Learning for Jobs For OECD member countries, high-level workplace skills are considered a key means of supporting economic growth. Systems of vocational education and training (VET) are now under intensive scrutiny to determine if they can deliver the skills required. Learning for Jobs is an OECD study of vocational education and Learning for Jobs training designed to help countries make their VET systems more responsive to labour market needs. It expands the evidence base, identifies a set of policy options and develops tools to appraise VET policy initiatives. OECD is conducting country VET policy reviews in Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flanders), the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (England and Wales) and the United States (South Carolina and Texas). A first report on Chile and a short report on the People’s Republic of China have also been prepared. The initial report of Learning for Jobs is available on the OECD website: www.oecd.org/edu/learningforjobs. Learning for Jobs for Learning The full text of this book is available on line via this link: www.sourceoecd.org/education/9789264082236 Those with access to all OECD books on line should use this link: www.sourceoecd.org/9789264082236 SourceOECD is the OECD online library of books, periodicals and statistical databases. For more information about this award-winning service and free trials, ask your librarian, or write to us at [email protected]. ISSN 2077-7728 ISbN 978-92-64-08223-6 www.oecd.org/publishing 91 2010 04 1 P -:HSTCQE=U]WWX[: Synthesis Report of the OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training Learning for Jobs ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where governments work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries. ISBN 978-92-64-08223-6 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-08746-0 (PDF) Series: OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training ISSN 2077-7728 (print) ISSN 2077-7736 (online) Also available in French: Formation et emploi : relever le défi de la réussite Photo credits: Cover © Andres Rodriguez - Fotolia.com Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda © OECD 2010 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgment of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to [email protected]. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at [email protected] français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at [email protected]. FOREWORD – 3 Foreword Following a severe recession the need to help young people into work is a major objective for OECD countries and their education systems. Vocational education and training for young people can play a big role in meeting this challenge but, as this report makes clear, reforms are needed in many countries. Those graduating from vocational programmes need to be equipped not just with the skills that will get them their first job, but also with the broader capacities for further learning on and off the job that will support career development in a labour market undergoing rapid evolution. To that end, vocational programmes need to be of high quality, with teachers and trainers who understand the needs of modern industry, and linked to clear opportunities for further learning. Workplace learning should play an important role in all vocational programmes. Above all, we need an effective partnership between education and training systems and industry, to provide for workplace training, to ensure that skills have real labour market relevance and that young people gain an early appreciation and understanding of the world of work. This OECD report is linked to 17 individual country studies undertaken across the globe. In this review, and in its successor on postsecondary vocational education and training, to be undertaken in 2011-12, our aim is to exploit the rich diversity of international experience in this field, and thereby help countries to develop their policies. The authors of this report were Simon Field, Kathrin Hoeckel, Viktória Kis and Małgorzata Kuczera. Jennifer Gouby played the key role of preparing the text and steering the report to publication. LEARNING FOR JOBS © OECD 2010 4 – ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout this study, and the preparation of this report, the authors have been guided by the Group of National Experts on Vocational Education and Training, and the work is heavily indebted to the advice and contributions from members of that Group. In the reviewed countries, we are extremely grateful to the national authorities for their help and advice in facilitating the country visits, and to all those who contributed, particularly the national co-ordinators – in Australia Oon Ying Chin, Lorelle Johnson and Astrida Upitis; in Austria Reinhard Nöbauer; in Belgium-Flanders Evelien Masschelein; in Chile Hernán Araneda, Eliana Chamizo, Alejandra Villarzú Gallo and Katherine Villaroel; in China Jiaming Liu; in the Czech Republic Milada Stalker and Jitka Pohanova; in England and Wales Roger Cotes, Susan Edwards and Andrew Price; in Germany Lena Arends and Arne Simon; in Hungary Zsófia Lux; in Ireland Ciara Phelan and Padraig Creed; in Korea Eunsang Cho; in Mexico Deni Sánchez and Juan Manuel Martínez de la Calle; in Norway Cecilia Lyche; in Sweden Erik Henriks; in Switzerland Adrian Wüest; in the United States Bob Couch, Ray Boland and Amy McCaskill (South Carolina) and Vangie Stice-Israel (Texas). We are very grateful to the experts who were part of the individual country review teams or contributed expert papers. These were Giorgio Brunello, Mark Cully, Jim Davidson, Luisa Ferreira, Emily Forrest Cataldi, Norton Grubb, Gábor Halász, Nancy Hoffman, Troy Justesen, Bob Schwartz, Stefan Wolter, Tony Watts and Thomas Zwick. Within the OECD, the work is heavily indebted to a number of colleagues, including Susan Copeland, Cassandra Davis, Mihály Fazekas, Deborah Fernandez, Moonhee Kim, Elke Lüdemann, Afonso Mendoza- Reis, Svenja Petersen, Paulo Santiago, Anne Sonnet and Greg Wurzburg. Deborah Roseveare, as Head of the Education and Training Policy Division was an unfailing support throughout the life of the project. LEARNING FOR JOBS © OECD 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS – 5 Table of contents Learning for Jobs: summary and policy messages ....................................................... 9 Chapter 1 The vocational challenge ............................................................................. 23 Why look at vocational education and training? .......................................................... 24 The value of vocational programmes for young people ............................................... 26 How initial VET depends on labour market characteristics ......................................... 29 Adapting vocational programmes to the modern world ............................................... 31 The OECD review ........................................................................................................ 39 References ....................................................................................................................... 43 Chapter 2 Meeting labour market needs ..................................................................... 47 Funding and the mix of provision ................................................................................ 48 Getting the right number of trained persons ................................................................. 51 Getting the right mix of skills in vocational programmes ............................................ 59 Meeting labour market needs: conclusion .................................................................... 68 References ......................................................................................................................