Balancing Standardisation and Individualisation: How Counties Develop Two-year Apprenticeships for Low-Achieving Students in Upper Secondary VET in Norway

This paper studies two-year apprenticeships for young people who struggle to complete upper secondary vocational education and training (VET), and the scheme’s regional implementation in the counties. Using a multi-case study approach, two contrasting strategies are presented. Both strategies are intended to meet the local need for skills, however, in different ways. While one county has chosen a standardised approach, based on an analysis of the labour market for low-skilled persons, the other county has favoured individualised procedures and developed apprenticeship curricula together with individual training companies, tailored to the prerequisites of individual learners. Based on these two cases, the paper discusses both strategies in view of the inclusion of low-achieving students in VET and their employability after apprenticeship training.