Linking the dual system with higher education in Denmark: - when strength becomes weakness

As more than half of every new generation of youth enter higher education in Den-mark the strength of the dual system of vocational education is becoming its weakness. Completing a programme in the dual system doesn’t give access to higher ed-ucation, and the system is increasingly seen as a ‘blind alley’. This weakness is closely related to the strengths of the dual system. The dual system is successful in giving direct and fast access to employment for the students, and this contributes to a very low rate of youth unemployment in Denmark. Students who complete a programme in the dual system, become well integrated into the labour market, but at the same time they are diverted from higher education. This has lately put the question of hybrid qualifications on the agenda in Denmark.