This book addresses what is, perhaps, the single most important issue for vocational education; its relatively low standing in an era of high aspiration. The work explores the nature, extent and consequences for an educational sector that whilst having an increasingly important role in contemporary societies is seen to be of low standing across…

What is the significance of regulations of job contracts and wages when it comes to young people's access to labour market? This is an issue that has attracted and continues to attract a great deal of interest in both research and politics. Proposals for deregulated employment protection and reduced entry-level pay recur regularly in public…

Looking at the current figures for enrolment and completion, vocational education and training (VET) in Denmark is in a bad way. Over the course of the last 15 years, significantly fewer students have enrolled in VET, whereas enrolments in general upper secondary education have increased. Furthermore, approximately half the students enrolling in…

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a crucial role in the social inclusion of refugees. The aim of this paper is to examine how the VET systems of Austria, Denmark and Germany responded to the arrival of young refugees since 2015. VET in these countries is categorised as system of collective skill formation, which offers…

The present study aims at investigating the long-term cognitive effects of vocational education and training (VET) in Sweden and Denmark using data from the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills. While Sweden has moved towards a more academic vocational education, Denmark has kept the apprenticeship system. Using multiple regression analysis we estimate…

The concept of 'aesthetic labour' is relatively new in work-life research. It focuses on how service organisations utilise the physical appearance and personality of employees to support a particular business brand. In this way, employees are used as part of a differentiation marketing strategy. Whereas much of the research in aesthetic labour…

Apprenticeships for adults are one of the policy solutions to the need for supporting adults willing to train, while broadening the skills base of the working population across Europe. According to Cedefop estimates, there are around 128 million adults with potential for upskilling or reskilling in the European Union (EU). EU Member States have…

In a context of considerable interest in apprenticeship in recent years, Cedefop and the OECD decided to explore its future from the perspective of a number of megatrends, including sociodemographic changes, the accelerated adoption of emerging technologies and new forms of work organisation. They also considered how these trends have affected,…

Educational institutions, especially those facilitating vocational education and training (VET), face the challenge of combining social goals, such as the provision of quality education for a large section of the population, with rising economic utility demands. However, we know little about how VET systems institutionalize these different demands…

Purpose: A fundamental assumption of the apprenticeship model is that there are benefits to both employers and individual learners. This study offers a broad conceptual interrogation of this inherent assumption underpinning the apprenticeship model. Approach: This study combines analysis of literature and available data and draws upon…

Concise, clear and comprehensive snapshots of vocational education and training systems in EU, Iceland and Norway: this is what the Cedefop Spotlight on VET series offers. Building on individual country Spotlights, this publication provides an overview of VET systems with their distinctive qualities, such as main accession and progression routes…

Realising the potential of work-based learning schemes as a driver of productivity requires careful design and support. The length of work-based learning schemes should be adapted to the profile of productivity gains. A scheme that is too long for a given skill set might be unattractive for learners and waste public resources, but a scheme that is…

This research paper is the fifth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on comparative analysis of labour force survey data from 2014, the report analyses the vocational effect on labour market and education outcomes, asking whether any advantages conferred by vocational…

There is a notable difference in occupational injury rates in the two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Denmark, with the latter having a 40% higher rate of fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry. This study explored differences in the vocational education and training (VET) systems between Sweden and Denmark that may be…

This report is the result of an explorative study, carried out at a time when interest in apprenticeship for adults was on the rise and research and evidence on the topic was scarce and fragmented. It has explored the topic from a conceptual and theoretical point of view, reviewing relevant existing research. It has also considered a practical…