Evaluation of Intercompany Vocational Training (ÜBA)

In view of the high number of apprenticeship position seekers who have not found a suitable company-based apprenticeship position, intercompany apprenticeship training was implemented in 1998 as a safety net. The aim of this programme was to enable the transfer of apprentices to a company-based apprenticeship.
Intercompany apprenticeship underwent considerable reform measures in 2008. Thereby, two models were designed: ÜBA type 1 and ÜBA type 2. Both models share the objective of participants being placed in a regular apprenticeship; however, while ÜBA type 1 is a training model that allows for the completion of the entire apprenticeship within a training institution or a training institution in cooperation with a company, ÜBA type 2 aims at a shorter training period within the training institution, followed by a transfer to a company-based apprenticeship. In addition, ÜBA also offers the integrative vocational training programme (IBA), which includes the options of either partial qualification or an extended training period. Since the intercompany apprenticeship training was a costly package of measures, it was to be assessed critically in the framework of an evaluation. To do so, the experiences of the promoters of the project were identified, the view of relevant actors (public employment service (AMS), social partners and representatives of the provincial governments) were collected, and the companies which train in-company andintercompany apprentices were interviewed.
In addition, participants’ datawere assessed for the documentation of the success rates of ÜBA to date.