The dual job training system in Germany is an essential market parameter of the country's economy and a part of the country's growth policy. By improving human capital (by providing training in high-tech sectors) it will also help safeguard Germany's future as a major industrial nation. Training primarily takes place in handicraft and industrial enterprises and forms an integral part of the labor market and its regulatory instruments. Major characteristics of the dual system include the following: (1) reduced specialization by a broadly based basic education, providing a base for technical training; (2) practice-oriented training and integrated theory, with the responsibility borne by industry and trade, the state, and trade unions; (3) training directed at acquiring key qualifications through key contents, thus providing an adequate means of mastering structural changes; (4) a standardized system with well-defined levels; and (5) a planned transition of youth from schools providing a general education to the training and employment system and vice versa. To keep current, the training system will have to change training methods and methods of teaching continually. The future of the system will depend partly on its costs and the value that the country puts on its cost-benefit ratio. (11 references) (KC)