Vocational education
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[[Image:Donetsk park kovanih figur 02.jpg|right|thumb|A [[blacksmith]] is a traditional trade.]]
'''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-[[academics|academic]] and totally related to a specific trade, [[employment|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 [[science|scientific]] field, which might concentrate on [[theory]] and abstract [[concept]]ual knowledge, characteristic of [[tertiary education]]. Vocational education can be at the [[secondary education|secondary]] or [[post-secondary education|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 [[credit (education)|academic credit]] towards [[tertiary education]] (e.g., at a [[university]]) as credit; however, it is 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 class]]es. 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 [[industry|industries]] such as [[retailer|retail]], [[tourism]], [[information technology]], [[funeral]] services and [[cosmetics]], as well as in the traditional crafts and [[cottage industry|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 organisation|Registered Training Organisations]]. This system encompasses both public and private providers in a national training framework consisting of the [http://www.training.com.au/aqtf2007/ Australian Quality Training Framework], [[Australian Qualifications Framework]] and [http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/policy_issues_reviews/key_issues/nts/tpk/ 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 [http://www.ncver.edu.au] 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 ''[[ammattikorkeakoulu]]s'', i.e. Finnish polytechnics. In certain fields (e.g. 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 of Finland|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 [[numerus clausus#Numerus clausus in Finland|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 and the Italian speaking parts 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.[http://www.itf.org.nz]
Polytechnics, Private Training Establishments, Wananga and others also deliver vocational training, amongst other areas.
===United States===
In the United States, the approach varies from state to state. Roughly 70 percent of all postsecondary technical and vocational training is provided by proprietary (privately owned) career schools. The remaining 30 percent is provided primarily by two-year community colleges, which also offer courses transferable to four-year universities, military technical training, and government-operated adult education centers. Several states operate 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 [[United States Department of Education|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 ===
The system of vocational education in the UK initially developed independently of the state, with bodies such as the [[Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce|RSA]] and [[City & Guilds]] setting examinations for technical subjects. The [[Education Act 1944]] made provision for a [[Tripartite System]] of [[Grammar school (United Kingdom)|grammar schools]], [[secondary technical school]]s and [[secondary modern school]]s, but by 1975 only 0.5% of British senior pupils were in technical schools, compared to two-thirds of the equivalent German age group.<ref name="Wolf">Wolf, A. (2002) ''Does Education Matter? Myths about Education and Economic Growth'' London: Penguin.</ref>
Successive recent [[HM Government|British Governments]] have made attempts to promote and expand vocational education. In the 1970s, the [[BTEC|Business & Technician Education Council]] was founded to confer [[further education|further]] and [[higher education|higher]] education awards, particularly to [[polytechnic]]s. In the 1980s and 1990s, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Government promoted the [[Youth Training Scheme]], [[National Vocational Qualification]]s and [[General National Vocational Qualification]]s. However, youth training was marginalised as the proportion of young people staying on in [[Education in the United Kingdom|full-time education]] increased.<ref name="Wolf"/>
In 1994, publicly-funded [[Apprenticeships#United_Kingdom|Modern Apprenticeships]] were introduced to provide "quality training on a work-based (educational) route".<ref>http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/so/youthchron/Education/9197educ.htm</ref> Numbers of apprentices have grown in recent years and the [[Department for Children, Schools and Families]] has stated its intention to make apprenticeships a "mainstream" part of [[England]]'s education system.<ref name="World Class Apprenticeships">World Class Apprenticeships. The Government’s strategy for the future of Apprenticeships in England. DIUS/DCSF, 2008</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*Achilles, C. M.; Lintz, M.N.; and Wayson, W.W. "Observations on Building Public Confidence in Education." EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS 11 no. 3 (1989): 275-284.
*Banach, Banach, and Cassidy. THE ABC COMPLETE BOOK OF SCHOOL MARKETING. Ray Township, MI: Author, 1996.
*Brodhead, C. W. "Image 2000: A Vision for Vocational Education." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 66, no. 1 (January 1991): 22-25.
*Buzzell, C.H. "Let Our Image Reflect Our Pride." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 62, no. 8 (November-December 1987): 10.
*Kincheloe, Joe L. Toil and Trouble: Good Work, Smart Workers, and the Integration of Academic and Vocational Education. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. (1995)
*Kincheloe, Joe L. How Do We Tell the Workers? The Socio-Economic Foundations of Work and Vocational Education. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. (1999)
*Lauglo, Jon; Maclean, Rupert (Eds.) "Vocationalisation of Secondary Education Revisited". [http://www.springer.com/series/6969 Series: Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects ], Vol. 1. Springer. (2005)
*O'Connor, P.J., and Trussell, S.T. "The Marketing of Vocational Education." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 62, no. 8 (November-December 1987): 31-32.
*Ries, E. "To 'V' or Not to 'V': for Many the Word 'Vocational' Doesn't Work." TECHNIQUES 72, no. 8 (November-December 1997): 32-36.
*Ries, A., and Trout, J. THE 22 IMMUTABLE LAWS OF MARKETING. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.
*Sharpe, D. "Image Control: Teachers and Staff Have the Power to Shape Positive Thinking." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 68, no. 1 (January 1993): 26-27.
*Shields, C.J. "How to Market Vocational Education." CURRICULUM REVIEW (November 1989): 3-5
*Silberman, H.F. "Improving the Status of High School Vocational Education." EDUCATIONAL HORIZONS 65, no. 1 (Fall 1986): 5-9.
*Tuttle, F.T. "Let's Get Serious about Image-Building." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 62, no. 8 (November-December 1987): 11.
*"What Do People Think of Us?" TECHNIQUES 72, no. 6 (September 1997): 14-15.
*[[Asian Academy Of Film & Television]]
==See also==
{{Education by subject}}
*[[Apprenticeship]]
*[[Community college]]
*[[Constructivism (learning theory)]]
*[[Family and consumer science]]
*[[Finishing school]]
*[[Further education]]
*[[IEK]]: Vocational education schools in [[Greece]].
*[[Institute of technology]]
*[[Technical and Further Education]] ([[Australia]])
*[[Training]]
*[[Vocational school]]
*[[Vocational Training (TVET)Consultants]]
*[[Vocational university]]
*[[Widening participation]] (UK)
==External links==
===Vocational Guidance===
*[http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/services/votech.htm Choosing a Career or Vocational School]
*[http://www.collegesearchengine.net/article/How-to-Decide-Between-a-4-year-College-and-Trade-School/1/ How to Decide Between a 4-Year College and a Trade School]
*[http://www.vocschools.com/ VocSchools-The Most Comprehensive School Search Engine on the Internet]
===Vocational School Examples===
*[http://www.autoeducation.com/schools Automotive Vocational Schools], a website devoted to vocational schools in the automotive field.
*[http://www.jschool.com.au Jschool: Journalism Education & Training], an example of a vocational college in journalism education.
*[http://medvotech.nurseuniverse.com/ Medical Vocational Schools], a website devoted to vocational schools in the medical field.
*[http://www.teachamantofish.org.uk/ Agricultural Vocational Schools], website for the '''Teach'''A'''Man'''To'''Fish''' network of agricultural vocational schools.
===ERIC Articles===
*[http://www.ericdigests.org/1998-1/learning.htm Constructivism, Workplace Learning, and Vocational Education]
*[http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/business.htm The Business of Vocational Education]
*[http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9213/vocational.htm Employers' Expectations of Vocational Education]
*[http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-925/rate.htm Reducing the Dropout Rate through Career and Vocational Education]
*[http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/21st.htm Vocational Education's Image for the 21st Century]
*[http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/vocational.htm Vocational Education Performance Standards]
===National and International organisations and agencies===
*[http://www.dest.gov.au/ Australian Department of Education, Science and Training]
*[http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/957.html Australian NCVER listing of web sites, Australian and international, containing vocational education and training (VET) information]
*[http://cevet.upb.de/ cevet - centre for vocational education and training]
*[http://www.skillsdevelopment.org City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development]
*[http://www.cedefop.eu.int European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP)]
*[http://www.efvet.org European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (EFVET)]
*[http://www.bibb.de/en/index.htm German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)]
*[http://www.itf.org.nz Industry Training Federation (ITF), the New Zealand national association of Industry Training Organisations]
*[http://www.unevoc.unesco.org UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training]
*[http://www.dfes.gov.uk/index.htm UK Department for Education and Skills]
*[http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/ Learning and Skills Network (England)]
*[http://www.niace.org.uk National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (UK)]
*[http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education Scottish Executive Education Department]
*[http://www.doleta.gov/atels_bat/ US Dept of Labor of Employment and Training Administration - Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer and Labor Services (OATELS)]
*[http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/index.html US Dept of Education - Office of Vocational and Adult Education]
*[http://www.policyalmanac.org/economic/job_training.shtml U.S. Job Training and Vocational Education Programs]
*[http://www.acteonline.org Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)]
===Reports===
*[http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/2000029.pdf Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000] US National Center for Education Statistics
*[http://www.skillsdevelopment.org.uk/PDF/Final%20Report.pdf Skills Development: Attitudes and Perceptions] City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development, London
===Case studies===
*[http://trades.flexiblelearning.net.au/ e-Learning in the Trades: Six case studies of trade skills trainers who are using blended delivery techniques]
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[[Category:Vocational education| ]]
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