Comparative report
Chapter 4. A diverse and evolving landscape characterises vocational education and training
EU-level 2025 target: ‘At least 60% of recent graduates from VET should benefit from exposure to work-based learning during their vocational education and training by 2025’
4.1. VET and work-based learning provide skills for today and for the future
Vocational education and training (VET) aims to equip young people and adults with the knowledge, skills and competences required in specific occupations or more broadly on the labour market. It covers a wide range of qualifications: initial VET at secondary level, continuing VET for adults and vocationally oriented education and training at higher levels. In recent years, the offer of VET programmes has become more diverse, driven by the importance of lifelong learning and the needs of a changing labour market, notably the green and digital transitions98.
Nearly half of all pupils in upper secondary education in the EU (48.7% in 2020) are enrolled in VET (as opposed to programmes with a general orientation)99. In absolute numbers, this corresponds to over 8.7 million students in upper secondary VET programmes. The share of VET in upper secondary education varies considerably across EU Member States, from less than 25% in Cyprus, Ireland and Lithuania to over 70% in Czechia and Slovenia (Figure 11)100.
Figure 11. Across the EU, nearly half of all pupils enrolled in upper secondary education are in vocational programmes
In addition to pupils enrolled in upper secondary vocational education, 1.3 million learners were enrolled in post-secondary, non-tertiary vocational education in 2020, with the vocationally oriented programmes covering 94% of all students at this level. An additional 1.3 million were enrolled in short-cycle vocational education at tertiary level (98% of all students at this level are in vocational streams)101. Indeed, higher level VET is gaining importance102.
The 2020 Council Recommendation on VET sets out key principles to ensure VET provides quality learning opportunities for young people and adults. The Recommendation is strongly focused on increased flexibility, increased opportunities for work-based learning and apprenticeships, and improved quality assurance103. The Recommendation also sets three EU-level objectives to be achieved by 2025: (1) at least 60% of recent VET graduates benefit from some form of work-based learning during their studies104; (2) at least 8% of VET learners study abroad (see Section 4.2)105; and (3) at least 82% of VET graduates are employed (see Section 4.3).
Box 12. A spotlight on apprenticeships
The 2018 Council Recommendation on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (EFQEA) aims to increase the employability and personal development of apprentices and help develop a highly skilled and qualified workforce, responsive to labour market needs and a cohesive society.
Some 3 years after the EFQEA Recommendation was adopted, the Commission examined how EU Member States had put the framework and the criteria it set into practice. Key findings of the report show that most Member States had criteria on learning and working conditions106 in place. Further progress is needed in implementing framework conditions107, notably graduate tracking. The report also indicates that the framework supports Member States in incrementally and continuously improving their apprenticeship schemes, including on those criteria that were already partially in place in 2018. In conclusion, the analysis confirms that the EFQEA remains a key instrument to improve the quality and effectiveness of apprenticeships across the EU.
The Commission continues to help Member States implement the framework and, more broadly, it helps the wider apprenticeship community by improving the supply, quality and image of apprenticeships, as well as the mobility of apprentices, also through the European Alliance for Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Support Services.
For learners in VET, work-based learning108 is highly beneficial: it equips them with the technical skills and knowledge that are specific to their chosen profession, as well as more general work-related skills. Work-based learning can make for a more rewarding learning experience for young people that are eager to discover the world of work. Young people’s skills that are relevant to the labour market, as well as their contacts with employers, can smoothen school-to-work transitions.
Newly collected data reveal substantial differences across Member States in terms of VET graduates’ exposure to work-based learning during their vocational education and training.
Newly collected data reveal substantial differences across Member States (Figure 12). In several countries, notably Romania, Poland and Greece, work-based learning in VET remains rather exceptional (with less than 20% of learners exposed to it). By contrast, in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria, over 90% of learners in VET have gained work experience as part of their curriculum. In 2021, the EU average stood at 61%, thereby just exceeding the level of the 2025 target109.
Figure 12. VET pupils and students’ participation in work-based learning varies strongly across Member States
On average, close to 40% of VET learners who were engaged in work-based learning had paid work experience, with male students paid more often than female students in every Member State110. However, behind this average there are large differences between countries (ranging from 94.5% in Germany to 2.3% in Italy). Work-based learning experience that lasted for long periods (7 months or longer) is common practice in only a few Member States, including Germany, Austria and the Netherlands111.
4.2. The mobility of VET learners was interrupted by the pandemic
Supporting VET learner and staff mobility abroad has been a cornerstone of European cooperation in VET112. It has provided a wide range of personal, professional and academic benefits to participants, whether gaining new transferable skills, boosting self-confidence or contributing to cultural awareness and open-mindedness113.
Figure 13. The gradual increase in VET mobility was interrupted by the COVID pandemic
However, COVID-19 suspended practical training in most sectors (Box 13) and greatly affected transnational mobility. Seasonal fluctuations notwithstanding, the demand for EU-funded VET mobility had been growing steadily for years until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all education and training activities. Figure 13 confirms this gradual increase in VET mobility participants over the years, and its interruption at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, with some recovery beginning in May 2021114.
Box 13. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on work-based learning
The impact of lockdown measures on learning may have been particularly damaging in certain fields of VET. In addition to school closures, VET students were often affected by closures and social distancing requirements of businesses where the practical part of the combined school-and-workplace programmes was due to take place. This may have resulted in cancellation and/or postponement of substantial parts of workplace-based education, with negative consequences for students’ learning.
The limitations and closures of workplace-based education varied strongly by sector. For example, healthcare and the food industry often continued their vocational education programmes, whereas lockdowns led to lengthy interruptions in leisure and tourism. As a result, participation in (certain fields of) VET fell in some countries.
In Germany, the number of new apprenticeships dropped by 9.3% in 2020 compared with 2019 (from about 510 870 to 463 331) and 23% of German companies reported knowledge transfer gaps in VET due to the pandemic. The Finnish National Agency for Education estimated a reduction of 4% in the number of VET graduates in 2021 compared with the previous year. In the Netherlands, VET learners had difficulties finding internships and the quality of internships was perceived to have deteriorated.
Source: Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) review 2022.In addition, it is worth looking at the duration of VET mobility, albeit largely pre-COVID. Overall, from 2014 to 2020, the average VET placement abroad lasted 31 days. The duration of VET learner mobility varied significantly depending on the country concerned (Figure 14). These differences in duration were mainly due to national circumstances, as the offer for support provided by Erasmus does not vary across countries. Only 7% of VET learners remained abroad for over 3 months115.
Figure 14. Average VET mobility duration ranges from 2 weeks to 2 months
4.3. VET is a pathway onto the labour market
The employment of recent graduates is an important benchmark for VET, given the aim to equip learners with skills for specific occupations or the labour market in general. By 2025, the EU has set a target of 82% for the employment rate of medium-level VET graduates116. In 2021, this rate stood at 76.4% (Figure 15)117. In terms of employment, the VET graduates clearly outperformed graduates from medium-level general education (61.7%), though lagged behind the average employment rate of graduates from tertiary education (84.9%).
Figure 15. In most Member States, recent VET graduates have good employment prospects
Again, the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly affected the employment of VET graduates118. Across the EU on average, their employment rate dropped by nearly 3 percentage points between 2019 and 2020. Decreases occurred in nearly all Member States, except for Romania and Latvia. The recovery remains incomplete at EU level, with an increase by 0.7 percentage points between 2020 and 2021. The recovery is driven by a starkly diverse pattern across countries. In 12 Member States, there was a (continued) decline, whereas the remaining 15 Member States recorded an increase119.
In a nutshell
Nearly half (48.7%) of all pupils enrolled in upper secondary education are in vocational education and training (VET). The 2022 Education and Training Monitor captures progress towards three key objectives for the VET sector, covering work-based learning, mobility and graduate employability. In terms of work-based learning, newly collected data reveal major differences between countries. While at EU level, the 2025 target seems within reach, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be captured. The pandemic has also interrupted a gradual increase in VET learner mobility, with some recovery beginning in May 2021. Furthermore, at 76.4% in 2021, the employment rates of recent VET graduates suffered from the pandemic too, with recovery remaining incomplete.
Notes
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98. See the 2022 Commission brochure on skills for today and for the future.
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99. In lower secondary education, VET oriented programmes account for a relatively small share of the enrolled pupils: approximately 393 000 pupils or 2% of the overall population at this level. Monitor Toolbox
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100. Male pupils form a majority of upper secondary VET pupils (58%), whereas at post-secondary non-tertiary level, female learners are more numerous (59%). The most popular fields of study also differ. At upper secondary level, the main field is ‘engineering, manufacturing and construction’, whereas at post-secondary non-tertiary level, it is ‘health and welfare’. Monitor Toolbox At short-cycle tertiary level, enrolment is more balanced between men (52%) and women (48%), but fields of study remain gendered: ‘engineering, manufacturing and construction’ for men; ‘services’ and ‘business, administration and law’ for women). Monitor Toolbox Similar gender stereotypes in study choice are found in tertiary education (Section 5.2).
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102. In 2022, the OECD, with EU financial support, published a report on ‘Pathways to Professions’, providing comparative data and analyses on higher vocational and professional tertiary education systems. The study shows there is a wide diversity in VET programmes, including two‑year programmes in tertiary institutions, professional bachelor degrees and free‑standing professional examinations designed to upskill existing professionals. Professional programmes are sometimes the only type of tertiary education directly accessible from upper secondary VET. In some cases, these programmes provide a bridge into ‘academic’ higher education.
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103. The 2020 Osnabrück Declaration on VET complements the Council Recommendation by defining concrete actions for 2021-25 at both national and EU level.
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104. Also enshrined in the EEA Strategic framework Resolution.
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105. The 8% VET learning mobility target for 2025 will be measured as the share of mobile learners in a calendar year, as a proportion of a cohort of VET graduates in the same year. The indicator will be based on the mobility data sourced from Erasmus+ data and VET graduate data sourced from the UOE data collection.
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106. These criteria refer to: a written agreement; learning outcomes; pedagogical support; a workplace component; pay or compensation; social protection; and work, health and safety conditions.
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107. These criteria include: a regulatory framework; involvement of social partners; support for companies; flexible pathways and mobility; career guidance and awareness raising; transparency; and quality assurance and tracking of apprentices.
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108. Work-based learning in this context refers to experience gained at a workplace (i.e. beyond or in addition to school-based learning or practical exercises at a training centre). The relevant work experience is part of the curriculum of the formal programme leading to the VET qualification (unlike most traineeships). Within these boundaries, there is large variety in work-based learning. Work experience can take place in different sectors and types of workplaces (companies, government institutions or non-profit organisations), with varying duration (from 1 month to a year or more). Learners may work under different contractual statuses (e.g. dual learning with employment contract, apprenticeship) and conditions (paid or unpaid work experience). The indicator includes all VET graduates who left the VET programme 0-3 years ago, including those who are still in education and training, to cover the graduate population in the most comprehensive way while ensuring the quality and the precision of the indicator.
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109. However, caution is warranted when comparing the 2021 EU average to the 2025 target. Firstly, the brand new data yield low data reliability for some Member States, and unavailability for others. Some data revisions may occur. Secondly, a large part of the work-based learning recorded in 2021 (work experience while studying, having graduated in the last 3 years) precedes the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter is known to have had a major negative impact on work-based learning (Box 13).
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112. The 2021-27 Erasmus+ programme provides unprecedented levels of support for VET learners and staff mobility, ensuring adequate levels of funding to help almost 2 million VET learners and staff study/work abroad.
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113. Learning mobility in VET also helps modernise education and training systems through close cooperation with VET providers and companies abroad, while providing companies with access to high skilled learners. It benefits society at large with qualified people contributing to high levels of innovation, growth and social cohesion.
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114. Note that figures relate to the 2014-20 Erasmus+ programme and do not yet include mobility figures funded under the new 2021-27 programme. However, even if VET mobility activities have gained a new impetus since early 2021, the levels of mobility are still far below the pre-COVID-19 level.
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115. According to a 2021 Cedefop paper, the duration of mobility tends be lower for apprentices (3% having a mobility spell of 3 months or longer) when compared to other VET learners (8.6%).
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116.Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary levels.
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117. The employment outcomes depend on many factors: the macro-economic context of a given country, decisions of graduates to re-enter education and training or be active on the labour market, as well as the different impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across occupations. For more information, see the Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) review 2022.
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118. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, employment rates have been volatile for recent graduates of all education levels (from 79.9% in 2019 to 77.4% in 2020 and 78.7% in 2021). Whereas in 2020 the decline in employment rates for recent VET graduates (-3.4 percentage points) was less pronounced than for those in general secondary education (-4.5 percentage points), the latter recovered more strongly in 2021 (3.4 percentage points compared to 0.7 percentage points for VET). Still, there remains a sizeable gap: in 2021, the employment rates for recent medium-level VET graduates were nearly 15 percentage points higher than those of their peers from upper secondary education with general orientation.
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119. Nevertheless, throughout the COVID-19-induced crisis, the relative performance of Member States did not change substantially: the gap between the highest and lowest employment rates in 2021 exceeds 40 percentage points, as it did in 2019. Most of the top performers in 2019 managed to sustain high employment rates.