Will FP Dual be a fad?

To understand what DUAL is, we must be clear that Vocational Training (FP) is a set of teachings that prepare you to be competent in a trade and for this reason theoretical training is combined with practical training in work centers, a recipe that in several countries has been in operation for 50 years.

The practical training can be done in two different or even complementary ways, since from the next year you will be able to go from one modality to the other: FCT or DUAL. The first, the FCT, (workplace training) involves carrying out between 350 and 450 hours of internships at the company, depending on which cycle is being taken, but the company has no obligation to remunerate them.

In the DUAL modality, the company signs a framework agreement with the study center and, among other aspects, undertakes to grant a scholarship or (preferably) to hire the student and, therefore, pay the almost 1000 hours of internship. The remuneration is related to the SMI, between one (60% or 70%). This modality aims, basically, to recover the efficient figure of the apprentice.

According to statistical data, students in higher-grade cycles have a lower unemployment rate than the rest of young people under 25 years of age (10% compared to 28%) and Dual Vocational Training tries to lower this rate even more. percentage. Where, the percentage of insertion of students who have done the DUAL modality to date since 2012 is almost 100%. Is it clear then why enrollment in VET centers has increased by 20% this year? And why does the current government intend to promote it, especially in the DUAL mode?

VET is welcoming a large number of new students this year and enrollment is projected to continue to increase. It is a very successful training system in northern European countries and it should not be different here. But we still have a lot of work to do. According to data from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, in (2018-19) the students enrolled in the DUAL modality in Spain did not exceed 3.5%, while the European average was around 14%, whereas Germany, Austria or Switzerland percentages were above 50%.

In these countries they have not achieved the good results overnight. They have been working for decades, involving all social agents. The centers are sensitized and the companies too, something that all of us lack throughout the State. In addition, unfortunately the DUAL FP does not yet fit well with all professional profiles, nor with all students in all companies, for this reason the FCT modality continues to exist despite the fact that its days are numbered.

Practical training at companies, whatever its modality, makes the student feel much more motivated since what he learns in the classroom makes sense and can be applied in a work context. This means that the dropout figures drop dramatically and that, once the training cycle is over, the number of youth contracts increases, the success of vocational training is a shared merit.

The internships during the stay in the companies are the icing on the cake, but the key is that “all the training given at the center is adapted to the real needs of the job market”.