ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on an innovative Dual Vocational Education and Training (VET) scheme developed in Asturias, Spain, as an instance of collaborative institutional work of regional unions, employers, and government creating a new institution to address a labour market mismatch. A key sector in the regional development strategy, in which employers had often voiced concerns about future skill shortages, the metal sector, was chosen to carry out a Dual VET experiment. The innovative design of the scheme – targeting low-skilled youth, promoting their being at the workplace from day one, and being paid workers – was union-led. Government, trade unions, and employers combined efforts in attracting prospective students-workers and trainers-employers and in supervising the scheme. Tracing the negotiation, implementation, and appraisal processes, the chapter reveals the key role of trade unions in shaping the scheme.
