
• A permeability measure is more effective if it provides unrestricted access to higher education rather than only specific programmes.
• Making the system more academic could reduce its inclusiveness for students not opting for higher education.

The webinar was followed by a question-and-answer session.

Watch the full webinar recording.