Development of competency profiles for
in-company trainers - Program 2

The current research program investigates the competencies of vocational trainers in companies, needed for a successful practical education of their trainees. A set of cross-occupational and occupational-specific competency profiles (link) is aimed at. The systematic implementation of these competency profiles into programs of further education is expected to have a share in quality assurance.

The dual system of vocational education has its core element in the practical in-company training. Contrary to the vocational schools and the interplant courses the trainees are not taught by teachers but by graduated practitioners having completed a further education for vocational trainers. Despite the enormous relevance for the Swiss vocational educational system, the attention of scientific research so far was sparely drawn to this part of education. The Program "Quality of Vocational Further Education in Companies" belonging to the Leading House "Quality of Vocational Education and Training" (from 2007 to 2009 a subproject of Program "Professional Minds", since October a self-contained Program) is meant to close this gap. Competency profiles needed by vocational trainers in companies in order to educate the trainees adequately and successfully are studied. The questions of describing and determining quality of vocational education as well as the question of fostering the development of competency profiles go along with.
The investigation was firstly limited to one profession, based on the assumption that – besides cross-occupational competency profiles having their overall validity – also occupational-specific ones can be constituted. Proceeding from the specially adapted Quasi-Delphi-Technique (see Heinzer, Oser & Salzmann, 2009) 35 competency profiles were developed in four rounds together with eight vocational trainers in Polymechanics and based on 115 authentic educational situations. Currently, after the evaluation of the competency profiles concerning the relevance, application difficulty and application frequency by means of a quantitative survey, their transferability to other professions is reviewed.