Everything about Vocational Education totally explained
Vocational education (or
Vocational Education and Training (VET), also called
Career and Technical Education (CTE)) prepares learners for careers that are based in manual or practical activities, traditionally non-
academic and totally related to a specific trade,
occupation or
vocation, hence the term, in which the learner participates. It is sometimes referred to as
technical education, as the learner directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques or
technology.
Generally, vocation and career are used interchangeably. Vocational education might be contrasted with education in a usually broader
scientific field, which might concentrate on
theory and abstract
conceptual knowledge, characteristic of
tertiary education. Vocational education can be at the
secondary or
post-secondary level and can interact with the
apprenticeship system. Increasingly, vocational education can be recognised in terms of
recognition of prior learning and partial
academic credit towards
tertiary education (for example, at a
university) as credit; however, it's rarely considered in its own form to fall under the traditional definition of a
higher education.
Up until the end of the twentieth century, vocational education focused on specific trades such as for example, an automobile
mechanic or
welder, and was therefore associated with the activities of lower
social classes. As a consequence, it attracted a level of stigma. Vocational education is related to the age-old
apprenticeship system of learning.
However, as the labor market becomes more specialized and economies demand higher levels of skill, governments and businesses are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives for businesses. At the post-secondary level vocational education is typically provided by an
institute of technology, or by a local
community college.
Vocational education has diversified over the 20th century and now exists in
industries such as
retail,
tourism,
information technology,
funeral services and
cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and
cottage industries.
VET internationally
Australia
In
Australia vocational education and training is mostly post-secondary and provided through the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system by
Registered Training Organisations. This system encompasses both public and private providers in a national training framework consisting of the
Australian Quality Training Framework
,
Australian Qualifications Framework and
Industry Training Packages which define the assessment standards for the different vocational qualifications.
Since the states and territories are responsible for most public delivery and all regulation of providers, a central concept of the system is "national recognition" whereby the assessments and awards of any one registered training organisation must be recognised by all others and the decisions of any state or territory training authority must be recognised by the other states and territories. This allows national portability of qualifications and units of competency.
A crucial feature of the Training Package system (which accounts for about 60% of publicly-funded training and almost all apprenticeship training) is that the content of the vocational qualifications is theoretically defined by industry and not by government or training providers. A Training Package is "owned" by one of ten Industries Skills Councils which are responsible for developing and reviewing the qualifications.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research or NCVER
(External Link) is a not-for-profit company owned by the federal, state and territory ministers responsible for training. It is responsible for collecting, managing, analysing, evaluating and communicating research and statistics about vocational education and training (VET).
Commonwealth of Independent States
The largest and the most unified system of vocational education was created in the
Soviet Union with the
Professional`no-tehnicheskoye uchilische and,
Tehnikum. But it became less effective with the transition of the economies of post-Soviet countries to a
market economy.
Finland
In
Finland, the vocational education belongs to the secondary education. After the nine-year comprehensive school, almost all students choose either the
lukio, which is an institution preparing students for tertiary education, or a vocational school. Both forms of secondary education last three years, and give a formal qualification to enter university or
ammattikorkeakoulus, for example Finnish polytechnics. In certain fields (for example the police school,
air traffic control person training), the vocational schools have the completed
lukio as an entrance requirement, thus causing the students to complete the secondary education twice.
The education in vocational school is free, and the students from low-income families are eligible for a state student grant. The curriculum is primarily vocational, and the academic part of the curriculum is adapted to the needs of a given course. The vocational schools are mostly maintained by
municipalities.
With a completed secondary education one can enter higher vocational schools (
ammattikorkeakoulu, or
AMK) or universities. Because the vocational school curriculum is work-oriented, its graduates often have difficulty in passing the
entrance exams of the universities.
German language areas
Vocational education is an important part of the education systems in
Austria,
Germany,
Liechtenstein and
Switzerland (including the French speaking part of the country).
For example, in Germany a law (the
Berufsausbildungsgesetz) was passed in 1969 which regulated and unified the vocational training system and codified the shared responsibility of the state, the unions, associations and chambers of trade and industry. The system is very popular in modern Germany: in 2001, two thirds of young people aged under 22 began an apprenticeship, and 78% of them completed it, meaning that approximately 51% of all young people under 22 have completed an apprenticeship. One in three companies offered apprenticeships in 2003; in 2004 the government signed a pledge with industrial unions that all companies except very small ones must take on apprentices.
The vocational education systems in the other German speaking countries are very similar to the German system and a vocational qualification from one country is generally also recognized in the other states within this area.
New Zealand
New Zealand is served by 41 Industry Training Organsiations(ITO). The unique element is that ITOs purchase training as well as set standards and aggregate industry opinion about skills in the labour market. Industry Training, as organised by ITOs, has expanded from apprenticeships to a more true life long learning situation with, for example, over 10% of trainees aged 50 or over. Moreover much of the training is generic. This challenges the prevailing idea of vocational education and the standard layperson view that it focuses on apprenticeships.
The best source for information in New Zealand is through the Industry Training Federation.
(External Link)
Polytechnics, Private Training Establishments, Wananga and others also deliver vocational training, amongst other areas.
United States
In the United States, the approach is varied from state to state. Most of the technical and vocational courses are offered by
Community Colleges, though several states have their own institutes of technology which are on an equal accreditational footing with other state universities.
Historically, junior high schools and high schools have offered vocational courses such as
home economics, wood and metal shop, typing, business courses, drafting and auto repair, though schools have put more emphasis on academics for all students because of
standards based education reform. School to Work is a series of federal and state initiatives to link academics to work, sometimes including spending time during the day on a job site without pay.
Federal involvement is principally carried out through the
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Accountability requirements tied to the receipt of federal funds under this Act help provide some overall leadership. The
Office of Vocational and Adult Education within the US
Department of Education also supervises activities funded by the Act.
The
Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the largest private association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for careers. Its members include CTE teachers, administrators, and researchers.
Coming from a critical pedagogical perspective
Joe L. Kincheloe has provided an alternative view of vocational education, its history and its outcomes. In Kincheloe's work vocational education has often reflected the perspectives of dominant political economic power, working more in the interests of large corporations and business interests than in the needs of vocational educational students. Too often vocational education became a marker of "academic failure" rather than a ticket to good paying, high status jobs. Kincheloe's two books on the topic, Toil and Trouble: Good Work, Smart Workers, and the Integration of Academic and Vocational Education and How Do We Tell the Workers? The Socio-Economic Foundations of Work and Vocational Education have become critical vocational education classics. (
critical pedagogy)
India
Vocational training in India is provided on a full time as well as part time basis. Full time programs are generally offered through
industrial training institutes. Part time programs are offered through state technical education boards or universities who also offer full-time courses. Vocational training has been successful in
India only in industrial training institutes and that too in engineering trades. There are many private institutes in India which offer courses in vocational training and finishing, but most of them have not been recognized by the Government. India is a pioneer in vocational training in Film & Television, and Information Technology.
AAFT
United Kingdom
Vocational Training in the United Kingdom has had a new lease of life in the last decade with a shift in emphasis in schools, colleges and businesses towards it. Schools are now beginning to implement vocational programmes, the Government has introduced new funding under the "Train to Gain" contract and the Leitch Review of 2006 made it quite clear that businesses wanting to stay competitive in the global economy would need to improve staff skills through VET.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Vocational Education'.
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