Collective Action, Business Cleavages and the Politics of Control: Segmentalism in the Swiss Skill Formation System

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 576-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Emmenegger ◽  
Lina Seitzl
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Skill Formation ◽  
Formation System

scholarly journals Vocational Education and Industrial Relations: Sweden 1910–1975

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Karlsson ◽  
Fay Lundh Nilsson ◽  
Anders Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
The State ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Forest Industry ◽  
Remarkable Change ◽  
Skill Formation ◽  
And Training ◽  
Formation System

In this article we discuss vocational education in Sweden against the backdrop of the changing nature of industrial relations in the period from ca 1910 to 1975. Drawing upon evidence from official inquiries and case studies of two industries (forest industry and shipbuilding), we show that Sweden in the 1940s and 1950s can be described as a collective skill formation system in the making, where firms, intermediary associations, and the state cooperated around vocational education and training. However, Sweden developed in a very different direction than similar countries. We argue that this remarkable change of trajectory cannot be understood without considering the simultaneous disintegration of the model of industrial relations, along with general changes in the system of education.

scholarly journals Varieties Within a Collective Skill Formation System: How VET Governance in Switzerland is Shaped by Associations

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-64
Author(s):  
Regula Bürgi ◽  
Philipp Gonon
Keyword(s):  
Professional Associations ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Food Services ◽  
Skill Formation ◽  
Meso Level ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
Path Dependencies ◽  
Voting Procedures ◽  
Modes Of Governance ◽  
Formation System

Context: International scholarship and policy tend to depict national structures governing Vocational Education and Training (VET) as uniform and devoid of internal differences. This macro perspective neglects the numerous processes at the meso and micro level that shape the structure and content of VET. This article focusses on professional associations (meso level) in Switzerland to examine the heterogeneity of governance of individual VET programmes that can exist within one country or one collective skill formation system. Approach: Drawing on insights from historical institutionalism and research on corporatism, we argue that these differences are the product of the characteristics, traditional practices and styles of reasoning of the various associations involved in VET governance. Our analysis is based on expert interviews and governance documents in two vocational areas: Electrotechnology and food services. Findings: We identify and decode an array of cooperative practices and show that collective skill formation has a different meaning for different associations and, correspondingly, different occupations. Collaboration with state actors, unions, VET schools and single firms, as well as voting procedures, differ considerably between associations. Furthermore, we find that these different modes of governance are determined by associational characteristics such as size, level of professionalization, location and established cooperative practices, as well as traditional styles of reasonings. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the decisions taken are not always the product of current day training requirements but of historically grown associational characteristics. Thus, path dependencies are to be considered not only at a macro level but also at the meso level. There is a multifaceted variety of governance approaches beneath the classification "collective skill formation system". Associations are key in defining VET content, working life structures and collectivity. 

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