Trajectories of liberalization in collective governance: a comparative analysis of short-track apprenticeship reforms in Denmark, Germany and Switzerland

Increasing global competition pressures national economies and their training systems to adapt to the changing circumstances. We observe that political economies display different trajectories of change in their reaction to these challenges. For example, in collective skill formation systems, prior research has identified trends of embedded flexibilization in Denmark and segmentalism in Germany. Studies of Denmark and Germany, both countries with classic collective skill formation systems, have referred to the introduction of short-track dual training programs as a key example of different trajectories of change. Switzerland, another typical collective skill formation country, also introduced standardized short-tracks in the early 2000s. However, we know little about the nature of the Swiss reform process. How can we characterize the trajectory of change in Switzerland in comparison to the developments in Denmark and Germany? In our analysis, we pay special attention to key actors, such as employers, unions and state actors, their preferences and coalition building in the reform process in the late 1990s and early 2000s.