The following information comes from the Danish Ministry of Education and can serve as an excellent example for good practice for the rest of the EU:
The Danish vocational education and training programmes (I-VET) are alternating or sandwich-type programmes, where practical training in a company alternates with teaching at a vocational college.
The programmes consist of a basic and a main programme. The student must enter into a training agreement with a company approved by the social partners (a confederation of representatives of employers and employees) in order to accomplish the main programme. There are 111 vocational education and training programmes, each of which can lead to a number of vocational specialisations. The social partners have considerable influence on and thus, great responsibility for VET.
VET’s Objective and target group
The objective of vocational education and training programmes is to motivate young people to complete a programme of training that can qualify them for employment and at the same time, accommodate the needs of the labour market. The programmes aim to give the young people a taste of further education and active participation in society by developing the students’ personal and social skills like instilling a spirit of independence and cooperation, and stimulating their awareness about innovation, environment and internationalisation.
Those who have completed VET can immediately work within the line of industry or trade that is the focus of the programme.
The target group of vocational education and training programmes are not only students who come directly after obtaining basic school education, but also adults with prior vocational experience.
Number of students and educational capacity
57 percent of a youth cohort are admitted to a VET. A declining share of these come directly from compulsory education in “Folkeskolen” (primary and lower secondary education) while a number of participants are admitted after having been in the labour market. A growing share are admitted after having completed a general or vocational upper secondary education.
Approximately, 38 percent of a youth cohort obtain a vocational education. Of these, around 33 percent normally have the vocational education as their highest completed education, while the remaining 5 percent usually take higher education subsequently.
About 56,500 students commence a full-time vocational education every year whereas the total number of students in vocational education and training programmes is approximately 130,000 at any given time
The colleges
117 institutions offer basic vocationally oriented education programmes. 97 of these are technical colleges, commercial colleges, agricultural colleges or combination colleges. In addition, 20 colleges offer social and health care training programmes. A number of the colleges offer their programmes through local branches at addresses other than the main college. These branches are not included in the report.
In addition to the basic vocational education and training programmes, the colleges also offer other education programmes: vocational upper secondary education (the Higher Commercial Examination –HHX, and the Higher Technical examination -HTX) and further education and training for adults (C-VET called AMU – Adult Vocational Training). Most of the vocational colleges cooperate with other colleges to offer short-term higher education. Further, the colleges also offer courses and programmes commissioned by companies.
The education and training programme which have a small intake are conducted at trade schools, which cover a whole region. In these cases the colleges have boarding facilities for students.
The structure of the programme
Vocational education and training consists of a basic course and a main course. The basic course is flexible in duration and depends on the individual student’s prior qualifications and ambitions. Typical length of such a basic course is usually between 20 to 25 weeks. This is followed by the main course or VET-programme, which is based on an alternating principle. This typically takes 3 – 3½ years, but can be shorter or longer for certain programmes (from 1½ and up to 5 years). In order to complete the main course, the student must have a training agreement with an approved company which offers training. The agreement can cover all or parts of the basic course, but is compulsory for the main course.
Admission to vocational education
There is free admission to the basic VET programme. Most students commence their vocational education with a basic programme at a college, but they can also start directly in a company and take the basic programme after a period of time at the company.
There are 111 vocational education and training programmes. The basic programmes are gathered in the following 12 vocational clusters leading to the related vocational programmes.
| Basic courses | Number of programmes in the cluster |
|---|---|
| 1. Motor vehicle, aircraft and other means of transportation 2. Building and construction 3. Construction and user service 4. Animals, plants and nature 5. Body and style 6. Human food 7. Media production 8. Business 9. Production and development 10. Electricity, management and IT 11. Health, care and pedagogy 12. Transport and logistics |
8 programmes
15 programmes |
The students have a guarantee that, if they are admitted through one basic access channel, they will have the opportunity to complete one of the programmes within that channel (educational guarantee), if they make their own contribution to the programme. If a student is unable to obtain a training agreement, the educational guarantee means that they can be offered admission to a school-based practical training (a practical training period conducted by a college) or admission to one of the 3 vocational programmes conducted as school-based education without a practical training period.
About 40% of the students in some of the technical vocational programmes have chosen this route. The share is very small in other vocational education and training programmes.
For further information please visit: http://eng.uvm.dk/upper-secondary-education/vocational-education-and-training–vet-