STUDY OF THE DUAL SYSTEM OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY.

SEC. 611. STUDY OF THE DUAL SYSTEM OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY. (a) General Authority.— The General Accounting Office (in this section referred to as the “Office”) shall conduct a thorough study of the Dual System of Vocational Education in the Federal Republic of Germany, including an analysis of the desirability, advantages, and disadvantages of establishing a nationwide job apprenticeship program in the United States similar to the Dual System of Vocational Education in the Federal Republic of Germany. (b) Contents.— In studying the West German Dual System of Vocational Education, the Office shall assess— (1) the ability of such a system to prepare workers for the technical workplace; (2) the level of academic skills an apprentice in the Dual System acquires; (3) the effectiveness of combining on-the-job training with classroom instruction; (4) the participation in apprenticeships by gender and minority status; (5) the dropout rate of West German students; (6) the construction and oversight of skill certification tests; (7) the unemployment rate and relative wage levels of former participants; (8) the labor mobility of apprentices; (9) whether such a system has helped West Germany maintain a competitive workforce and a competitive edge in the world economy; (10) the value and productivity of apprentices to business; and (11) the direct and indirect costs and benefits to the country, industry, company, and individual that result from the Dual System of Vocational Education. 104 STAT. 842 (c) Factors To Be Considered.— In assessing the ability of a similar program to be replicated in the United States, the Office shall evaluate such factors as— (1) existing job apprenticeship programs and their ability to prepare workers for the technical workplace; (2) the future need for skilled workers and the extent to which job apprenticeship programs could meet such future workforce needs; (3) the appropriate age or grade level for students to enter job apprenticeship programs (such as secondary students, post-secondary students, or both); (4) the potential for such programs to reduce the dropout rate, place more qualified workers in the workplace, provide continuing education, including postsecondary opportunities, and in-crease the lifetime earnings of those who participate in such a job apprenticeship program; (5) the issues in obtaining labor and management utilization of skills, certification for employee recruitment, promotion, and other purposes, and issues in creating and improving such certification to reliably and validly reflect the changing structure of work in the skills certified; (6) the training wage appropriate for an apprentice; (7) the estimated value and productivity of apprentices to business; (8) the Federal, State, employer, and labor roles in regulating and funding such a program; (9) the direct and indirect costs and benefits of such a program to the Federal and State governments, industry, the company and the individual; and (10) the quality and adequacy of Federal and State data on training, including apprenticeships, directly or indirectly provided by employers, including data on the level and distribution of training by industry, firm size, and of labor and management employees. (d) Deadline for Study.— The study required by subsection (a), together with comments and recommendations, shall be completed and presented to Congress not later than the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.