Vocational Education The European Union has identified Vocational Education and Training (VET) as an essential tool in its attempts to prepare young people for work in the modern economy and also in its bid to ensure that Europe remains competitive and innovative in the face of increasing global competition and shifting demographics. However, there still seems to be a sceptical air surrounding the term ‘vocational education’ when comparing it to traditional education. In the current economic climate, are people aware of what vocational education is, its value and what it means to their education path? According to a recent survey, the number of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training in England is three times the number of people who work in the City of London. This is the information that many young college-and school-leavers are faced with, yet will still pursue their chosen education route regardless of the consequences. To help more young people gain work and stop the trend of the declining employment rate for this group, we need to understand why vocational education is frowned upon and almost reinvent it to ensure that it’s not overlooked as a key qualification that is proven to enhance employment rate. To get to the bottom of the problem, let’s ask ourselves some questions. Do people sometimes believe that vocational education is an ‘easy’ option? Do they think that it has less worth than a general qualifications route? I can only see that it is the lack of understanding of vocational pathways that contributes to this problem. This, in turn got me to wondering – how do young people and their parents view vocational education and the role of information, advice and guidance? In recent research from Chrysalis, it was found that young people weighed up a combination of personal preferences and external factors when making decisions about their education and future employment. They felt that information linking their courses with career routes and university courses was limited. This made it difficult for them to make informed choices about qualifications. For parents, awareness of the phrase ‘vocational education’ was highest among those who had higher-level qualifications and for those whose children were already following a vocational route. It was also observed that parents offer advice about vocational routes less frequently (only 37 per cent parents) and effectively than for other options. So the route of the problem can be seen to be caused by lack of information or awareness and lack of precedent to challenge the staus quo. Furthermore, the quantitative and qualitative findings of the same research suggest that parents and teachers do not challenge young people’s perceptions of vocational qualifications. As a result, we have relatively few young people in our schools who would actively consider vocational options. If this lack of education and encouragement in the area of vocational training continues, the trend for pursuing qualification-based education is not likely to be reversed. Perhaps a more enlightened campaign is needed aimed at challenging young people’s and parents’ perceptions of vocational qualifications and the benefit it could have on a young person’s career. This could go some way to encourage young people to assess their suitability more objectively and consider all options available to them. I’d welcome any comments and feedback on this topic – particularly how you feel Vocational Education is perceived in your area. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding this post or Vocational Education in general. I hope you enjoyed it!
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 17:22:27 +0000
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