Bericht Feldstudie "Duale Berufsausbildung im Dreiländereck am Bodensee" Version 25-12-2025 / Informe sobre el Estudio de Campo "Formación Profesional Dual en la región trinacional Lago de Constanza" versión 31-12-2026

Abstract für die Veröffentlichung bei ZENODO Report on the Field Study “Dual Vocational Training in the tri-national area Austria-Germany-Switzerland at Lake Constance" 2023 – 2025” (Languages: German and Spanish) Current Status: December 25, 2025 Bericht über die Feldstudie “Duale Berufsausbildung im Dreiländereck AT- CH-DE am Bodensee" 2023 – 2025” Aktueller Stand: 25. Dezember 2025 Informe sobre el Estudio de Campo “Formación Profesional Dual en el Triángulo de Países Austria-Suiza-Alemania en el Lago de Constanza 2023 – 2025” Versión española (en Castellano): 31 de diciembre de 2025 My motivation for this field study in the border region at the eastern tip of the Lake of Constance, the meeting point of the East of Switzerland, the West of Austria and the South of Germany was to shed the light on similarities and differences of the three variations of Dual Vocational Training by the means of apprentice training in companies and other entities of production and services. I have designed a model structure with 14 different parties, representing the most important actors and actresses of each system: Starting with the apprentices and other youth themselves (target group 1), adding in-company trainers, teaching staff at Vocational Schools and inter-company training centres (target groups 2, 3 and 4), social services staff such as mentors and coaches (target group 5), decision makers in companies in management and workers councils (target group 6), staff of business chambers, associations and trade unions (target groups 7 and 8), responsible persons in regional government (target group 9), as far as they are present in the area of the field research. A total of 65 persons have been interviewed along a set of questions leaving space for free speech in a time frame of 1 to 1 ½ hours. Most of the field work took place during two field phases of three weeks each in June and October 2023. The first chapter explains the motivations for the field research and the methodology used. The second chapter names some of the common traits of the three Apprenticeship systems of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as they are deployed in the border region of the three countries. Chapter three highlights a series of key dates of the region’s long history from the Roman Empire to today and characterizes the economic and social framework of a highly industrialized region, which is concomitantly a highly valued tourist destination. In Chapter four, I have gathered a series of initiatives and innovations in the field of apprentice training, vocational and higher education, and related areas, which I consider being relevant for actors and actresses “across the border”, and for international visitors who come to see how apprenticeship works in everyday practice and to understand what are the favouring conditions. Chapters five, six and seven contain the results and findings of the study, conclusions regarding the dual experiences and, finally, a number of recommendations for the actors, actresses and decision makers in the trinational region. Matthias Risler, Dr. phil., Brussels and Frankfurt on the Main, 24 January 2026