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Data extracted in December 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: January 2017.
Table 1: Share of students in vocational programmes, 2013
(%)
Source: Eurostat (educ_uoe_enrs01), (educ_uoe_enrs04) and (educ_uoe_enrs07)
Figure 1: Proportion of females among all graduates from vocational programmes, 2013 (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (educ_uoe_grad01)
Figure 2: Pupil-teacher ratio in vocational programmes, 2013 (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (educ_uoe_perp04)
Figure 3: Proportion of enterprises providing initial vocational training, 2010 (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (trng_cvts86)
Figure 4: Share of enterprises providing continuing vocational training, 2005 and 2010
(%)
Source: Eurostat (trng_cvts02)
Table 2: Proportion of enterprises providing continuing vocational training, 2010
(%)
Source: Eurostat (trng_cvts01)
Figure 5: Proportion of persons employed
(in enterprises providing continuing vocational training courses) participating in continuing vocational training courses, 2010 (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (trng_cvts46)
Figure 6: Cost of continuing vocational training courses per participant, 2010 (1)
(purchasing power standards)
Source: Eurostat (trng_cvts17)
Table 3: Costs of CVT courses relative to total labour costs for all enterprises, 2010
(%)
Source: Eurostat (trng_cvts54)
Table 4: Enterprises not providing continuing vocational training, 2010
(%)
Source: Eurostat (trng_cvts08)

This article presents statistics on vocational training in the European Union (EU) and forms part of an online publication on education and training in the EU. The article provides a comprehensive picture of vocational education and training in the EU, including both, vocational education of younger students in schools, as well as vocational training of adults in enterprises. The article focuses first on vocational education within the school system, in other words generally part of initial education. Students may undertake vocational education as part of secondary or tertiary education and before they fully enter the labour market.

The second part looks at vocational training within enterprises, briefly presenting initial vocational training (IVT) within enterprises and closing with more detailed information relating to continuing vocational training (CVT) within enterprises. Only enterprises from the business economy are included in the analysis here and this includes almost all economic activities apart from agriculture, forestry and fishing, public administration and defence, compulsory social security, education, human health and social work activities.

Main statistical findings

Vocational training within secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education

The first section of this article looks at vocational education within secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education, typically within educational institutions: generally this concerns initial education, before a person’s first entrance to the labour market, although it can include adult education. Within these education levels, vocational programmes can be distinguished from general programmes, as vocational programmes are designed for learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies specific to a particular occupation or trade.

Numbers of pupils

Within lower secondary education, vocational programmes are relatively rare, followed by 2.9 % of students in the EU-28 (excluding the Netherlands) in 2013. A somewhat higher proportion of males (3.0 %) followed vocational programmes at this level than did females (2.7 %). Five EU Member States reported relatively high proportions of pupils following vocational lower secondary programmes, namely in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Croatia and Bulgaria, as can be seen from Table 1, while in several Member States there were no vocational programmes at this level. Croatia was the only Member State for which data are available, to report a higher proportion of females following a vocational programme at lower secondary level.

Close to half (48.3 %) of all upper secondary school pupils in the EU-28 (excluding the Netherlands) followed vocational programmes in 2013, with the share for males (53.4 %) again somewhat higher than for females (43.0 %). In 16 EU Member States the share of upper secondary pupils studying vocational programmes was less than half, with this share dropping well below one quarter in three Member States: Cyprus, Malta and Ireland. The highest shares were in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria and Finland, all 70 % or higher.

Within post-secondary non-tertiary education the vast majority of pupils followed vocational programmes, an average of 90.8 % within the EU-28 (excluding Greece and Spain) in 2013. Unlike for the two secondary education levels, the share was higher for females (91.7 %) than for males (89.6 %). In a majority of the EU Member States all of the pupils following programmes at this level were enrolled in vocational programmes. In nearly all of the other Member States more than half of the pupils followed vocational programmes, the one exception being the Czech Republic where just 20.9 % of pupils within post-secondary non-tertiary education followed vocational programmes.

Graduates from vocational programmes

Among the EU Member States, typically one third to one half of graduates from upper secondary vocational programmes in 2013 were female, with this share falling to 17.6 % in Cyprus and rising above 50 % in Denmark, Finland and Spain. In all Member States the share of female graduates was higher for upper secondary general programmes than for upper secondary vocational programmes, with the share above half in all Member States, peaking at 62 % in Italy.

For graduates of post-secondary non-tertiary vocational programmes the range was somewhat greater than for graduates from upper secondary vocational programmes, between just under one quarter in Luxembourg and close to three quarters in Austria, with Cyprus above this range (85.3 %). As such, in Cyprus mainly males graduated from vocational programmes at upper secondary level and mainly females at post-secondary non-tertiary level.

More information on graduates from secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education is available in a separate article.

Pupil–teacher ratios for vocational programmes

There was quite some variety in the pupil–teacher ratios for vocational programmes between EU Member States, depending whether these programmes were at upper secondary level or post-secondary non-tertiary level — see Figure 2. The largest differences were generally noted for Member States with relatively high ratios in post-secondary non-tertiary education, most notably in Romania, but also to a lesser extent in the Czech Republic and Cyprus. However, there were seven Member States (out of 15) where a higher pupil–teacher ratio was recorded for upper secondary education, the largest difference being reported in Bulgaria (where the ratio for upper secondary vocational education was slightly more than twice as high as that for post-secondary non-tertiary education).

Comparing pupil–teacher ratios for general programmes with those for vocational programmes at upper secondary level, there was no clear pattern across the EU Member States. Among the 24 Member States for which data are available (no data available for Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal), 11 reported higher pupil–teacher ratios for vocational programmes, 12 higher ratios for general programmes and one — Slovakia — the same ratio for both types of programmes. The largest differences were in the United Kingdom and Latvia, where the ratios were respectively 11.1 and 10.0 percentage points higher for vocational programmes than for general programmes.

Initial vocational training in enterprises

Although the data presented in Figure 3 are from the continuing vocational training survey (CVTS) they show the proportion of enterprises providing initial vocational training (IVT), rather than continuing vocational training (CVT) (see key concepts in the Data sources and availability section below). Overall, around one quarter (24.0 %) of enterprises in the EU-28 in 2010 with 10 or more persons employed provided IVT, although the proportion varied greatly between EU Member States. Only 5 of the 27 Member States for which data are available reported a proportion that was substantially above the EU-28 average, with around a third of enterprises in Italy and the Netherlands providing IVT, around one half in Austria and Denmark, and more than three fifths in Germany. By contrast, less than 1 in 10 enterprises provided IVT in 12 of the Member States, mainly those Member States that joined the EU in 2004 or 2007, but also including Greece, Spain and Sweden.

Continuing vocational training in enterprises

The remainder of this article focuses on data from the CVTS and in particular on the provision of CVT by enterprises. CVT refers to education or training activities which are financed in total or at least partly by the enterprise. Part financing could include the use of work-time for the training activity. CVT can be provided either through dedicated courses or other forms of CVT (such as guided-on-the-job training). In general enterprises finance CVT in order to develop the competences and skills of the people they employ and to increase their competitiveness. The large majority of CVT is non-formal education or training, which means that it is provided outside the formal education systems.

In 2010, an estimated two thirds (66 %) of enterprises in the EU-28 provided CVT to persons they employed (see Figure 4), an increase compared with 2005 when the share was 60 %. Among the EU Member States, the share of enterprises that provided such training in 2010 ranged from 22 % in Poland to 91 % in Denmark; the share was even higher (97 %) in Norway.

Enterprises providing CVT by economic activity

Table 2 provides a more detailed analysis of the proportion of enterprises providing CVT. Across the EU-28, enterprises in services other than distributive trades or accommodation and food services were more likely to offer CVT, in particular enterprises in information and communication services and financial and insurance activities where the share peaked at 80 %.

In 21 of the 27 EU Member States for which data are available (no data available for Ireland), the highest proportion of enterprises providing CVT courses was recorded in information and communication services and financial and insurance activities. In five of the remaining six Member States — Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden — the highest proportion was in other services, which includes real estate activities, professional, scientific, technical, administrative and support service activities, arts, entertainment and recreation, as well as other service activities. Spain was the one exception among the Member States as its highest proportion of enterprises providing CVT was recorded for construction; this was also the case in Norway.

Enterprises in the EU-28 were slightly more likely to provide CVT through courses (either internal or external) than to provide other forms of CVT, such as planned learning through job rotation, exchanges or secondments, participation in learning or quality improvement groups, or self-directed learning. Overall, 56 % of EU-28 enterprises in 2010 offered at least CVT courses and 53 % provided at least other forms of CVT; some of these provided both CVT courses and other forms of CVT.

The proportion of enterprises providing CVT courses exceeded three quarters in Denmark and Sweden, and was also above the EU-28 average in Belgium, Austria, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Finland; the proportion was even higher in Norway. By contrast, less than one quarter of enterprises provided CVT courses in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Romania. The range of the proportion of enterprises providing other forms of CVT was slightly larger, below one quarter in Greece, Romania and Poland and peaking at 84 % in Denmark, although the share recorded in Norway was even higher, at 89 %.

Comparing the proportion of enterprises providing CVT courses and those providing other forms of CVT, differences in excess of 10 percentage points were observed in eight Member States: in France, Spain and Belgium, enterprises were more likely to provide CVT courses; in Slovenia, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Malta and Portugal enterprises were more likely to provide other forms of CVT.

Participation rates for CVT courses

The data on participation rates in Table 3 only relate to participation in CVT courses and not to participation in other forms of CVT. On average, in the EU-28 enterprise size is a relatively minor factor influencing the provision of CVT courses: in 2010 across the EU-28, just under half (49 %) of all persons employed in large enterprises (with 250 persons employed or more) participated in CVT courses, compared with 45 % for medium-sized enterprises (with 50–249 persons employed) and 46 % of those employed by small enterprises (with 10–49 persons employed) — see Figure 5. However, in one third of the 27 Member States for which data are available (no data available for Ireland), the highest participation rates were reported for small enterprises. The most notable examples were Latvia and Denmark where participation rates for CVT courses in 2010 were more than 10 percentage points higher among small enterprises than among large enterprises.

Cost of CVT courses

As for participation rates, data on costs only relate to CVT courses and not to other forms of CVT. The data on the cost of CVT courses (as shown in Figure 6) have been converted to purchasing power standards (PPS) rather than euros. Purchasing power standards can, in theory, pay for the same amount of goods and services in different countries, in other words they are an artificial currency which adjusts for price level differences between countries.

In 2010, the average expenditure on CVT courses by enterprises in the EU-28 was PPS 1 356 per participant; note that each person is only counted once, regardless of how many courses they attend during a year and regardless of how long these courses were. The average expenditure on CVT courses per participant ranged from PPS 621 in Lithuania to PPS 2 150 in the Netherlands, with Bulgaria, Latvia and the Czech Republic below this range. Eight of the nine EU Member States where average expenditure per participant was below PPS 1 000 were Member States that joined the EU in 2004 or 2007, with the United Kingdom being the exception. By contrast, among the eight Member States where expenditure exceeded PPS 1 500 per participant two were Member States that joined the EU in 2004, namely Cyprus and Hungary.

The overall costs incurred by enterprises for the provision of CVT courses correspond to total monetary expenditure. This total is composed of direct costs, participants’ labour costs and net contributions, where the latter is the balance between contributions to and receipts from training funds. Total training costs for EU-28 enterprises represented an average of 1.6 % of all labour costs in 2010 (see Table 3). Half of this (0.8 %) represented participants’ labour costs, and most of the rest (0.7 %) was direct costs. In Latvia, Greece and Croatia less than 1.0 % of labour costs were spent on CVT courses in 2010, while this share reached or exceeded 2.0 % in Cyprus, the Netherlands, Malta, Belgium and France.

Reasons for enterprises not providing training

As noted earlier, around two thirds of enterprises in the EU-28 provided CVT (including courses and other forms) in 2010 and therefore around one third (34 %) did not, as shown in Table 4. The two main reasons given by those enterprises for not providing CVT related to recruitment strategies: around half (49 %) of the enterprises not providing CVT did not do so because they tried to recruit people with the required skills while more than three quarters (77 %) said that the existing skills and competences of their workforce already corresponded to their needs. A lack of time and CVT being too expensive were the third and fourth most common reasons, given by just under one third of enterprises not providing training.

Among nearly all of the EU Member States, the most common reason for enterprises not to provide CVT was that the existing skills and competences already corresponded to the enterprise’s needs while the second most common reason was that enterprises tried to recruit people with the required skills. The exceptions were: in Spain and Germany a lack of time was the second most common reason, and so enterprises trying to recruit people with the required skills therefore became the third most common reason; in Bulgaria the order of these two reasons was reversed, although the proportions for the two reasons were almost the same (1 percentage point difference).

Data sources and availability

Sources

The standards for international statistics on education are set by three international organisations:

Two sources of data are used in this article:

  • a joint annual UNESCO/OECD/Eurostat (UOE) data collection on education statistics which forms the basis for the core components of Eurostat’s database on education statistics; data concerning vocational programmes in initial education are presented in this article;
  • data from the five-yearly continuing vocational training survey (CVTS) which collects information on enterprises’ efforts in the continuing vocational training of their persons employed; the most recent year for which data are available is 2010; the coverage is enterprises with 10 or more persons employed in NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to N, R and S (excluding therefore agriculture, forestry and fishing, public administration and defence, compulsory social security, education, human health and social work activities).

More information about these sources is available in the following articles:

Classification

The International standard classification of education (ISCED) is the basis for international education statistics, describing different levels of education; it was first developed in 1976 by UNESCO and revised in 1997 and again in 2011. ISCED 2011 distinguishes nine levels of education: early childhood education (level 0); primary education (level 1); lower secondary education (level 2); upper secondary education (level 3); post-secondary non-tertiary education (level 4); short-cycle tertiary education (level 5); bachelor’s or equivalent level (level 6); master’s or equivalent level (level 7); doctoral or equivalent level (level 8). The first results based on ISCED 2011 have been published in 2015 starting with data for the 2013 reference period.

In ISCED 2011, the orientation of a programme is a dimension used at levels 2–5, with the possibility to use it at ISCED levels 6–8. The two categories of orientation of programmes at ISCED levels 2–5 are general and vocational. Vocational education programmes are designed for learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies specific to a particular occupation, trade, or class of occupations or trades. Such programmes may have work-based components (such as apprenticeships, dual-system education programmes). Successful completion of such programmes leads to labour market relevant, vocational qualifications acknowledged as occupationally-oriented by the relevant national authorities and/or the labour market.

Key concepts

UOE

Vocational education programmes are designed for learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies specific to a particular occupation, trade, or class of occupations or trades. Vocational education may have work-based components (such as apprenticeships or traineeships). Successful completion of such programmes leads to labour market-relevant vocational qualifications acknowledged as occupationally-oriented by the relevant national authorities and/or the labour market.

A graduate is an individual who has successfully completed an education programme.

Pupil-teacher ratios are calculated by dividing the number of full-time equivalent pupils and students in each level of education by the number of full-time equivalent teachers at the same level; this ratio should not be confused with average class size, which refers to the number of students in a given course or classroom.

CVTS

Continuing vocational training in enterprises concerns training measures or activities which have as their primary objective the acquisition of new competences or the development and improvement of existing ones; such CVT in enterprises must be financed at least partly by the enterprise and should concern persons employed by the enterprise (either those with a work contract or those who work directly for the enterprise such as unpaid family workers). Persons employed holding an apprenticeship or training contract should not be taken into consideration for CVT. The training measures or activities must be planned in advance and must be organised or supported with the special goal of learning. Random learning and initial vocational training (IVT) are explicitly excluded.

CVT courses are typically clearly separated from the active workplace (learning takes place in locations specially assigned for learning like a classroom or training centre). They show a high degree of organisation (time, space and content) by a trainer or a training institution. The content is designed for a group of learners (for example a curriculum exists). Two distinct types of CVT courses are identified: internal and external CVT courses.

Other forms of CVT are typically connected to the active work and the active workplace, but they can also include participation (instruction) in conferences, trade fairs and similar events for the purpose of learning. These other forms of CVT are often characterised by a degree of self-organisation (time, space and content) by the individual learner or by a group of learners. The content is often tailored according to the learners’ individual needs in the workplace. The following types of other forms of CVT are identified:

  • planned training through guided on-the-job training;
  • planned training through job rotation, exchanges, secondments or study visits;
  • planned training through participation (instruction received) in conferences, workshops, trade fairs and lectures;
  • planned training through participation in learning or quality circles;
  • planned training through self-directed learning/e-learning.

A participant in CVT courses is a person who has taken part in one or more CVT courses during the reference year. Each person should be counted only once, irrespective of the number of CVT courses he or she has participated in.

The costs of CVT courses cover direct costs, participants’ labour costs and the balance of contributions (net contribution) to and receipts from training funds.

Direct course costs:

  • fees and payments for CVT courses;
  • travel and subsistence payments related to CVT courses;
  • the labour costs of internal trainers for CVT courses (direct and indirect costs); and
  • the costs for training centres, training rooms and teaching materials.

Participants’ labour costs include the labour costs of participants for CVT courses that take place during paid working time.

The net contribution to training funds is made up of the cost of contributions made by the enterprise to collective funding arrangements through government and intermediary organisations minus receipts from collective funding arrangements, subsidies and financial assistance from government and other sources. These net contributions are not always available in Eurostat’s statistics in the online database.

The CVTS also collects some information on initial vocational training within enterprises (IVT) which is defined as a formal education programme or a component of it where the working time of the paid apprentices/trainees alternates between periods of practical training in the workplace and general/theoretical education in an educational institution or training centre. The coverage is training within ISCED levels 2 to 4, in other words secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education; as such it does not cover internships for tertiary education. The length of IVT should be between six months and six years. Voluntary apprenticeships/traineeships are excluded.

Tables in this article use the following notation:
Value in italics     data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
: not available, confidential or unreliable value.
– not applicable.

Context

Copenhagen process and European initiatives

Since 2002, national authorities and social partners from European countries have taken part in the Copenhagen process which aims to promote and develop vocational education and training (VET) systems; at the time of writing 33 countries are active in this process. In June 2010, the European Commission presented its proposals for ‘a new impetus for European cooperation in vocational education and training to support the Europe 2020 strategy’ (COM(2010) 296 final). In December 2010, in Bruges (Belgium) the priorities for the Copenhagen process for 2011–20 were set, establishing a vision for vocational education and training.

There are a number of European initiatives to enhance the transparency, recognition and quality of competences and qualifications, facilitating the mobility of learners and workers across the EU. These include the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), Europass, the European Credit System for VET (ECVET), and the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for VET (EQAVET).

Europe 2020 and ET 2020 strategies

The conclusions of the November 2010 Council underlined the need for data on VET systems in the context of the Copenhagen process and of the important contribution they have to make to the Europe 2020 strategy. In particular, the Bruges communiqué of 7 December 2010 on enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training for the period 2011–20 states that ‘EU level policy-making in VET should be based on existing comparable data. To this end, and using the lifelong learning programme, Member States should collect relevant and reliable data on VET — including VET mobility — and make these available for Eurostat. Member States and the European Commission should jointly agree on which data should be made available first’.

The strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (known as ET 2020), was adopted by the Council in May 2009. It sets out four strategic objectives for education and training in the EU: making lifelong learning and mobility a reality; improving the quality and efficiency of education and training; promoting equality, social cohesion and active citizenship; and enhancing creativity and innovation (including entrepreneurship) at all levels of education and training.

The ET 2020 strategy set a number of benchmarks to be achieved by 2020, including that an average of at least 15 % of adults aged 25 to 64 should participate in lifelong learning. Two supplementary benchmarks on learning mobility were adopted by the Council in November 2011, including one that, by 2020, an EU average of at least 6 % of 18 to 34 year-olds with an initial vocational education and training (VET) qualification should have had an initial VET-related study or training period (including work placements) abroad lasting a minimum of two weeks, or less if documented by Europass.

Rethinking education

In November 2012, the European Commission presented ‘Rethinking education: investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes’ (COM(2012) 669), an initiative to encourage EU Member States to ensure that young people develop the skills and competences needed by the labour market. This Communication was developed in the face of increased competition from workers outside of the EU and increased youth unemployment within the EU, alongside sluggish economic performance. The Communication pays particular attention to combatting youth unemployment:

  • developing world-class vocational education and training to raise the quality of vocational skills;
  • promoting work-based learning including quality traineeships, apprenticeships and dual learning models to help the transition from learning to work;
  • promoting partnerships between public and private institutions (to ensure appropriate curricula and skills provision);
  • promoting mobility through the Erasmus+ programme.

Erasmus+

The Erasmus programme was one of the most well-known European programmes and ran for just over a quarter of a century; in 2014 it was superseded by the EU’s programme for education, training, youth and sport, referred to as ‘Erasmus+’. It is expected that four million people will benefit from Erasmus+, including around 650 thousand vocational training and education students.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Participation in education and training (t_educ_part)
Education personnel (t_educ_uoe_per)
Education and training outcomes (t_educ_outc)

Database

Participation in education and training (educ_part)
Pupils and students - enrolments (educ_uoe_enr)
Continuing vocational training in enterprises (trng_cvts)
Education and training outcomes (educ_outc)
Graduates (educ_uoe_grad)
Education personnel (educ_uoe_per)
Teachers and academic staff (educ_uoe_perp)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

Metadata

Manuals and other methodological information

Source data for tables and graphs (MS Excel)

Other information

External links


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