GOVPET Leading House

After five years of successful work, the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) approved the further funding of GOVPET as a Swiss Leading House. The second research phase started in July and will end in December 2024. During this time period, GOVPET researchers will analyse how global socio-economic trends, namely migration and technological change, affect skill formation systems. For more information on the research programme, please visit here. We warmly welcome our new PhD researchers: Scherwin Michael Bajka (St. Gallen), Cecilia Ivardi-Ganapini (St. Gallen), Margarida Matos (Lausanne), Ihssane Otmani (Lausanne) and Linda Wanklin (St. Gallen).

GOVPET PhD workshop

Finishing or getting started with your dissertation is not always easy. On February 13, 2020 GOVPET PhD candidates will therefore get together in St.Gallen in order to discuss their research projects with VET experts. Dr. Janis Vossiek, Dr. Philipp Eigenmann and Dr. Jörg Markowitsch will advise two projects each. The tailored feedback will support PhD candidates in advancing, concluding or getting started with their research.

GOVPET Book workshop (1/2)

On November 22 and 23, GOVPET hosted the first of two book workshops in St. Gallen. The book with the provisionary title “Collective skill formation in the knowledge economy” comprises contributions which address the challenges for collective skill formation systems posed by the shift towards a knowledge economy that increasingly demands higher skills. Most of these challenges concern the growing importance of knowledge intensive production in advanced economies and the accelerated pace of change due to technological innovation and globalization. Can collective skill formation systems adapt (fast enough) to the needs of the knowledge economy? Or more concretely, can the training content of dual VET systems be expanded to reflect firms’ increasingly complex processes and needs for higher skills, or are there limits to this process concerning social inclusiveness or economic efficiency? Twenty-two authors discussed thirteen contributions addressing the above questions. A second workshop to be held in May will help to finalize the book chapters.

6th Congress on Research in Vocational Education and Training

Congratulations to our GOVPET members who won Best Paper Awards at the 6th Congress on Research in Vocational Education and Training! The paper by Gina Di Maio, Anna Wilson and Lukas Graf titled “Trajectories of liberalization in collective governance: How short track apprenticeships entered the training system in Switzerland” won the second price. The third price went to Carmen Baumeler, Sonja Engelage and Alexandra Strebel for the paper “Reforming small occupations: Continuity and change”. The conference is organized yearly by the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET). This year the conference discussed “The end of VET as we know it? – Skills development in times of technical and social change”.

GOVPET Advisory Board Meeting

The fourth annual GOVPET advisory board meeting took place at the University of St. Gallen on 6-7 June 2019. Prof Cathie Jo Martin (Boston University) launched the meeting with a talk on her current research on the impact of 18th century literature on European welfare states. Together with Prof. Kathleen Thelen (MIT), Prof. Pepper Culpepper (University of Oxford), Prof. Philipp Gonon (University of Zürich), and Prof. Justin J.W. Powell (University of Luxembourg) we discussed our research. This annual interchange of ideas is a great opportunity for feedback and receiving inspiration for further inquiry. It also strengthens our international research network.

GOVPET Visiting Bühler AG

Digitization has been a buzzword for some time, both in the political debate, as well as in academia. The field of vocational education is no exception in this respect. To understand the changes in the professional environment, GOVPET visited the production and education facilities of Bühler AG on November 15^th, 2018. Bühler AG is a leader in mechanical and thermal process engineering. Looking at a concrete example of a major player in the Swiss mechanical and engineering sector, GOVPET discussed the effects of digitization on production and the resulting skill demands on employees. Andreas Bischof, director of vocational education at Bühler AG, and Rolf Felser, division manager at the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) joined our visit. Their perspectives greatly enriched the discussion on the potential changes necessary to meet the upcoming challenges in the Swiss vocational education system.

GOVPET Advisory Board Meeting

The third annual GOVPET advisory board meeting took place at the University of Lausanne on 7-8 June 2018. GOVPET members presented current work-in-progress to their scientific advisors, therefore allowing for dissemination of knowledge, feedback, and inspiration for further research. Our international research network is further strengthened through this regular and intensive interchange of ideas with our advisory board, again welcoming prominent participants like Prof. Pepper Culpepper (University of Oxford), Prof. Philipp Gonon (University of Zürich), Prof. Cathie Jo Martin (Boston University) and Prof. Justin J.W. Powell (University of Luxembourg)

GOVPET Graduate Workshop

SFIVET, Zollikofen near Bern, 22-23 February 2018 The third annual GOVPET Graduate Workshop addressed the topic of “Intermediary associations and firms in collective skill formation systems”. Nine PhD students presented their work. The topics ranged from the creation of new apprentices in the sector of “Ropeways” to Active Labor Market Policies. Keynote speeches by Martin Behrens (Hans-Böckler-Stiftung) Johann Fortwengel (King’s College, London), and Jürg Schweri (Eidgenössisches Hochschulinstitut für Berufsbildung) provided useful impulses. The constructive feedback by the discussants encouraged lively and engaging discussions. The workshop also allowed GOVPET members to discuss synergies, as well as how to further proceed in the investigation of governance and inclusiveness of collective skill formation.

GOVPET Graduate Workshop

IDHEAP, University of Lausanne, 4-5 May 2017 “Improving inclusiveness in dual VET systems” was the topic of the second annual GOVPET Graduate Workshop, which was hosted by GOVPET at the University of Lausanne on 4-5 May 2017. 14 PhD-students from five countries successfully presented their research projects to an academic audience. The lively discussions were enriched by keynote speeches by Christian Ebner (University of Cologne), Christian Lyhne Ibsen (University of Copenhagen) and Christian Imdorf (University of Berne). The PhD workshop also offered the opportunity to jointly locate research gaps and use synergies to further investigate the governance of collective (dual) skill formation systems and related questions of inclusiveness.

International VET Congress 2017 (Organized by SFIVET [EHB])
	Bern/Zollikofen ,14-16 March 2017 Patrick Emmenegger (University of St.Gallen) and Carmen Baumeler (Swiss Federal Institue for Vocational Education and Training) are members of the Scientific Committee. GOVPET will propose two symposia on VET governance.

Conference on VET Research 2016 (Organized by the SERI [SBFI])

Basel, 22-23 September 2016 Keynote speech by Patrick Emmenegger (University of St.Gallen). GOVPET PhD-students Gina Di Maio (University of St.Gallen), Lina Seitzl (University of St.Gallen), Alexandra Strebel (Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training), and Anna Wilson (University of Lausanne) present posters of their respective projects. Additionally, GOVPET visits Aprentas' training network lab in Muttenz (picture).