lfvoy wrote:I'm not sure where this would fit into an equivalency comparison between the US and European systems, though. Kotik, is there something in your system that's not quite vocational training but not quite college credit either?
Not really, but there are several "special" variants of College/University. First there's the University Of The Armed Forces. That was my originally planned path in life - becoming a professional soldier and as part of my officers training I would have studied computer science with the forces. But after my tour of duty in Somalia and the atrocious things I've been forced to do and see there (not counting that I almost came home in a wheel chair), I quit shortly after.
Another is the
Berufsbegleitendes Studium, which is you can take up studying for a university degree while working a day job. Lectures are available as streaming media. Assignment are handed in online. At the end each Semester there is a month where you have to actually show up at the university (employers are obliged by law to grant unpaid leave for that). During that month there's a truckload of exams. When you graduate you get a fully recognized Master or Bachelor.
A third kind is the
Volkshochschule (people's highschool). What sounds like something that could come out of China, is a state-run program, where working people can get education they didn't manage in their youth. For instance iuf you dropped out of school after eight years, you can finish 9th and 10th class as an adult to improve your professional chances.
A fourth is the
Industrie- und Handelskammer (Chamber of Industry and Commerce), where craftsmen can become master craftsmen. Education takes three years. A master craftsman degree is needed to run your own business if your company is a crafts enterprise. Since my brother will take over the three companies of my father (two towing services and a repair garage) he had to become a car mechanic (3 years training) and afterwards another 3 years of master car mechanic training. He could have taken over as 'simple mechanic', but then the companies would not be allowed to educate apprentices.
Other than that, vocational training and college/university is strictly separated. It's either one or the other.