Across the OECD, approximately half of young people follow vocational education and training (VET) programmes, designed to enable easy access to the world of work. Yet enrolment rates and emphasis on work-based learning, vary widely from country to country. This series of country reports examines the development and growth of VET programmes for young people and adults. Studies focus on how programmes can be most effectively, efficiently and equitably delivered, addressing such questions as: how is VET aligned with future needs of the labour market? How can VET be made attractive to all aspirational learners?
A changing world of work brings the importance of Vocational Education and Training (VET) to the forefront, as it has the ability to develop the skills that are needed in today’s labour markets and societies. At the same time, structural changes highlight the need to re-engineer certain parts of VET systems in some countries to make them more resilient and ensure they can make the most of the opportunities ongoing changes present.
This report zooms in on four key dimensions of future-ready VET systems: i) responsiveness to changing skill needs; ii) the flexibility to make VET work for all; iii) the ability to support transitions into a changing labour market and further learning; iv) the potential of digital technology to innovate VET design and delivery. For each of these dimensions, the report presents a set of key questions that policymakers and other VET stakeholders should consider when re-engineering VET to make it more future-ready, as well as insights from data and international examples of policies and practices.
