Key indicators on vocational education - Insights from Education at a Glance 2023 by Abel Schumann at the OECD webinar Charting the Future of Vocational Education and Training: Insights and Strategies for Tomorrow’s Workforce on 26 October 2023

1. Key indicators on vocational education
Insights from Education at a Glance 2023
Abel Schumann
26 October 2023
OECD Directorate for Education and Skills

2. A high share of VET students is correlated with good labour
market outcomes

3. Countries with a higher share of VET students have higher employment
rates among young adults with upper secondary attainment
[CELLRANG
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLR
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRAN
GE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRA
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
55
65
75
85
95
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Employment
rate
of
25-34
year-olds
with
upper
secondary
or
post-secondary
non-
tertiary
attainment
Share of vocational students among upper secondary students

4. Many countries have scope to expand vocational education
Share of 25-34 year-olds whose highest level of education has a vocational orientation, by level of educational
attainment (2022)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Austria
Slovak
Republic
Romania
Slovenia
France
Poland
Germany
Hungary
Finland
Italy
Switzerland
Canada
Australia
Latvia
New
Zealand
Estonia
Netherlands
Spain
Belgium
Denmark
Czech
Republic
Greece
Sweden
Bulgaria
United…
Norway
Korea
Portugal
Chile
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Iceland
Israel
Ireland
Türkiye
Costa
Rica
United
States
Mexico
Upper secondary (vocational) Post-secondary non-tertiary (vocational) Short-cycle tertiary (vocational)

5. VET does not always serve young people best

6. Relative earnings for workers with vocational qualifications are low
Relative earnings of workers with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment compared
to those with tertiary attainment, by age group (2021)
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
Norway
Canada
Sweden
Denmark
Korea
New
Zealand
Finland
Austria
Greece
Slovak
Republic
France
Belgium
Italy
Netherlands
Germany
OECD
average
Türkiye
Switzerland
EU
average
Czech
Republic
Romania
Mexico
Estonia
Spain
Portugal
United
Kingdom
Bulgaria
Hungary
Latvia
25-34 year-olds 45-54 year-olds

7. VET students are less likely to complete their programme than general
upper secondary students
Upper secondary completion rates, by programme orientation on entry (2021)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Israel
Colombia
Slovenia
Switzerland
France
Sweden
Chile
Latvia
Portugal
Finland
Brazil
Estonia
Austria
Italy
Lithuania
Norway
Spain
Iceland
Luxembourg
Canada
Denmark
United
States
Flemish
Comm.
(Belgium)
French
Comm.
(Belgium)
Completion within the theoretical duration - vocational upper secondary Completion within the theoretical duration - general upper secondary

8. 15% of vocational graduates are not in employment, education or
training after graduating
NEET rates among young adults one to three years after completion of upper secondary or post-secondary non-
tertiary education, by programme orientation (2022)
0
10
20
30
40
50
Greece
Italy
Lithuania
France
Spain
Ireland
Croatia
Estonia
Portugal
EU
average
OECD
average
Bulgaria
Finland
Slovak
Republic
Poland
Romania
Hungary
United…
Belgium
Austria
Denmark
Sweden
Slovenia
Czech
Republic
Germany
Netherlands
Vocational General

9. Making VET more attractive

10. Work-based learning is a key advantage of vocational education
Share of upper secondary vocational students enrolled in combined school- and work-based programmes (2015 and
2021)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Denmark
Hungary
Ireland
Latvia
Switzerland
Germany
Norway
Iceland
Austria
OECD
average
EU
average
United
Kingdom
Australia
France
Slovak
Republic
Luxembourg
Finland
Poland
Chile
Romania
Sweden
Estonia
Belgium
Bulgaria
Israel
Spain
2021 2015

11. VET programmes need to provide pathways to further learning
Distribution of students enrolled in upper secondary vocational education, by type of vocational programme (2021)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Costa
Rica
Finland
Korea
Portugal
Türkiye
Japan
Chile
Mexico
Israel
Latvia
Austria
Greece
Lithuania
Switzerland
Norway
Germany
Italy
Sweden
Slovak…
Poland
Denmark
OECD…
Romania
Croatia
Slovenia
EU
average
Czech…
Hungary
United…
France
Spain
Netherlands
Estonia
Luxembourg
Bulgaria
Belgium
Iceland
Ireland
Programmes giving full level completion with access to tertiary education

12. Women are slightly underrepresented among 25-34 year-olds
with vocational attainment
Share of women among those with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary or short-cycle tertiary
attainment (2022)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Mexico
Costa
Rica
Chile
Germany
Netherlands
Switzerland
United…
Spain
France
Romania
Austria
Greece
Israel
Luxembourg
New
Zealand
Finland
Portugal
OECD
average
Lithuania
EU
average
Latvia
Belgium
Italy
Poland
Türkiye
Estonia
Hungary
Australia
Slovak
Republic
Denmark
Sweden
Czech
Republic
Norway
Slovenia
Iceland
Bulgaria
Canada
Indonesia
Ireland
Japan
Korea
South
Africa
United
States
Upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary (vocational) Short-cycle tertiary

13. Expenditure per student tends to be higher in vocational
programmes
Total expenditure per full-time equivalent upper secondary education student, by programme orientation (2020)
0
5 000
10 000
15 000
20 000
25 000
30 000
Luxembourg
Switzerland
Korea
Norway
Germany
Austria
United
States
Belgium
Netherlands
France
Australia
United
Kingdom
Canada
Sweden
Iceland
Japan
Czech
Republic
OECD
average
Spain
EU
average
New
Zealand
Denmark
Italy
Portugal
Ireland
Finland
Slovenia
Israel
Latvia
Slovak
Republic
Lithuania
Hungary
Poland
Croatia
Estonia
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Chile
Türkiye
Colombia
Mexico
General Vocational

14. Thank you