Study about the demand of vocational school establishments within the administrative district of Dresden

Study commissioned by the Dresden Chamber of Trades and Crafts.
This project deals with the issue how the vocational school landscape in the area of Dresden can be adjusted to the demographic challenges in a demand-based manner. The goals of cost effectiveness of establishments and the maintenance of a broad school network are inconsistent. The aim of this study is to compare the perceived needs of firms to the demographic and political conditions. To this end, 5,000 local firms as well as all vocational schools in the administrative district of Dresden have been polled. To be able to consider the valuations of political decision makers as well, there have also been interviews with decision makers from local and federal politics as well as concerned associations.
The results show that current uncertainties about the vocational school system’s stability do not have severe but yet noticeable impacts on vocational education. Disruptions in the education process increase with growing uncertainties in the system.
It can be shown that the current system induces a regional competition producing results that are not desirable for any of the involved players. Therefore, this study suggests an adjustment towards higher specialization of vocational schools. This would lead to a sustainable and demand-based vocational school network that still meets the high quality requirements of the economy.