While remote learning has offered some educational continuity when it comes to academic learning, vocational education has been particularly hard hit by the crisis. Social distancing requirements and the closure of enterprises have made practical and work-based learning that are so crucial for the success of vocational education, difficult or impossible. And yet, this sector plays a central role in ensuring the alignment between education and work, the successful transition into the labour market, and for employment and the economic recovery more generally. Not least, many of the professions that formed the backbone of economic and social life during the lockdown hinge on vocational qualifications.
This year’s Education at a Glance therefore places the spotlight on vocational education and training (VET). Most often provided at upper secondary level, but sometimes also at lower or post-secondary level, VET provides trade, technical and professional skills for the workforce. Often neglected in favour of more prestigious academic routes, VET has often been disregarded in educational policy debates. Indeed, on average across OECD countries, young adults today are less likely to pursue a vocational path and more likely to pursue an academic university degree than their parents were. This may partly reflect long-term labour-market prospects: although young adults with an upper secondary vocational education as their highest attainment are more likely to be employed than those with a general upper secondary one, their employment rate remains more or less stable with age while that of adults with a general upper secondary education increases. In contrast, the employment advantage of a tertiary education continues to increase with age. Earnings are also lower: adults with an upper secondary vocational qualification have similar earnings to those with an upper secondary general qualification, but they earn 34% less than tertiary-educated adults on average across OECD countries. With rising concerns about the unpredictability of the job market and rapid technological advances making way for digitalisation and automation, it is important for VET programmes to adapt and provide students with the skills needed for tomorrow’s society.
Yet the evidence from countries with high-performing vocational systems is that they provide a very effective means of integrating learners into the labour market and opening pathways for further learning and personal growth. During the lockdown that followed the spread of COVID-19, the reliance on vital services such as manufacturing and healthcare, many of which rely on vocational education, has brought to light, more than ever, the need to look at VET with a fresh eye and implement measures to increase its attractiveness to potential learners. One way to do that is to enhance work-based learning and strengthen ties with the private sector. In contrast to exclusively school-based learning, combined school- and work-based programmes provide students with a unique understanding of the workplace. By being placed in direct contact with employers, students assimilate the most relevant skills and gain direct exposure to the labour market. Despite their advantages, these types of VET programmes are still uncommon: they account for only one-third of upper secondary vocational enrolment on average across OECD countries.
Improving the progression from VET into higher levels of education is also important to support students in developing skills that provide value to the workplace. Enabling students to move between programme types, including into higher education, also signals that VET programmes are not an educational dead-end, but can open the door to further learning and self-development. Providing prospects for higher education also encourages vocational students to complete their education. Although the completion rate of students in a vocational upper secondary programme is lower than in general ones, vocational students are more likely to complete their qualification when the programme provides access to tertiary education than when it does not.
Most countries have opened pathways between upper secondary vocational programmes and higher education. On average across OECD countries, almost 7 out of 10 upper secondary vocational students are enrolled in programmes that, in theory, allow them to progress to a higher-level degree. However, while these pathways exist, few actually use them. A survey conducted across a few OECD countries for Education at a Glance 2019 found that the share of vocational students is lower among entrants to bachelor’s or equivalent programmes than at upper secondary level. Although short-cycle tertiary programmes are usually more attractive to vocational students than long-cycle degrees, these do not exist in all countries.
