Export and Commercialization of German-Style Vocational Education. A Case Study in the Automotive Industry in Puebla, Mexico

Abstract:

German global players and ‘smaller’ transnational companies, carry out German-style vocational education and training activities at their worldwide destinations. This case study on the educational programs of the automotive industry located in the State of Puebla (central Mexico) aims at generating a deeper understanding of how and why the German apprenticeship model is exported to Mexico and implemented locally. The interaction between the companies and the institutional and organizational environment in which the multinational enterprises (MNEs) operate are analysed. We find that the three dual apprenticeship programs of Volkswagen, Audi and Schuler – although all located in the same institutional environment – show different degrees and different ways of adapting to the local environment.