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This book compares vocational training in Australia, Ireland and the UK and analyses why social partner cooperation in training differs between cases. In-depth case studies show that this divergence is due to different coalitions between political parties, unions and employers in training reform politics.

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The book captures the development and variety of vocational training institutions in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom since World War II from a comparative perspective. While all three countries have undertaken several attempts to reform training from classical craft apprenticeships towards modern dual apprenticeships, their reform processes have yielded divergent results: In the United Kingdom training became largely organized around a publicly financed "training market" with little influence for employers and unions in training politics. Conversely, the social partners were included in reform processes and the provision of training in Ireland and Australia, which enabled the development of dual apprenticeships. These differences, which have been largely neglected in political science and education studies alike, are explained by the interaction between partisan governments and organized interests. Only non-right governments managed to bring together employers and unions in training reforms, which was the main political prerequisite for the development of dual apprenticeships.

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Contents
Preface and acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Collective skill formation in liberal market economies?
The role of political parties, industrial relations and path dependence
3. United Kingdom - much ado about nothing and the persistence of voluntarism?
4. Ireland - apprenticeships and social partnership as a sustainable model?
5. Australia - joint economic restructuring and a slow shift to marketization
6. Conclusion
References
Appendix A: List of interviews by code and date
Appendix B: List of abbreviations

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"Vossiek´s book might come in handy for practitioners and policy makers engaged in reforming education and training systems; it is certainly of interest for all those committed to understanding and explaining historical trajectories of, as well as variations between VET systems."
(Fabienne-Agnes Baumann, International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training ) Vol.5, Issue 4, 2018)

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