The role of social partners in experimenting with ‘dual training’ in statist skills regimes: a comparison of Greece, Portugal, and Spain

Dual Vocational Education and Training (dual VET) has becomean important educational model across Europe, although it isimplemented in significantly different ways and remainsa minority educational pathway in most countries. Previousresearch highlights that the capacity of dual VET models toresolve social and economic challenges requires a high degreeof involvement and coordination of social partners. This articleexplores the role played by trade unions and employer orga-nisations in the governance of experimental ‘dual VET systems’under Southern statist skill formation regimes where socialpartners play a comparatively less institutionalised role inproviding skill formation – namely, Greece, Portugal, andSpain. In doing so, the article draws on a systematic govern-ance approach which distinguishes three governance levels(political-strategic, technical-strategic, technical-operation)and combines desk research (specialised literature, policydocuments, institutions’ legal statutes, etc.) and fieldwork(key informant interviews). The article shows that the threecountries have each developed some collective responses to‘dual VET’ and, accordingly, cannot be assessed as strictly orexclusively statist governance models. At the same time, thearticle illustrates interesting cross-country differences acrossthe three governance levels.