The Successful Failure of the Dual System of TVET in Development Cooperation: Understanding its Adoption and Re-contextualization in the Case of Mexico

The good economic performance and low levels of youth unemployment in countries with dual systems of TVET (i.e. Germany or Austria) have attracted great international attention, increasing the interest from governments both in... [ view full abstract ]

The good economic performance and low levels of youth unemployment in countries with dual systems of TVET (i.e. Germany or Austria) have attracted great international attention, increasing the interest from governments both in the Global North and the Global South to adopt the dual model of TVET in their own contexts. Attached to the international interest in the dual system, the Swiss and the German national agencies for development cooperation, SDC and GIZ, have expended great efforts in transferring their model of TVET to other countries but with limited success. The results of the evaluation studies show the lack of sustainable effects of most of these initiatives, leading to a shared agreement that the dual system is not directly transferable to other national contexts due to its social and cultural embeddedness and the complex institutional arrangements required for its effective implementation. Instead of trying to directly transfer the dual system, nowadays cooperation agencies focus their efforts in developing “good governance” structures in order to gradually implement elements of the dual system in recipient countries. The emphasis on local conditions and good governance has created great opportunities for technical cooperation between recipient and donor countries in the development of new legal frameworks and reforms. The paper presents evidence on the reasons behind the adoption and selective re-contextualization of the German system of dual TVET in Mexico. Results are based on intensive fieldwork that includes interviews with key stakeholders in different levels of government, development agencies, the business sector and civil society.