Abstract:

Having different institutional contexts (e.g. economy, society and culture), countries follow different skill regimes to prepare their people for the labour market. A rich body of literature examines the different characteristics of countries’ skill regimes. Drawing on the related literature, this paper introduces varieties of skill regimes in a classification of countries’ different approaches in shaping their skill systems. This is to capture the specifics of institutional variety that shapes differences in an economic organisation including skill development. The paper focuses on examining the characteristics of the vocational education and training (VET) systems in three countries: Germany, Japan, and Turkey. It compares the systems in these countries according to several themes including governance and financing of VET, skill specificity, and status of the VET system. The paper shows that three countries represent three different types of skill regimes. In Germany, VET performs in a consensus-led approach that entails coordination and cooperation of all social partners while shaping the VET system. Japan, on the other hand, has a firm-based VET system that depends on firms’ specific and different strategies in training and employing individuals. Despite sharing some similar characteristics with these two countries, Turkey is categorised as having a state-led VET system in which the state plays a dominant role in shaping the system. 

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