Retrieving and recontextualising VET theory

1 Introduction^[1]

This article follows on from the article by Günter Kutscha “Subject (de)construction and contingency – an autobiographically inspired contribution to the discourse on vocational education and training theory” in this special issue of bwp@. In his contribution, Günter Kutscha questions the category of the (autonomous) subject based on biographical experiences. He then asks whether this subject can continue to be a (normative) point of reference for vocational education and training (VET) and a (critical) theory of VET – pointedly in the question: Who is I? Who is this subject that acts in the situations described? In his contribution, he particularly focuses on the connection between biographical contingency and subjectivity. What becomes clear is, on the one hand, the contingency of human existence and, on the other hand, a form of self-will and agency with which the human being stands out from this contingency and the situational demands. He describes and reflects, by using subjectivity theory, moments of the perceptibility of a self in the perception of situations as well as in action, whereby the constitution of this subject takes place within contingency and thus remains contingent itself (Ricken, 1999). Based within vocational education and training (VET) theory, this article takes up the question of a subject as part of a “permanent observation and discursive clarification” of the relationship between “Bildung, work and subjectivity” (Kutscha, this SI, 18).

Inspired by these considerations, a possible approach to the subject in VET is proposed below via the approach of subjectivation. To this end, following the next section, which outlines an approach to the subject based on VET theory (2), the principle of Beruflichkeit is presented (3) and the approach of subjectivation as the appropriation of available subject positions in the context of social orders is introduced (4). Subjectivation is related to Beruflichkeit in section (5), since with the Beruf a vocationally framed subject position is available and Beruflichkeit can thus be understood as a possible form of subjectivation. This is exemplified by various studies on the development of Beruflichkeit and vocational competence. Using this approach, six dimensions of Beruflichkeit are identified as subjectivation (6). Beyond summarising, the conclusion (7) formulates tasks of VET following the understanding of Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation.

2 A VET theory approach to the subject

Following Günter Kutscha’s reflections on the contingency of the subject, a VET theory approach to subjectivity lies in those moments in which the human being – for a short time – becomes visible as an Other in the face of the contingency of existence and the course of events with their demands. That is, in those moments in which human beings position themselves in an affirmative or negative way and thus become perceptible to themselves and visible to others as an other that is able to act. The following reflections explore the question of what the reference to the subject can mean in the relationship between the human being and the world in the context of VET, if the subject is not linked to a teleological notion of autonomy vis-à-vis the world and its demands.

The perception of the human beings that they are not simply absorbed in the environment, the circumstances or the contingent course of events, but that they can form a difference to it, even if they do not always have to do so, is – according to the starting point for this contribution – also an approach to subjectivity in the context of VET. This is because VET, beyond fulfilling the demands of the world of work, also pursues a claim for Bildung as well as to enable contributions to shaping society and the world of work (Gonon/Reinisch/Schütte, 2010; Kutscha, 2020; Rauner, 2021). This is only possible if there is a notion of difference between demands and person, without this leading to a negation of the demands of the world of work. For it is precisely the ‘double regulative’ that is characteristic of VET (Kraus, 2009): On the one hand, VET follows the functional requirements of the world of work, because it must meet the demands for technical knowledge and skills, interdisciplinary competences and an individual orientation towards employment, so that people can position themselves on the labour market via their vocational qualification and take up corresponding gainful employment (Georg/Sattel 2020). On the other hand, VET as part of the education system must also follow the ideal claim of Bildung shared with other areas of pedagogy, which goes beyond the fulfilment of external demands and is oriented towards the person and their development (Büchter, 2021b; Gonon/Reinisch/Schütte, 2010). The controversy or the tension between these two claims has fundamentally shaped the development of VET theory (Blankertz, 1965; Heid, 2003; Kutscha, 2020). This results in a specific relationship that can be described as a ‘double regulative’ of VET. It must meet both functional and pedagogical demands, as otherwise it would lose its connection to either to world of work or the educational sphere, both of which are equally constitutive for VET. VET therefore remains in a permanent balancing movement between the two, which eludes a resolution of the resulting ambivalence in one direction or the other and can thus become the starting point for the development of VET theory. The ambivalence between educational demands and the requirements of the world of work thus also opens the possibility of reflecting on subjectivity and the subject reference of VET within the framework of VET theory.

The present discussion of subjectivation in the context of VET is linked to a praxeological understanding of social categories such as gender or culture. With terms such as ‘doing difference’ or ‘doing gender’ (Fenstermaker, 2010), ‘doing culture’ or ‘doing space’ (Jucker et al., 2018), it is emphasised that such categories in the understanding of the individual and society not only arise in acting, but also have to be permanently produced (and negotiated) anew in acting, without thereby becoming obsolete as a point of reference in the construction of social reality or individual orientation. Fundamental to the following explanations is thus a process-oriented understanding of subjectivation that locates this process in the relationship between the individual and society. Subjectivation is understood as the permanent reaffirmation of subjectivity in this relationship. It is therefore not a (one-time) act of becoming a subject or a transitory act of attaining an (autonomous) subject status, but rather a constant process of self- affirmation and positioning of human beings in relation to the world and the experience of being visible to this world and being able to relate to it. In this article, this understanding of subjectivation and its facilitation or support is related to the context of vocational work, i.e., to a specific segment of the world. It is thus about subjectivation as a constant process of self-affirmation and positioning of people in the context of vocational work and the relationship of VET to this process.

3 Beruflichkeit as a principle

Beruf is understood as a cultivated form of labour (cf. Kutscha, 2008), i.e. as a specific form of labour, which basically ‘implies that there are also other forms of labour and training’ (Lange, 1999, S. 11). As a specific form of work, the Beruf represents an important social, cultural and structural principle in German-speaking countries: It structures the world of work and the VET system and connects the two within the framework of a ‘vocational order’ (Kraus 2007) conceptually and structurally with each other, which has led Friedrich Fürstenberg to call Germany a ‘Beruf society’ (Fürstenberg, 2000). The principle of Beruflichkeit which lies socio-cultural behind this specific form of gainful employment (Deissinger, 1998) has developed its meaning over different historical periods beginning in the Medieval  times (Büchter, 2021a; Gonon, 2001; Kutscha, 2008; Meyer, 2015; Kraus, 2012): From the medieval understanding of man’s calling through transcendent forces, to the classical concept of Beruf of the early 20th century, which emphasised the educational value of work and the notion of a community. Followed by the industrial understanding of Beruf of the 21st century, which focused on the industrial division of labour with high standardisation as well as vocational pride and gradually opened up to generic aspects, and its transition to post-industrial Beruflichkeit from the 2000s onwards, which has incorporated aspects of flexibilisation and individualisation. With the latter version, the principle of Beruflichkeit itself has come to the fore, i.e., the current discussion is less about a fixed determination of standardised structures of the form of gainful employment in form of a Beruf and more about emphasising the principle behind that concrete form (see Footnote 1). The focus is thus, on the one hand, on the breadth of the various elements that have piled up in the understanding of the concept of Beruf in the course of the development of the history of the concepts, such as vocational identity, ethos of a vocation, Bildung, ownership for a vocation, expertise in knowledge and skills or generic competences, and, on the other hand, on the bundling of these various facets in a principle to which various actors in society and world of work refer in political negotiation regulation Beruf as a qualification that bridges labour market needs and pedagogical values such as Bildung. The principle of Beruflichkeit is also linked to vocational pedagogical approaches and institutions for the individual development of Beruflichkeit as aspect of one’s identity and relation to the world (of work).

VET is fundamentally oriented towards the principle of Beruflichkeit in its respective historical connotation. On the one hand, it is thus geared to the development of vocational competence. Vocational competence is expressed in the fact that members of a vocational community – meaning all people having acquired the same Beruf, such as e.g. machine fitter, business administrator, nurse, gardener or draughtswoman in an apprenticeship with a duration of at least three years – are able to cope with different situations in their field with their technical, transversal and social dimensions. This means that they can independently plan, carry out and evaluate their vocational activities as well as responsibly shape work situations and processes relying on their expertise and their shared vocational values. It also means that they are able to cooperate and interact in an efficient manner in a work context. This vocational competence goes beyond the ability to perform specific tasks (Clarke/Winch/Brockmann, 2013) and also proves its worth in the context of changing requirements in the world of work, such as those currently posed by the digital transformation (Baumhauer/Meyer, 2021). On the other hand, Beruflichkeit in a broader sense aims at the capacity to build a meaningful and beneficial occupational biography which is becoming increasingly important as dimension in view of a greater plurality of life courses and the discontinuity of occupational biographies (Hendrich, 2004; Meyer, 2014; Kraus, 2022). The capacity to build a meaningful and beneficial occupational biography describes the ability to reflect on and shape one’s own occupational biographical path and to include the connection to other areas of life. This entails both the evaluation of possibilities, requirements, wishes and goals for one’s own development as well as the evaluation of social framework conditions and their co-creation. Both dimensions, the vocational competence and the capacity to build a meaningful and beneficial occupational biography, are guiding principles for VET and can at the same time be understood as aspects of a continuous development of Beruflichkeit. For they are not conclusively achieved with an initial vocational degree but arise and develop as an accompanying occupational biographical undertaking that is worked on in an iterative process that includes elements of Bildung in vocational pedagogical settings as well as vocational experience, its reflection and the (reflexive) shaping of occupational biographical (Kraus, 2022).

In addition to the acquisition of knowledge and competences as well as reflection in pedagogically organised settings of initial and continuing VET, the performance of vocational acting in social contexts is also of great importance. The interactive parts of work in the company context or in the provision of services play a central role here. A major role is also played by vocational practices n, which is learned, carried out, experimentally changed, reconsidered, modified, recombined, further developed or confirmed, i.e. the performance and development of ‘practice architectures’ (Kemmis, 2021) in one’s vocation. Here, learning in the process of work as the building of routines and the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills in the workplace context is of particular importance (Dehnbostel, 2020; Fuller & Unwin, 2011; Molzberger, 2016).

In this sense, Beruflichkeit represents a concept that has an individual, organisational, cultural and political side to its development and formation, and is defined within the framework of the ‘vocational order’ (Kraus, 2007) for individuals as well as for companies and educational institutions as an ‘organising principle’ (Deissinger, 1998). This complex understanding of Beruflichkeit will be linked to the theoretical approach of subjectivation in the following. The development of Beruflichkeit, in which people appropriately deal with the cultivated form of labour in the form of their specific Beruf and connect this appropriation with their own positioning in the human-world relationship, i.e., integrate Beruflichkeit into their self-affirmation and identity and positioning in this relationship, is thus understood as a form of subjectivation.

4 Subjectivation as the appropriation of available subject positions

The basic theoretical understanding of subjectivation is the becoming of a subject by a process of acquiring available subject positions in the context of social orders interacting with others. That is first presented in general terms in the following (sub-section 4.1) and then concretised as subjectivation in the context of the vocational order (sub-section 4.2).

4.1 Subjectivation as a process in the context of social structures

In the perspective of subjectivation research, this represents a contribution to the ‘exploration for the conditions and consequences of being a subject’ (Bosančić et al., 2022c, S. 2) in the context of Beruflichkeit. Subjectivation research is based on an action-theoretical and at the same time relational concept of the subject (Bosančić et al., 2022a) which combines a power-critical perspective with a reference to subjective agency (Bosančić et al., 2022b, S. 10). This theoretical framing is expressed in the fact that, while ‘(self-)positionality and agency of the subject’ (Bosančić et al., 2022c, S. 10) is researched these concepts are not equated with ‘a naive understanding of freedom’ (Bosančić et al., 2022c, S. 10). Rather, these are seen in relation to the ‘power of institutional orders and their programmatics’ (Bosančić et al., 2022c, S. 10), which are at the same time recognised and problematised as ‘conditions of subjectivation and collective action’ (Bosančić et al., 2022c, S. 10). The focus is thus directed towards the subject and its ability to act in the context of the vocational order of society, but its possibilities for action and its subjectivity are at the same time located in social power relations and allocation processes within this order. The position of a subject can be achieved through the appropriation of socially available subject positions, which is, however, at the same time connected with limitations and the acceptance of impositions. The subject positions available to the individual are in turn distributed along categories of social inequality, such as gender, disability or a migration history, so their availability is directly linked to social structures and their power and inequality relations. Certain subject positions thus seem to be attainable for individuals or are attributed to them, while others are not or not readily available.

In the process of subjectivation, the subject appropriates positions in their space of possibilities, from which it ‘cannot withdraw without surrendering relations of participation and recognition’ (Stauber/Walther/Settersten, 2022, S. 285). Self-positioning within the socially available subject positions is thus both finding oneself in social structures but also reinforcing those structures, which as a basic idea also already underlies the theory of structuration (Giddens, 1997) or the theory of performativity (Butler, 2010). On the other hand, the individual becomes a ‘subject capable of action’ (Bosančić et al., 2022c, S. 286) who can shape possible offers of subjectivity and play a part in forming structures and the expectations associated with them. And finally, by assuming an available subject position, they gain social participation and, in the case of Beruflichkeit, material recognition, which would be denied if they did not accept the attributions and impositions of available subject positions.

An important element in the understanding of subjectivation is that it is about ‘the genesis of dispositions to feel, think, and act towards others and oneself’ (Traue/Pfahl, 2022, S. 32). This refers to the connection of feeling, thinking and acting in relation to oneself and others, which does not mean an external adoption of abstract positions and requirements, but is connected to one’s own personality. The (self-)positioning via the assumption of socially available subject positions and thus the appropriation of corresponding positions thus does not remain external to a person, but inscribes itself in their perception, thinking, feeling as well as acting and becomes part of their own self-understanding. It is a thorough process of becoming a subject. 4.2 Subjectivation in the context of the vocational order

VET and related employment opportunities in countries with a vocational order, i.e. especially Germany, Switzerland and Austria, represent a highly standardised field with many pre-structured possibilities of positioning, which is both vertically differentiated in the hierarchy of different positions and strata and their social status, and horizontally divided into different sectors. These represent powerful institutional orders in the context of subjectivation. That is important for individuals in the sense of the relations of participation and recognition mentioned earlier, which remain closed without the appropriation of available subject positions. In the transition to adulthood, individuals must accomplish the task of finding a socially accepted way of earning a living. They must find a reasonable and possible way for themselves in relation or sometimes also in confrontation with institutional structures and social expectations. Learning a Beruf, performing it and corresponding further education are possible and socially broadly accepted ways of fulfilling this task. This process of learning a Beruf includes subjectivation in the form of developing individual Beruflichkeit as part of becoming a subject in the context of work. This is processed through the assumption of a vocational framed subject position faced with associated social expectations and demands as well as the use of the resulting possibilities.

From the perspective of working processes, Fritz Böhle has examined work as ‘subjectifying action’ (Böhle, 2017a) and emphasises that ‘in almost all areas, dealing with limits to planning and imponderables is a central requirement of human work’ (Böhle, 2017b, S. 5f.). In this understanding, the planning and competent performance of work activities is complemented by a ‘sensing, sensory perception, sensory experiences and sensations’ (Böhle, 2017b, S. 32), which requires a connection and familiarity of the person with the object of work and is therefore also referred to as ‘subjectifying action guided by experience’ (Böhle, 2017b, S. 32). Working is described as subjectifying because the person brings their personal potentials into the process, experience themselves as an acting subject and thus also appear in the working process as a thinking, feeling and acting subject. The possibility for this arises via ‘gaps and margins that have to be filled by the skilled professional’ (Böhle/Milkau, 2017, S. 43). Gaps in planning and leeway in the execution of skilled work are possibilities for subjectivation and the constitution of Beruflichkeit. They enable and require employees to bring their Beruflichkeit – with all aspect of knowledge, skills, transversal competences, values, experience-based acting, identity – into this working process and to constantly develop it in the process. As Traue and Pfahl (2022, S. 32) write, the occupation of the subject position combines the perception, thinking, feeling and acting of the person in relation to themselves and the vocationally shaped work content and process with the expectations and requirements embedded in it.

This understanding of subjectivation as an in the context of a ‘vocational order’ socially and organisationally framed process of attaining subjective agency and the connection of this (self-)positioning with one’s own person, enables to connect to the previously elaborated understanding of Beruflichkeit, which will be further elaborated in the following section. Here, reflections on Beruflichkeit as subjectivation with reference to empirical studies will be discussed.

5 Beruflichkeit as subjectivation

The following considerations concretise the understanding of subjectivation as a process of appropriation of available subject positions with reference to a Beruf. To this end, studies on work and VET are discussed regarding insights that can be gained on Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation. The guiding hypothesis is that each Beruf represents an offer of subjectivation that is available through VET and further vocational training as well as through the performance of the respective vocational work – albeit differentiated within structures of social inequality. The guiding question for research in subjectivation, ‘How are people positioned in contemporary societies, how do they relate to this, how do they position themselves?’ (Brodersen et al., 2022, S. VI) is thus specified as the question of how people are positioned trough their Beruf, how they act upon this regard, and how they position themselves via Beruflichkeit. In order to reconstruct how subjectivation takes place in the form of Beruflichkeit and how the interaction or even confrontation with the societal expectations and demands associated with one’s own Beruf as well as the use of the resulting possibilities for action is concretely represented, exemplary findings from different research contexts are analysed in the following. Studies on problematic situations in the appropriation of a Beruf are also explicitly taken into account, as the ambivalence of subjectivation becomes particularly clear here in the simultaneous acceptance of attributions, the acceptance of impositions and the attainment of a position capable of action with opportunities for participation, subjective agency, building a meaningful and beneficial occupational biography and making a living.

In the studies used for this analysis, a combination of different forms of data collection and analysis was used, consisting of observations in which vocational practices were the focus and interviews in which the view of the members of the community of the Beruf came into play. The latter were conducted both as individual and group interviews, as questions of vocational identity are also accessible via the social dimension of shared understanding between members of the same vocational community who have presumably had the same or similar experiences. Meanings are jointly negotiated and collectively transmitted as -vocational-cultural narratives of a Beruf. The data collection and analysis of the various studies cannot be further discussed at this point but can be traced through the cited publications.

5.1 Subjectivation through the confrontation with vocation-related social evaluations in Berufen with low prestige

As social structural category, the Beruf is linked to social status. People who take up and choose Berufe with a low social status therefore also have to deal with social devaluation in the development of their Beruflichkeit. This dimension in the process of subjectivation is exemplified in two studies on the Berufe of bricklayers (Duemmler/Caprani/Felders 2020) and retail salespersons (Duemmler/Felder/Caprani, 2018; Duemmler/Capranis 2017). These studies examine how vocational identity is developed and negotiated by apprentices in Berufen with low social prestige. The low social prestige of their Beruf is directly experienced by the members of the vocational community in social situations in which they interact with other and mention their Beruf. In particular, they describe the disparaging reactions of other people to their Beruf or their choice of Beruf because it is seen as intellectually undemanding or because the physical effort involved is problematised. In the face of these experiences of disdain, apprentices develop specific strategies in the formation of their vocational identity. These consist in particular of emphasising positive aspects of their Beruf, such as its social significance or the skills required for it, the variety and breadth of the subject matter as well as the responsibility and decision-making opportunities they already have as apprentices in their Beruf (Duemmler et al., 2020, S. 377–384; Duemmler & Caprani, 2017, S. 344–348). In the occupational field of retail, for example, the special quality of the products is emphasised or the bricklayers report their pride in producing a tangible result and long-lasting products. In general, the apprentices emphasise the specific attractiveness and satisfaction of their work. This is partly accompanied by the reference to a vocational cultural exaltation of still doing ‘real work’. In addition to the positive valuation of the activity itself, the apprentices also draw social comparisons, e.g. in relation to the salary or labour market opportunities, in which they see themselves as having an advantage over others. In addition, they emphasise the opportunities for further development associated with their Beruf, for example the completion of higher qualifications, vocational specialisations or other opportunities for further training.

For apprentices, taking on a Beruf with a low social status as a subject position that is accessible and/or ascribed to them and ultimately taken on is accompanied by the experience of social devaluation, which they counter with their own evaluations in the construction of their Beruflichkeit and in doing so draw on development opportunities as well as collective resources of the vocational community in the form of positive images of their chosen Beruf. The example of these two Berufe (retail salesperson and bricklayer) shows the complexity of subjectivation as a form of (self-)positioning and becoming a subject in the social context of inequality structures. Apprentices have chosen to train in a particular Beruf within the framework of the subject positions available to them along social structures of inequality. This is accompanied by negative attributions towards their person, which they must deal with in the context of developing their own Beruflichkeit and integrate them into their identification with the Beruf. In the examples described, they do this through the application of specific strategies that encompass aspects of feeling and acting towards themselves as members of the vocational community and performing vocational practices. Resources for a positive valuation of the Beruf are, on the one hand, framed by colleagues and vocational culture, i.e. the positive valuation of one’s own Beruf in the context of the development of Beruflichkeit takes place through the reference to positively connoted images that members of the respective Beruf share and which also have a certain protective function against social devaluations. On the other hand, opportunities for further development play an important role, which are given with this vocational qualification in the education system, on the labour market or in the company.

5.2 Subjectivation via coping with emotion-related expectations in personal service work

Especially in personal services, emotional demands on the vocational practices are integrated as part of the service provision. This is illustrated in the following using the Berufe of hairdresser and retail salesperson, where apprentices are confronted with strong class- and gender-specific attributions and expectations of their person and their feelings and have to find a way of coping. The study by Klope and Hedlin (2023) emphasises the general importance of emotional work and emotion regulation in the personal service work. Following Hochschild (2012) they distinguish a superficial action that merely presents these feelings on the one hand and the requirement to feel them authentically and to act them out in the interaction with the client on the other hand. During their training, aspiring hairdressers are confronted with what they see as an inappropriate requirement not only to communicate in a friendly manner but also to be cheerful in contact with the clientele. In a group discussion for data collection, they address this expectation and describe how they specifically learn expressions of cheerfulness, such as a smile or a lively voice. Through this performance of cheerfulness, they are supposed to get into a happy mood. The authors analyse this account against the background that usually young, socially less privileged women became hairdressers. They show that future hairdressers are encouraged to fulfil the expectations of companies and customers by regulating their own feelings. The training is thus not only geared towards acquiring manual skills and social competences in dealing with the clientele, but also towards meeting the class- and gender-specific ideal image of an always cheerful hairdresser. The apprentices must deal with this expectation. Sometimes they distance themselves from it in collegial exchange with other apprentices by dealing with it ironically. Similar examples are reported by apprentices in retail, for whom the expectation to always be friendly and helpful is troublesome (Duemmler/Caprani, 2017, S. 343–344).

From the theoretical perspective of subjectivation, this example reveals the assumption of a class- and gender-specific vocational subject position within the framework of a powerful institutional order, where the attribution goes beyond the technical and social requirements of providing a person-centred service. The expectations also affect the person and their feelings, as corresponding demands are made not only on the display of emotions, but also on the regulation of emotions. In the development of their own Beruflichkeit, apprentices address precisely this demand as inappropriate in the context of work. They obviously cannot escape it within the framework of their training – as long as they do not give up – but in group discussions they cultivate a distancing-ironic approach towards the demand on their feelings, which is perceived as inadmissible, i.e. they make sure of the inappropriateness of this expectation in the collegial circle and exchange strategies to fulfil it superficially against the expectation without regulating their feelings. In this way, they assert themselves in the face of this demand aimed at their person and become visible as subjects who can deal with demands and partially reject them, even if they cannot completely evade them. The collegial space, which enables this distancing self-positioning as a form of subjectivity in the mirror of the positioning of others, was opened in this case by the group discussion within the framework of data collection.

5.3 Subjectivation in confrontation with problematic working conditions in the retail sector

Various studies report on working conditions that make it difficult for apprentices in retail to develop a positive understanding of their Beruf. Based on their studies, Kirchknopf and Kögler, for example, state that retail salespersons have little identification potential due to ‘a comparatively less multifaceted understanding of the vocation and deficits with regard to affective identification-relevant activities as well as further perspectives’ (Kirchknopf/Kögler 2020, S. 215). Thole also emphasises the occurrence of ‘typical role conflicts’ (2020, S. 100) for the retail sector due its conditions, which learners have to deal with through ‘vocational identity work’ (2020, S. 97). Duemmler and Caprani (2017) report of apprentices in retail who appreciate the responsibility they are already allowed to take on as apprentices but sometimes feel overwhelmed by it. Due to the flexibilisation of working conditions and the accompanying problem of demarcation in the face of multiple demands from different sides, situations arise that are difficult for the apprentices.

Dealing with particular conditions in the company is part of the process of acquiring the chosen Beruf. In the background, there is always the question of whether the training should be discontinued due to the conditions and thus the aspired subject position given up. In doing so, the apprentices would escape the difficulties of situations, but with this decision they would at the same time give up the social participation and employment opportunities associated with the vocational qualification. If they continue to pursue training in retail, they will have to develop interaction strategies for themselves and in their dealings with others (colleagues, superiors and customers) in the course of developing ownership for their Beruf and find an arrangement for dealing with the corresponding conditions and (possibly) enter into playing part in the forming of them. In the question of whether apprentices succeed in doing this, the support in the team or in the company is likely to play a decisive role.

5.4 Subjectivation via the performance of vocational practices within the framework of skilled work

Vocational practices are analysed here as subjectifying actions. In this perspective, work is understood as an activity in which there is an objectifiable component, which is represented in task descriptions or process, for example, and a subject-related component, which is referred to as subjectifying action. The importance of these second components is justified by the fact that the specification for the execution of a task can never be complete and that free spaces as well as imponderables and disturbances must be filled through the perception, assessment and action of the working person (Böhle, 2017b). This focuses on the question of how a person engages in vocational processes of work (Böhle, 2017a). The subjectifying component becomes particularly clear in personal services Berufe, which are interaction-intensive and in which emotional demands are often necessary in balancing different, sometimes contradictory interests. Care workers, for example, constantly balance between ‘the interests and needs of the clients or “customers”, the interests of the organisation in which the care workers are employed, and their personal needs and interests’ (Senghaas-Knobloch/Blass, 2017, S. 659). They try to organise their everyday work in such a way that they take all requirements into account to some extent, so that they can carry out their Beruf and remain capable of acting in it (Senghaas-Knobloch/Blass, 2017, S. 667). For this balancing act, they have to make emotional efforts and also ‘use feelings as a working tool’ (Senghaas-Knobloch/Blass, 2017, S. 660). Hairdressers, on the other hand, mediate between the wishes of the customer and the structure of the hair ‘in the confrontation with the hair and in the confrontation with the customer’ (Senghaas-Knobloch/Blass, 2017, S. 809). The ability to do this is based on sensual-emotional perception (seeing, touching and hearing) vis-à-vis ‘both parties’ and in a dialogical-interactive procedure that accompanies the entire working process (Weikmann et al. 2017, S. 811) as well as the conscious shaping of a working relationship (Weikmann et al. 2017, S. 822). But there is also a subjectifying component in industrial-technical Berufe. For example, service technicians, whose job largely consists of rectifying faults at customers’ premises, describe that they not only use their specialist knowledge and communication skills, but also have a flair for finding faults and ‘associative thinking’ (Pfeiffer, 2017, S. 348). And although CNC machines are computer-controlled, companies prefer to hire people with vocational qualifications for them, who can rely on ‘experiential knowledge to master process control’ (Schulze/Carus, 2017, S. 81) in unplanned and critical situations. In addition, these technicians report that they have a different relationship to programmes written by themselves than to programmes written by others, because in the case of the latter they ‘first familiarise themselves with the thought processes of the programmer’ (Carus/Schulze, 2017, S. 93). Here, too, a specific relationship arises between the person doing the work and the thing or machine being worked on.

These examples illustrate the close connection of a person’s perceiving, thinking and feeling with their vocational judgements and vocational practices, which has a high consistency with the complex of thinking, feeling and acting towards oneself and others in the theoretical approach of subjectivation. Their connectedness represents a central aspect in the process of subjectivation and the assumption of a capable subject position in the context of vocational work. In the work situations described, vocational competence arises through Beruflichkeit, which not only encompasses the technical and transversal components of the Beruf as well as social, situational and organisational aspects of service provision, but is also based on a specific disposition to act and the ability to judge in the connectedness of perceiving, thinking and feeling. A person who has acquired a Beruf brings their subjectivity into the working situations as part of their vocational competence. In open situations, with contradictory requirements and partly under difficult conditions, they develop the capability to act on the basis of their ability to realise emotional, interactive and experience-based action components in the vocational activity. This enables them to deal with complex tasks.  They are involved with experiences, belongings and emotions, the development of which is part of their vocational competence and an expression of their personal identity.

5.5 Subjectivation in the engagement in work processes and operational contexts in technical fields

The research work of Hongxia Shan (2020) shows how spaces of freedom in the enactment of skilled work are concretely filled through subjectifying action. It examines knowledge transfer as a sociocultural and sociomaterial practice using the example of skilled migrants with a background in engineering. The study was conducted in Canada and the description suggests that. Shan identifies three processes of knowledge transfer by migrants into existing vocational practices: (1) they bring knowledge from their contexts of origin into vocational work in the country of arrival and (2) mobilise their learning capacity to open up new areas of work for the company. (3) They also explore their new work context and gradually contribute to shaping it (Shan, 2020, S. 389–390). Framed by the vocational nature of their work and the company environment, they become involved in the vocational practices in both a technical and social way in all three cases. This becomes possible by the fact that along specific ‘boundary objects’ (Shan, 2020, S. 391) negotiations on working processes arise, specific development tasks in delimited work areas occur and recognition as equals from their colleagues is granted (Shan, 2020, S. 391–392).

From the theoretical perspective of subjectivation, the engineers when they take on the subject position in the country of arrival mobilise their own resources (knowledge and ability to learn). Furthermore, they activate their subjective potential in the working processes and consciously shape the process of arriving in the new context as taking on a vocational position alongside the associated requirements and thus gaining the ability to act in the new working context. From this subject position, they mobilise their own resources and use their vocational competence to shape the work context and develop it further together with their colleagues. When they take on an employment in the country of arrival, they enter a vocational-social context that also challenges them as a person with their biographical experience, their ability to learn and solve problems, and their ability to shape the work context. In addition to the resources of knowledge and the ability to learn, recognition as an equal member of the vocational community is an important condition that enables them to participate in their new work context in negotiating situations to shape working processes.

5.6 Subjectivation via informal learning in the knowledge-intensive field of health care

The work of Therese Rosemann (2022) discusses the learning-oriented dealing with requirements in health care. The author examines vocational practices in this field with the question of which learning opportunities are recognised as such by the employees. She refers to the dialogical-interactive form of the provision of care work and also emphasises the ‘high degree of uncertainty, novelty, a continuous change and discontinuity of knowledge, know-how and skills’ (Rosemann, 2022, S. 214) which characterise the field. This results in the requirement for employees to permanently develop the basis of their vocational practices. Part of this further development of one’s own Beruflichkeit takes place in the enactment of the vocational practices themselves. Rosemann examines these processes as learning activities in informal settings. She points out that the vocational practices are linked to specific learning requirements in the Beruf and that the perceived learning activities mostly focus on ‘acquiring knowledge, know-how and skills for the fulfilment of everyday requirements and tasks’ (Rosemann, 2022, S. 195). A central finding of their study is that ‘the foundation of all learning activities is formed by reflective learning activities that take place through understanding and reflecting on accumulated experience’ (Rosemann, 2022, S. 195). In this case, too, learning processes are often carried out interactively through exchange with colleagues, i.e. the collective aspect of Beruflichkeit also plays an important role here. In these processes of learning and understanding, both activity-specific and biographically conditioned patterns of learning and Beruflichkeit come into play (Rosemann, 2022, S. 204).

Assuming the vocational subject position as a nurse requires not only technical knowledge and skills but is also based on the subjective potential to reflexively relate to one’s own acting and its requirements and to constantly develop Beruflichkeit while learning. The willingness and ability to permanently develop the foundations of one’s own Beruflichkeit is presented here as part of the requirements in a knowledge-intensive field of work. In dealing with this requirement, the biographically shaped perception of learning opportunities represents a mode of coping with the requirements of work. The nurse also contributes to the exercise of their Beruf with their biographical experiences and subjective potential for permanent further development and maintenance their Beruflichkeit, i.e. with the ability to learn and reflect. The collegial exchange represents an important prerequisite for this.

6 Discussion: Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation

The analysis of the different studies has shown with examples how people acquire a Beruf, how they deal with social attributions, requirements, expectations and possibilities, bring in personal aspects, combine Beruflichkeit with emotions and interaction strategies and find their own expressions of Beruflichkeit in negotiation processes. Through the analytical perspective of subjectivation on learning and practising a Beruf as the appropriation of a vocationally formed subject position, various dimensions of Beruflichkeit as subjectivation reveal These dimensions of Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation derived from the exemplary cases above can be formulated abstractly as follows:

1. Building identification with the Beruf

The social status of Berufe varies, and people encounter the social values associated with their Beruf in interaction with their social environment. In identifying with their Beruf, they deal with these value attributions and develop a positive, emotional value reference to their Beruf, which becomes part of their own self-image and the basis of their vocational practice. Appreciative attributions can be accepted, pejorative social attributions are countered by the members of the vocational community with their own positioning, and in doing so they fall back on vocational-collective resources in the form of images of their Beruf that are associated with positive values, as well as on future opportunities for further development that the education system, the labour market or the company offer them.

1. Development of emotion regulation and interaction strategies

It is not only in personal service work that expectations are placed on feelings. People acquiring a Beruf are not always able or willing to fulfil these expectations, but they cannot completely avoid them either. Therefore, they develop forms of regulating their feelings and interacting with others within the framework of their vocational practice in the connectedness of perceiving, feeling and acting, which neither endanger their vocational competence nor their personal integrity. An important external resource for this is a collegial space in which one’s own positioning vis-à-vis expectations perceived as inappropriate can be reflected upon with other members of the vocational community.

1. Shaping everyday (working-)life and lifestyle

Sometimes problematic working conditions confront apprentices or employees with the decision of whether they want to continue their work in their Beruf under these circumstances. If they stay, they must find a sustainable arrangement in the intertwining of everyday work life and personal lifestyle, and in doing so they also have to weigh up questions of quality of life in relation to autonomy, the creation of meaning, social integration and economic situation. To achieve such an arrangement, one’s own expectations must be reflected upon and one’s personal lifestyle and/or the conditions in the company can be adapted. This reveals aspects of capacity to build a meaningful and beneficial occupational biography. Important external resources for this are not only private life circumstances, but also collegial support in the team and the company’s opportunities for playing a part in forming the working conditions.

1. Performing vocational practices as complete actions

In the exercise of vocational practices, employees perform complete actions, i.e. they plan, assess and implement, and they deal with ambiguities, contingencies, contradictions and problems. They also use their vocational capacity for judgement and intuition. In vocational practices, perception, feeling, thinking, judging and acting thus come together directly as comprehensive vocational competence. In addition to technical expertise, the emotional relationship to the object of work and experiences are important external resources of this expression of Beruflichkeit.

1. Design of working processes and settings

Vocational practices are usually performed in processes set by the company and take place in a collegiality. By playing a part in forming these two conditions, employees bring their Beruflichkeit into the work context, enter interaction with others and thus also appear as subject at the same time. The possibility of shaping work situations and changing working processes is linked to the subject position that they assume by taking up their vocational position in the workplace context. Subjectivity is not only realised in relation to the respective context, but also in the possibility of changing it. Recognition as an equal member of the vocational community is an important external resource in addition to one's own knowledge and skills.

1. Further development of vocational competences

Beruflichkeit also means constantly developing one’s own vocational competences and integrating this development component into one’s own self-image. In this perspective, the development, maintenance and further development of Beruflichkeit appears as an iterative process that develops biographically and takes place over various stations, social constellations and learning settings. Important external resources for this development are the availability of appropriate learning and reflection opportunities in informal, non-formal or formal settings as well as support in using these opportunities.

The examination of Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation makes it possible to understand how people are positioned through their Beruf, how they relate to it and how they position themselves through Beruflichkeit in relation to the demands and possibilities of their vocational work activity. It shows how closely the person and their Beruf are interwoven since Beruf is part of the personality with a strong relation to perception, feelings and acting. With its collective and political references and its complex understanding, which in addition to technical knowledge and skills also includes aspects of identity formation or specific values, the principle of Beruflichkeit not only establishes available subject positions but also provides a framework for development processes related to them. The process of subjectivation in the vocational context takes place in various dimensions that are connected to the assumption of a vocational subject position in learning and practising a Beruf and would not be possible without the connection of person, sociality and Beruflichkeit.

The analysis has shown that the various dimensions of Beruflichkeit as subjectivation are also linked to the availability of biographical, vocational-cultural, social, collegial or organisational resources. This ties in with the basic understanding of subjectivation, which, with the availability of subject positions, carries with it both the question of social inequality and the political shaping of the vocational order. Subjectivation in the form of Beruflichkeit does not take place in an individualised way, but within the social framework of powerful institutions and in the context of collective, social and organisational belonging.

7 Conclusion and outlook

The focus of this contribution was the question of how people are positioned via Berufe, how they relate to this positioning and how they position themselves in the development of their Beruflichkeit. This (self-)positioning via the assumption of socially available and/or assigned subject positions in the appropriation of corresponding positions does not remain external to people, but is inscribed in their perception, thinking, feeling, judging and acting, thus becoming part of their own self-understanding and personality. Exemplary studies were used to work out how the close connection between the person and Beruflichkeit takes place across various dimensions.

This leads to an interest in better understanding the various dimensions in the development of Beruflichkeit and their interplay in connection with subjectivity, society and the world of work. In addition to a deeper reconstruction of these processes and the interaction of becoming-positioned and positioning oneself, this also includes a better understanding of the resources which are relevant in the various dimensions. The attainment of the ability to act in the vocational context depends not only on the availability and appropriation of vocational subject position, but also on the availability of resources of the context or that the subject itself adds to the organisational, social or situational context. At the same time, the question of shaping one’s own employment biography always arises within the framework of available or achievable possibilities.

With the understanding of Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation, not only can VET theory continue its long tradition of examining the relationship between subjectivity, education and occupation, but also VET research can tie in with existing research traditions. These lie, for example, in the area of vocational and occupational socialisation, research on vocational identity, workplace learning, biographical research, inclusion research or vocational orientation and guidance.

In the first section of the article, the possible subject reference of VET was discussed regarding the possibility of being able to form a difference to the context as a human being, even if not always having to do so, i.e. to become visible vis-à-vis the context, its requirements and possibilities, and to be able to act in relation to it. Following on from this, the analysis of Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation gives rise to the task of accompanying processes of subjectivation more strongly as part of VET. Also, it is important to reflect upon attributions and impositions as well as identity or interaction strategies in the context of Beruflichkeit with (prospective) members of the vocational community. The understanding of Beruflichkeit as a form of subjectivation shows that there are some possibilities for apprentices as well as employees in their dealing with their requirements and possibilities of their Beruf. This includes a reflexive examination of specific expectations about dealing with emotions or contradictory demands as well as strengthening the agency to shape working processes and company contexts and the capacity to build a meaningful and beneficial occupational biography. Subjectivation as dealing with and negotiation of identity offers, impositions and possibilities of Beruflichkeit is not limited to a short biographical phase of vocational orientation but is part of vocational education and training in initial and continuing education.

The understanding of subjectivation in the form of Beruflichkeit as a process of becoming and positioning oneself in relation to demands, expectations, impositions and possibilities of a Beruf, as elaborated in this contribution, thus opens a number of questions for future theoretical and empirical work on the reference to the subject in VET. It also hints at ways in which VET can relate to subjectivity, even if these moments are fleeting and – again following Günter Kutscha – the subjectivity that emerges in them necessarily remains contingent.

[1] Johannes Karl Schmees, University of Derby, translated the original German paper to English. Additional work was done by Bill Esmond, University of Derby. All direct quotes have been translated to maintain readability for English-speaking audiences. The author is very grateful for the thoughtful and careful work on the text and would like to express her sincere thanks to Johannes Karl Schmees and Bill Esmond.