Working it out

Abstract

JT03434298 This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. 2 │ EDU/WKP(2018)11 WORKING IT OUT: CAREER GUIDANCE AND EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT Unclassified OECD education working papers series OECD Working Papers should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein are those of the author(s). Working Papers describe preliminary results or research in progress by the author(s) and are published to stimulate discussion on a broad range of issues on which the OECD works. Comments on Working Papers are welcome, and may be sent to the Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD,

What characterises upper secondary vocational education and training?

“…Education choices are important for young people, although students may not always have realistic labour market expectations. Some education and training options, and the occupations to which they are a gateway, are often poorly understood (Musset and Mytna Kurekova, 2018 [6] ). Students' socio-economic background and personal circumstances can also shape their career thinking and have a significant impact on their educational outcomes (OECD, 2018 [2] ), thus making the case for stronger career guidance early on.…”

Percentage of firms employing more than 10 people providing work-based learning opportunities to learners enrolled in upper secondary VET, 2015

“…Such discretion demands that local actors have sufficient capacity to be able to take action according to the information that they receive (ILO and UNESCO, 2018 [3]). However, as recent OECD (Kuczera and Jeon, 2019 [26]) analysis of VET provision in Sweden has highlighted, high levels of school autonomy, particularly when combined with market incentives, run risks of becoming misaligned with local demand. Institutions can avoid provision that is more expensive or less certain of securing student numbers.…”

“…The 290 municipalities in Sweden are responsible for upper secondary and adult education. About one-third of the school provision at the upper secondary level is private (Kuczera and Jeon, 2019 [26]).…”

“…This is not an unfamiliar challenge across the OECD. In Sweden, for example, while VET schools are expected to manage a Local Programme Committee to bring together social partners to support the delivery of upper secondary National VET Programmes, in reality it proves too great a challenge -and it is likely that more effective collaboration will take place at regional or sub-regional level (Kuczera and Jeon, 2019 [26]).…”

“…Further, the engagement of social partners also varies from purely advisory to decision making. Some countries with apprenticeship systems, such as Denmark and Norway, have given the social partners decision-making influence over aspects of VET where social partners can decide on the content of VET within certain limitations (Kuczera and Jeon, 2019 [26]). An analysis of the formal social partner influence in seven OECD countries shows the different ways social partners are involved (Table 2.3).…”