Understanding apprenticeships in their cultural context: evidence from parliamentary speeches in Germany and the United Kingdom between 1946 and 2019

Vocational education and training (VET) institutions are tightly embedded into countries' political economies and sociocultural context. The theoretical focus on influential factors excludes crucial aspects of the multilayered institution, while historical, sociological, and youth transition literature strongly hint at cultural components. To add to the understanding of apprenticeship in its cultural context, I take a data-driven approach, comparing parliamentary debates in the German Bundestag with the House of Commons in the UK from 1946 to 2019. Utilising quantitative text analysis, such as Structural Topic Models, I explore debates concerning apprenticeships and VET since World War II. I focus on the long-term manifestation of related topics and provide evidence on the persistent influence of historical themes to this day, as well as new trends and emerging associations. My findings contribute to the understanding of VET systems within country-specific structures of political debates and discourse. The framework shifts the focus from the development of apprenticeships as institutions to the development of image and narrative surrounding this institution and associated policy decisions. Themes in parliamentary debates reflect social development, while revealing underlying concepts associated with various aspects of social policy, associations with military and youth, which differ considerably over time and between countries.