Raising the profile of vocational education

Over the years, especially in the last few decades, parents and policy makers have made great emphasis on the number of ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels that students managed to obtain. There has been a constant increase in the number of students reading for university degrees.

Vocational qualifications seemed to have taken secondary importance but nowadays vocational education is changing its image. We need to get rid of the two-tier system and it is imperative that vocational education forms an important part of further and higher education.

The fierce competition for jobs between highly qualified graduates often results in staff poaching. Yet, more and more people with traditional degrees but with a lesser amount of job skills, seem to struggle for meaningful employment. 

There are many jobs that are expected to drive economic growth and mobility in the future. Some of these will not necessarily require this traditional academic education pathway. Instead, the vocational path, which includes apprenticeships and on-the-job training, can open doors to an endless array of careers.

The Edge Foundation, an independent education charity in the UK dedicated to raising the status of practical, technical and vocational learning, recently commissioned a report to investigate the changing landscape of the workforce in the next decade and predict the top jobs of the future. The report clearly highlights the need for vocational education and it estimates that 90% of these jobs will be attained through vocational qualifications.

There are clear indications that the health sector and the construction industry will be among the top in-demand occupations. Jobs in IT and i-gaming will also be serious contributors to the employment market. Economic growth will drive expansion, but the greatest influence upon job creation will be the replacement of many of the mid-skilled workforce who will be retiring. We are an ageing population but traditional skilled trades will remain in high demand.

Vocational education should not be seen as a competitor to academic qualifications. It should be complementary to the expansion of the ‘new’ roles that traditional universities venture into. Through expansion we create more jobs and the university graduate and the vocational education student need to work hand in hand to ensure that we have the right personnel in the changing labour market. Traineeships and apprenticeships will go a long way towards providing vocational education students with the right tools for success in their respective careers.

Further research by the Edge Foundation earlier this year, points to another problem that is common all over the world. Jan Hodges, the CEO of the Edge Foundation says that the findings of the report show “that many vocational students felt that their schools and parents did not support their decision to pursue vocational study.

Many felt they would have received greater support had they followed the university route. There is evidently a perception issue when it comes to vocational education; it has become viewed by some as a second-tier offering”.

However, the tide is certainly beginning to turn. The array of vocational qualifications on offer today is greater than ever before.

Vocational education is undergoing an image change. As education professionals, our job is to encourage availability of knowledge and information about all options available to post-16 students. There is a good number of courses available. We need to promote the traditional vocational trades, but we also need to make young people aware of the new challenges that today’s world has to offer.

As educators and parents we should be wise enough to realise each young person’s potential and be supportive of whatever path will empower our students with the skills to succeed, whether academic or in vocational education.