Generating New Ideas on Education, Employment, and Upward Mobility

Just a few days after arriving at Schloss Leopoldskron in May 2024 as a Writer in Residence at Salzburg Global, I found myself on a train headed to Munich, which was only 90 minutes away.  After three days of interviews and site visits, including at Siemens and the Hochschule München, I returned to Salzburg full of information and ideas about the “duales studium” approach that combines apprenticeships with degrees and has become increasingly popular in Germany. It’s the focus of a chapter in my latest book project, about what the U.S. can learn from a range of education-to-employment initiatives around the world.

I was privileged not only to do reporting in Germany but to have a focused stretch of time during my writing residency to synthesize my findings and refine my analysis in a spectacular location. I even got to spend many days working in the office of Max Reinhardt, who did so much to restore the Schloss into a hub of creativity. It was truly an honor. The writing residencies, sponsored by the Salzburg Global Center for Education Transformation, are intended to create an inspiring environment in which participants can creatively explore new ideas. My own time at the Schloss certainly did that for me.

So what did I find? With apprenticeships drawing growing attention in the U.S., it’s natural for Americans to look to the German system as a potential model. But demand for traditional apprenticeships in Germany, which have their roots in medieval guilds, has dropped. Meanwhile, university enrollment has surged - particularly at practically oriented, career-focused universities of applied sciences. And a new German approach that combines apprenticeships with degrees, all paid for by employers, has attracted record numbers of young people. More detail on what’s happening can be found in my recent article for Work Shift, which draws from my book-in-progress.

When I told friends and colleagues about my writing residency at Salzburg Global, quite a few asked how they could take advantage of this opportunity. I hope they and many others apply! I’m grateful to my hosts, and to this extraordinary institution, for giving me the time and space to do work that I hope will have meaningful impact on how we think about education, employment, and upward mobility. 

Ben Wildavsky is the author of "The Career Arts: Making the Most of College, Credentials, and Connections." He hosts the Higher Ed Spotlight podcast and is a visiting fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His decades of experience in journalism and education policy include leadership and research roles at Strada Education Network, the Brookings Institution, the Kauffman Foundation, and US News & World Report. He is the award-winning author of "The Great Brain Race" and coeditor of "Reinventing Higher Education and Measuring Success." He has had bylines in many national magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Post. He has been a speaker on higher education globalization, degree value, and innovation in 16 U.S. states and 10 foreign countries, including events at Google, Harvard, the World Bank, the OECD in Paris, and the London School of Economics. He is a past blogger for the Chronicle of Higher Education and Education Sector.

The Salzburg Global Center for Education Transformation offers writing residencies at our inspiring home of Schloss Leopoldskron to thought leaders and educationalists working to advance the agenda of education transformation.

We invite partners who are interested in supporting these writing residencies to email Dominic Regester at dregester@salzburgglobal.org