At school to work

“Vocational education and training, which nearly half of all Europeans choose to enrol in after their compulsory education, has a generally positive image among most age groups, linked to the high quality of training on offer and the strong job prospects that this brings”. However, “only 27% of young people aged 15-24 say they would recommend it to their peers”. According to the EU Commission, this shows that “more needs to be done to improve the image and attractiveness of vocational educational and training within this crucial age group”. These are some of the conclusions reached by the European Executive after examining the key findings of a Eurobarometer survey. Future EU priorities for education and vocational training will be addressed at WorldSkills London 2011, the world’s largest, international skills competition. The findings of the survey. The Eurobarometer survey shows that 71% of all interviewees (27thousand residents in Member States) said that the image of vocational training in their country, which starts after high school, is positive, notwithstanding differences between countries. 75% thought that vocational education and training offered “high quality learning”. Other reasons for an overall positive image were highly competent teachers and trainers (76%), access to modern equipment (82%) and opportunities to move onto university studies (68%)”. 82% say that vocational education and training provides the skills sought after by employers”. Around half of the respondents believe that “vocational education and training does not stimulate the creation of small companies while 36% say it does”. A large majority state that vocational education and training “contributes positively to the economy (83%) and that it plays a role in reducing unemployment (76%)”. 41% of respondents aged 15-24 would rather recommend general secondary or higher education” as a preferable choice for young people, compared to 27% who would recommend vocational education and training. Preparation for the job market. “I believe all of us would prefer to fly in an aeroplane with a well-trained pilot rather than a well-educated pilot”, is the metaphor used by the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou commenting on the findings of the survey on vocational training. “Our objective is to achieve the right blend of education and training to suit the vocational world. Investing in vocational education and training is also one of the best ways of combating youth unemployment”. The Commissioner underlined: “by creating high quality training, we enable young people to boost their personal development and to acquire the kind of specific and transferable skills which employers need” and went on to comment on the problems emerged in the survey: “in spite of its advantages vocational education and training is failing to attract enough young people” as compared to market demands. Mechanics, electro-mechanics, textiles and artisan businesses require young trainees to introduce in their productive cycles. “We must continue to improve career guidance”. More registrations, better quality. On 7 October, Commissioner Vassiliou will present future EU priorities for education and vocational training at WorldSkills London 2011, (1,000 young people from more than 55 countries and regions to compete in 46 skill areas). The purpose is to increase the number of young people attending the courses. Despite large differences between countries (as many as 76% are currently enrolled in vocational education and training in the Netherlands, 70% in Slovakia and 66% in the Czech Republic, while this is the case for only 24% in Portugal and Spain and 27% in Malta), “average enrolment figures have been in decline over recent years and the sector needs to modernise in order to continue to offer relevant training”. The European Commission advocates “targeted investment and modernisation of vocational education and training because a strong system has a strong impact on competitiveness and helps to reduce early school leaving”. In December 2010, Education Ministers from 33 European countries (EU-27, Croatia, FYROM , Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey), together with representatives of employers and unions and the European Commission, adopted the ‘Bruges Communiqué’, a package of measures to increase the quality of vocational training in Europe by making it more accessible and relevant to the needs of the labour market.