German manufacturing is a powerhouse, fueling 21 percent of the country’s economy and contributing nearly $1.4 trillion in exports. Given these facts, we in the MEP National Network have been studying Germany’s vocational educational training (VET) program, which most of us call apprenticeships, by going overseas and talking directly to German stakeholders. Back in December 2022, I shared five lessons we learned from Germany during our October 2022 trip. I like to call that webinar and blog post “German Manufacturing 101.”

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