Dual Vocational Education and Training Policy in Andalusia: The Nexus between the Education System and the Business Sector in the Higher-Level Training Cycle of Early Childhood Education Jiménez Ramírez, María Magdalena Lorente García, Rocío García Fuentes, Juan Manuel Dual vocational education and training Early school leaving Early Childhood Education Labour market insertion Dual vocational education and training (dual VET) is a recent policy aimed at establishing strong connections between the education system and the business sector. It serves to ensure the continuity of training, reduce early school leaving, and actively involve the business sector in the training and qualification of students, known as apprentices. Consequently, this approach has a favourable impact on their successful integration into the labour market upon completion of the dual training program. In this study, we investigate the implementation of dual VET in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, focusing on the higher-level training cycle of early childhood education, which falls under the professional family of sociocultural and community services. Through a thorough analysis of interview accounts involving various stakeholders, we shed light on the outcomes of this policy’s implementation. The findings suggest that this emerging policy may have a positive impact on the employability of young individuals by enabling in-company training, which provides them an opportunity to showcase their vocational skills and to combine practical experience with theoretical knowledge. Work mentors are identified as essential contributors to the success of in-company training, as they help foster the necessary capabilities to ensure that dual VET is perceived as a comprehensive training experience rather than as just work experience 2023-10-27T07:16:38Z 2023-10-27T07:16:38Z 2023-09-19 journal article Jiménez Ramírez, Magdalena, Rocío Lorente García, and Juan García Fuentes. 2023. Dual Vocational Education and Training Policy in Andalusia: The Nexus between the Education System and the Business Sector in the Higher- Level Training Cycle of Early Childhood Education. Social Sciences 12: 519. [https://doi.org/10.3390/ socsci12090519] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/85286 https://doi.org/10.3390/ socsci12090519 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI