The German 'Dual Education' system, with its equal focus on the needs of Higher and Further Education, has been in place for more than 100 years. In this arrangement, young people not going to University, are placed on 'apprenticeships' (in areas, ranging from care of the elderly to plumbing), with 50% of their time being on work placements (provided by Industry) and the other 50% in Further Education (provided by the Lander) The system has been repeatedly lauded by people in a variety of countries. The post-Covid-19 UK government, now seems keen to generate a comparable system for itself (https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jul/09/importing-germanys-dual-education-system-is-easier-said-than-done). Preparation for this, currently mainly consists of attacking Higher Education but there is little sign of this aspiration being easy to reproduce in the UK. This country has no recent tradition of Industries being, as concerned with up-skilling young people, as they are with maximising their share price and their rewards to share-holders. It is also worth pointing out that the UK has relatively few major Industries where apprenticeships can be easily incorporated. In addition, the country's Further Education sector has been starved of resources and status for decades. In deed, with respect to status, the only thing that happened relatively recently in this respect involved converting of a number of Technology Institutions into Universities (which, inevitably changed their focus). The Dual System aspiration is also not helped by reports that some of the remaining Further Education colleges seem to be on the verge of financial collapse ( https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jul/11/covid-hit-uk-further-education-colleges-need-cash-injection-or-face-closure). Don't hold your breath!
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