A Comparative and Contrastive Study of UK and Germany from the View of Higher Vocational Education

Introduction
With the advent of knowledge economy and information age, research and development of technology has become the driving force of knowledge economy industry and the motivation to push forward information society which calls for corresponding technicians. However, as is reported, in the 1980s, it was apparently clear that the workforce in the UK was less well prepared for employment than in many of the countries of its competitors and only 40% of the workforce in the UK held qualifications relevant to their jobs, compared with 85% in Germany (Zuo et al. 2004). Thus, “Educational law” in 1988 confirmed that vocational education must train the applied technician for the local industrial and commercial enterprises; school running mode, combine management mode and course setting with enterprises; and highlight technical education, becoming the new type of the British vocational technical education. Therefore, for now and future, more emphases are needed to put on those technical sciences subjects which are between basic sciences and practical courses. Based on that, a safe conclusion can be drawn that higher vocational education is vital. Throughout the world, UK and Germany are two most typical countries in applied science and technology education. This essay will be stated in three main aspects: course pattern, curriculum arrangement and assessment.

Course Patterns
In UK, the government adopts VET (Vocational Education and Training) system in which vocational education aims to impart the indispensable work related knowledge needed to practice in the related occupation or profession, including the underpinning theory and knowledge of relevant techniques. The standards for vocational education are defined in terms of courses and their syllabuses.