Training agencies as intermediary organizations in apprentice training in Norway and Switzerland : General purpose or niche production tools?

Abstract

In recent years Norway and Switzerland have introduced local training agencies (TAs), local intermediary organisations consisting of firms involved in apprentice training. In both countries, the starting point for the formation of the TA was roughly similar: enabling more firms to participate in appren- tice training. Despite similar tasks, TAs have developed dif- ferently in the two countries. In Norway TAs have evolved as general-purpose tools in the governance of apprentice train- ing while in Switzerland they are restricted to small niches. The article investigates these different outcomes using the- ories of intermediary organisations in the governance of collective skill formation systems at the local level.