Abstract:

The willingness of young people to invest in skills has a direct impact on the attractiveness of vocational education and on the human resource base for building a skills-based society. Compared with the reality of high youth unemployment caused by the low willingness of Chinese youth to invest in skills, Germany has made globally recognised achievements through vocational education to cultivate a qualified team of professional and skilled workers to support enterprise production and development. In answering the question “why German youth are willing to engage in skilled work” on the basis of institutional theory, the study found that the regulatory factors affecting German youth’s willingness to invest in skills include the degree of equality in labour relations, the degree of job protection, the degree of employment protection, the degree of unemployment protection and the degree of wage protection. Normative factors include occupational values, the value of skills qualifications and the degree of pay rewards. Cognitive factors include the level of professionalisation of skills work, the quality of the skills learning process and the diversity of development paths. The regulatory aspects of the system ensure German youth’s willingness to invest in skills, while normative factors inspire this willingness through values and practices. Cognitive elements turn into an inherent willingness for skills investment through the individual’s understanding of skilled work.

Key words: skilled jobs, willingness to invest in skills, Germany, institutional factors