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vocational education

Definition of vocational education

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“Vocational education.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vocational%20education. Accessed 1 Jun. 2024.

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vocational education

• educational training that provides practical experience in a particular occupational field, as agriculture, home economics, or industry.

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Example sentences.

In the US, community colleges are the most important provider of skills at scale and are particularly important for vocational education and training for first-generation, low-income, and minority students.

And vocational education proceeds with way too little employer input.

Another difficulty is the expense of providing the necessary equipment for vocational education.

For the man's ignorance and inefficiency it is proposed that the vocational education of boys be widely extended.

It has been an up-hill fight to get Congress to see the importance of providing vocational education for industrial workers.

It would be quite possible for a narrowly conceived scheme of vocational education to perpetuate this division in a hardened form.

The studies also dealt with all forms of vocational education conducted at that time under public school auspices.

What Is a Vocational School?

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A vocational school is one that prepares a student for a specific type of job. In other words, a vocational education provides the skills needed for a career in a particular trade or craft. A student who attends a vocational school (sometimes called a trade school) will focus almost entirely on that target career.

The vocational approach is in sharp contrast to most traditional bachelor's degree programs in which students take courses in a wide range of subjects to develop broad and versatile knowledge and skills. For example, a student majoring in biology at a liberal arts college will also take classes in chemistry, physics, history, literature, writing, and the social sciences. At a vocational school, a student might study the biological sciences, but courses would be targeted towards a specific career goal such as becoming a dental hygienist, radiologist, or surgical technician.

The Vocational School Experience

Vocational schools typically have open admissions , although some specialized programs are certainly an exception to this rule. Often, to be admitted a student need only be 16 or 17 years old and have completed high school or earned a GED. Programs can have limited spaces, but the application process rarely involves things like the SAT or ACT, letters of recommendation, admissions essays, or other measures that are often required by four-year colleges and universities.

Vocational schools draw a diverse range of students. Some will be recent high school graduates who are continuing their educations, while other students are adults who are returning to the workforce after a period of time or who are looking for a change.

Almost all vocational school programs can be completed in two years or fewer. Some lead to a two-year associate degree, while others might take a year or less and lead to certification or licensure in a specific profession. A vocational school might be a private, for-profit institution or it could be run through a state-funded community college. The latter will typically have lower costs.

Many vocational programs are designed with working people in mind. Evening and weekend classes are common so that students can balance their classwork with jobs and family commitments. Classes tend to be small, and most have a significant hands-on component, since students are learning trade skills that require specialized tools and equipment.

What Can You Do With a Vocational School Degree?

Many students who enter the workforce straight out of high school find that job opportunities are extremely limited. Jobs in retail, food service, and construction often don't require further education, but they can also be jobs with limited potential for growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees with an associate's degree earn an average of $124 more per week than those with a high school diploma, and $316 more per week than those who never completed high school.

Employees' salaries, of course, are going to vary significantly based on the type of vocational degrees they earn, and some degrees are in much more demand than others. Healthcare is a field with high demand, and vocational education can lead to careers such as

• Nursing aides
• Medical technicians
• Surgical prep technicians
• Phlebotomists
• Laboratory technicians
• Radiologists

Other common vocational fields include

• Computer support
• Laboratory science technology
• Real estate
• Hospitality
• Firefighting

Vocational schools across the country offer hundreds of specialized training opportunities, so the primary challenge is finding one that matches your specific interests and career goals.

The Pros and Cons of Attending Vocational School

In our highly technological world, the majority of careers require some form of training and education after high school. Many jobs, however, do not require a four-year college degree or graduate degree. A vocational education increases a student's employability and earning potential. Vocational school is also highly efficient—rather than a four-year commitment, a one-year certificate program or two-year associate's degree will provide the necessary training.

Vocational school does, however, have some limitations. For one, you'll be training for a specific job, and that type of focused, specialized training can limit job mobility. The broader and more flexible preparation provided by a four-year college doesn't have as many limitations, and it can be easier to advance into senior positions and management. Also, while a vocational degree certainly increases one's earning potential, those with a bachelor's degree earn, on average, about $340 more per week than those with an associate degree.

That said, attending a vocational school can be an efficient, effective, and affordable way to advance one's career.

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Vocational education

Education that is designed for learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies specific to a particular occupation or trade or class of occupations or trades. Vocational education may have work-based components (e.g. apprenticeships). 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.

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Vocational education.

• Stephen Billett Stephen Billett Griffith University, School of Education and Professional Studies
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1739
• Published online: 18 July 2022

This chapter aims to discuss what constitutes the project of vocational education through the elaboration of its key purposes. Although taking many and diverse institutional forms, and being perhaps the least unitary of educational sectors, vocational education stands as a distinct and long-standing educational provision premised on its own specific set of purposes. It has long been central to generating the occupational capacities that societies, communities, and workplaces need, contributing to individuals’ initial and ongoing occupational advancement and their sense of selves as working age adults. It also has the potential to be, and often is, the most inclusive of educational sectors by virtue of engaging the widest range of learners within its programs and institutions. Yet, because its manifestations are shaped by country-specific institutional arrangements and historical developments, it defies attempts to easily and crisply define or capture the singularity of its purposes, forms, and contributions. In some countries it is a distinct educational sector, quite separate from both schools and universities. This can include having industry-experienced teachers. In others, it is mainly enacted in high schools in the form of a broadly based technology education, mainly intended for students not progressing educationally beyond schooling, which promotes and reinforces its low standing. In others again, it comprises in postsecondary institutions that combine general and occupational education. These distinctions, such as being either more or less general or occupational educational provision, also change across time as policy imperatives arise and decline. Much of vocational education provisions are associated with initial occupational preparation, but some are also seen more generally as preparation for engaging in working life, and then others have focuses on continuing education and training and employability across working lives. Sometimes it is enacted wholly within educational institutions, but others can include, and even largely comprise, experiences in workplaces. So, whereas the institutions and provisions of primary, secondary, and university education have relatively common characteristics and profiles, this is far less the case with what is labeled vocational education. Indeed, because of the diversity of its forms and purposes, it is often the least distinguishable of the educational sectors within and across countries. In seeking to advance what constitutes vocational education, the approach adopted here is to focus on its four key educational purposes. These comprise of (a) preparation for the world of work, (b) identifying a preferred occupation, (c) occupational preparation, and (d) ongoing development across working life.

• vocational education
• occupations
• educational purposes
• preparation for working life
• identifying an occupation
• developing occupational capacities
• continuing education training

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Career and Technical Education

Career and technical education is a term applied to schools, institutions, and educational programs that specialize in the skilled trades, applied sciences, modern technologies, and career preparation. It was formerly (and is still commonly) called vocational education ; however, the term has fallen out of favor with most educators.

Career and technical programs frequently offer both academic and career-oriented courses, and many provide students with the opportunity to gain work experience through internships, job shadowing, on-the-job training, and industry-certification opportunities. Career and technical programs—depending on their size, configuration, location, and mission—provide a wide range of learning experiences spanning many different career tracks, fields, and industries, from skilled trades such as automotive technology, construction, plumbing, or electrical contracting to fields as diverse as agriculture, architecture, culinary arts, fashion design, filmmaking, forestry, engineering, healthcare, personal training, robotics, or veterinary medicine.

Career and technical education may be offered in middle schools and high schools or through community colleges and other postsecondary institutions and certification programs. At the secondary level, career and technical education is often provided by regional centers that serve students from multiple schools or districts. For example, the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services in New York administers a network of 37 regional career and technical education centers that serve students throughout the state. Many states have similar regional centers or statewide networks that operate as part of the public-school system.

In some cases, career and technical education is provided through a high school, where it may or may not be an integrated part of the school’s regular academic program. Students may also attend separate career and technical institutions for part of the school day, or a regional center may be the primary school of enrollment, where students take both academic and career and technical courses. In other cases, career and technical programs may take the form of a distinct “school within a school,” such as a theme-based academy , that offers an interdisciplinary or career-oriented program in which academic coursework is aligned with specific career paths, such as culinary arts, nursing, or engineering.

Some educators and school-reform advocates argue that career and technical education is an underutilized learning pathway that could help to increase the educational engagement, achievement, and attainment of students who are not excelling in more traditional academic programs. The practical learning experiences that are often provided in career and technical programs appeal to many students, and certain common elements—the focus on critical thinking, new technologies, real-world settings, hands-on activities, and the application of learning to practical problems, for example—align with a growing emphasis on 21 st century skills —skills that are relevant to all academic subject areas and that can be applied in educational, career, and civic contexts throughout a student’s life. Advocates may also argue that career and technical education programs are an antidote to some of the weaknesses of traditional academic programs. For example, rather than learning from books, taking tests, and discussing abstract concepts in classrooms, students gain practical, relevant, marketable skills that will them more employable adults after graduation.

Over the past few decades, learning expectations for career and technical education have risen significantly, largely in response to the increasing sophistication of modern careers that are demanding higher levels of education, training, and skill from the workforce. For instance, yesterday’s “auto mechanics” are today’s “automotive technicians,” and automotive programs now routinely provide training in the use of advanced computerized diagnostic equipment in addition to more traditional mechanical repairs. Students enrolled at career and technical centers, which are typically secondary-level public schools, are required to meet the same learning standards that apply to students in public high schools. In addition to state-required learning standards that apply to public schools, many states have developed standards specific to career and technical programs.

In the United States, career and technical education is often stigmatized, and there is a widespread perception that career and technical centers provide a lower quality education or that students who attend such schools are less capable or have lower aspirations. At least in part, these perceptions are lingering stereotypes associated with traditional “vocational” programs of past decades. There is no concrete evidence that such generalized perceptions and stereotypes are valid, and many studies have shown that students enrolled in career and technical programs can and do outperform students in more traditional academic settings.

Discussions about career and technical education also intersect with ongoing debates about academic “tracking,” or the sorting of students into tiered  courses based on past academic performance or perceived ability. Depending on its structure, academic requirements, and student demographics, a career and technical program can resemble an academic track in that certain types of students or certain educational outcomes may predominate. For example, lower-income students and minorities may be disproportionately represented in a program, or graduation rates and college-going rates may be markedly lower. Critics of tracking may argue that such results more than likely reflect the particular structure and culture the education system , rather than an accurate representation of the abilities and aspirations of the students enrolled in the programs.

What is vocational education?

Put simply, vocational education teaches you skills directly related to work.

By developing skills that are specific to a trade or job role, you can improve your employment prospects, get ahead in your current career… or even turn a hobby into a business.

Some people assume vocational education and training (VET) only covers practical, hands-on subjects like plumbing, construction or childcare, but this is an old-fashioned view. Of course, these vital subjects are still taught, but vocational education has expanded and diversified over the last thirty years and now offers a huge range of choice in subjects related to a wide range of careers.

Modern vocational education allows people to learn highly transferable creative and personal development skills, as well as practical skills and activities specific to a chosen job role. Those who undertake vocational training or apprenticeships can expect to learn a lot about themselves, and to discover talents they didn’t know they had!

What’s more, vocational education is no longer only available at school. Now, across Europe, there is a vast range of full-time and part-time courses available at higher-education and vocational colleges, as well as on-the-job training and apprenticeships. You can even learn online, with a growing number of courses available on the web, delivered by specialists and professionals.

For people who want to turn the theory into practice straight away, you can learn while you work, attending training sessions directly in the workplace. Many companies and sectors even have their own dedicated training facilities. For employers, the priority is to ensure that skills supply meets skills demand, so businesses all over the world are investing in the resources to provide high quality vocational training to their current and potential employees.

Perhaps the best people to explain what vocational education is all about are the people who have already taken advantage of VET. People like Hannah Colston, a Trainee Quantity Surveyor at UK construction company Trojan Group, and a Member of the European Apprentices Network.

Speaking at last year’s European Vocational Skills Week in Brussels, Hannah said, “apprenticeships and vocational education are definitely worthwhile career choices. You have the opportunity to study a subject, and work alongside studying that subject, and it can lead to future employment.”

Khaleb Ouared is an Apprentice who took part in an event at Nestlé in Vittel, France, during last year’s European Vocational Skills Week. He said, “I strongly recommend it because when you're at school, when you study, it's all about the theory – they teach us things that are only theoretical. When we leave school, we do not necessarily know what we are talking about – we only have theoretical notions – whereas here we practise, and it gives us a real experience. A real experience for your CV.”

If you’d like to find out more about vocational education and the opportunities available in your sector or country, why not discover your talent at this year’s European Vocational Skills Week? Join us from 5–9 November in Vienna , or between September and 31 December 2018 at one of the many hundreds of events across Europe.

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• What Is Vocational Education?

Q : What Is Vocational Education?

Vocational education is a different learning option from the path of college or universities. It offers a path that imparts the skills and knowledge needed to work in a given occupation. It is coordinated with the requirements of the labor market and is an integral part of the education system.

What is vocational training, and how does it differ from college?

Here are detailed answers to these questions.

Vocational training vs. academic training

While college education often provides theoretical or broad knowledge that could be applied to a variety of professions within a certain field, vocational training teaches students the precise skills and knowledge needed to carry out a specific craft, technical skill or trade, such as plumbing or cooking.

College education often includes courses on a variety of subjects that may not directly relate to a student’s major and that a graduate may not use in their career. Vocational school, on the other hand, skips this type of broad academic study and instead provides direct knowledge and instruction for a specific field or position.

Work-ready training

The vocational type of education is designed to make students “work ready” upon graduation. It provides practical education, so students develop specific industry skills that allow them to jump right into your profession and get started. Key features of vocational education and training are classroom training combined with hands-on training, providing students with a complete understanding of concepts in their field and how to carry out the duties of their trade.

Certain positions and fields

Vocational education is designed for more technical fields and for trades or crafts, which are positions that involve hands-on, manual work such as working with plumbing pipes, making a cake or repairing a car. These careers are seen differently from college- and university-trained careers because they are thought of as non-academic. Nonetheless, vocational training also educates on managerial skills or job functions, such as computer programming or prepare for a supervisory role in a hotel or restaurant.

What is practical education?

It teaches skills and knowledge for the everyday skills and duties you carry out in your particular field. It is skill based learning rather than learning that focuses on ideas and theories.

Vocational programs exist for a variety of careers. Students could choose this type of educational pathway for technical training to learn computer skills. Students can learn the skills needed for many creative fields this way, such as dressmaking, photography, culinary arts, fashion design, interior design or cosmetology. Vocational school also provides training for many hands-on trades that are necessary to the functioning of society, such as masonry, carpentry, heating and air conditioning, automotive repair, plumbing or electrical work. It can also provide the means for learning certain professional fields such as bookkeeping, medical assisting or court reporting.

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Vocational training settings

The vocational training system includes a variety of settings for students to carry out their education. It may vary by the type of trade students plan to get into, but vocational training can take place through one or a combination of these:

• Vocational or trade schools
• Technical secondary schools
• Community colleges
• High school vocational programs
• On-the-job training
• Apprenticeships
• Standalone courses

While it is not yet common, some colleges and universities are beginning to incorporate vocational programs into their educational offerings in addition to their traditional academic options.

Students might complete their vocational training with a certification or a diploma. In some cases, they may receive an associate’s degree. Some schools offer a range of professional areas, while some are specific to certain subjects, such as culinary schools or technology schools.

Continuing education

Vocational training also helps people move forward in their careers. These programs are often shorter and more flexible than college or university programs. This makes it easier for people to go back to school or take continuing education to help them move to the next step. Through further education with vocational training, you could have the opportunity to:

• Advance to a higher level position in the same company or field.
• Gain the skills and knowledge needed to change careers.
• Ask for higher pay to fit a credential ; or specialty skill.

Key features of vocational education and training

Vocational training has some key features that set it apart from academic education. When you look at formal education vs practical experience, you see that formal college or university training includes a lot of classroom education filled with knowledge that is often vague or theoretical. It may cover a lot of subjects, including ones that are not fully relevant to the major. Vocational training is different because it focuses on practical experience instead through hands-on training.

In addition, there are specific features that set vocational training apart. Key components are:

1. It makes a student job-ready

Vocational training provides skill based learning and focuses on how to teach practical skills. This means that upon completion of the program, a student has gained the necessary knowledge and hands-on skills needed to perform specific tasks of an occupation. This is the importance of practical knowledge as compared to theoretical.

2. It is based on competency

Instead of receiving a passing or failing grade as is done in college, student performance is based on competence that is defined by meeting certain criteria. The training provided focuses on preparing a student to meet these criteria. By the end of the vocational program, a student must demonstrate satisfactory performance on each of these criteria to be considered competent in their chosen profession. For example, a culinary arts student would need to show competence in certain cooking methods and skills to show they could work in this field upon completion of the program.

Each vocational training program features units of competency. These focus on skills and knowledge a person needs to have for this occupation. The program includes a certain set of units of competency that the student needs to master. This varies by the trade, craft or technical program. Nonetheless, there are often customized training options to fit different positions or skills within a chosen field.

There is benefit to the skill based learning offered through vocational programs. It allows students to quickly learn the precise skills and knowledge for a specific profession.

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Vocational Education

Vocational education help to prepare students for a specific career. This type of education can take place in trade schools, technical schools or on-the-job training programs. These trades or crafts include, but are not limited to, plumbing, nursing and architecture. 

Vocational education usually consists of a mix of theory and practical, hands-on experience. Typically, instructors use competency-based grading, over a standard grading scale, to check if students have mastered a skill. Modern vocational education allows students to develop transferable creative and personal development skills specific to a chosen job.

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Vocational Education

Last updated 11 Nov 2019

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The role and status of vocational education in the UK is explored in this video.

Vocational education is an alternative to academic education and focuses on preparing pupils for work in a particular industry or field of employment.

Influenced by new vocationalism in the 1970s, the following decade saw the growth of vocational qualifications such as GNVQs and BTECs in subject areas such as bricklaying, hairdressing, childcare or travel and tourism.

Stereotypically this form of education is seen as being of lesser value compared with academic qualifications. Traditionally working-class pupils are more likely to be enrolled on these courses than middle-class pupils.

Governments regularly try to reboot vocational education and try to achieve parity of esteem between vocational and academic qualifications. In 2016 the Conservative Government pushed for vocational education to be seen as an alternative to university based education by offering apprenticeships to job sectors which may not be accessible without a degree. For example; there are apprenticeships in engineering, accountancy and software engineering. There is also a proposal of new T Levels to replace BTECs.

• Vocational Education
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What is Vocational Education? And What are Vocational education types

Table of Contents

Jan 25, 2021     

Read Time: 5 minutes

Introduction 

Vocational schools and institutions provide vocational education to students who have the desire to learn skills that would enable them to pursue careers in specific trades.

For a long time, vocational education has paved the way for students to give them hands-on experience to prepare them for skill-based careers.

The article briefs about what is vocational education, and also what are its types.

Downloadable PDF

If you ever want to read it again as many times as you want, here is a downloadable PDF to explore more.

What is Vocational Education?

The importance of Vocational education is that it provides an alternative to the traditional method. A vocational education program also termed technical education, enables students to select a career in a specific craft or skill.

Through vocational education, one can learn skills through basic training related to the domain and can also improve existing skills or reskill for a new occupation.

People have been learning skills and getting trained in specific skills by shadowing skilled professionals from earlier times.

‘What is vocational training’ this question has prevailed for a very long time, it is the training where the students have been receiving hands-on learning to enter their field of interest.

The vocational education program plays a role in preparing students by providing vocational training.

Vocational education is the course that helps students to acquire skills in specific trade or function.

The vocational education program focuses on particular fields by eliminating academic subjects that are not related to traditional learning.

The Benefits of Vocational School

In many states, people benefit from vocational education programs, especially those who have been previously laid off or want to retrain for first-hand employment.

Both vocational education and training are essential to focus on a specific career and enhance one's business scopes.

Unlike traditional students, those who participate in vocational training are more likely to work within their fields of study as they have attained practical ability before entering their field of work and thus, find more jobs relevant to their experiences with ease.

Types of Vocational training

Students can attain the benefits of vocational education through different resources like:

High school career technical education programs

These vocational training programs allow students to explore various career choices and train them for specific industry-work or even any advanced education.

These programs are altogether designed to mold students of high school students who aim to acquire training in work experience in different trades while continuing their studies. It is provided along with their high school syllabus.

Tech-prep education program

The Tech Prep program provides the students with either an associate's degree or a specific domain certificate.

This initiative works as an aid for aspiring technical careers like Applied Science, Engineering, Applied Economics, Technology, and Health.

Post-secondary vocational school

Post-secondary vocational schools also called trade schools. They are an excellent option for students intending for college.

They also provide vocational certificates and offer degree programs. These are also beneficial for adults who are employed because they offer options for weekend and night courses. 

The post-secondary vocational school offers skills in Culinary Arts, Massage therapy, Cosmetology, Auto mechanics, and Carpentry. 

Apprenticeship programs

The Apprenticeship programs are trade-specific programs. They offer the student or apprentice a chance to work under the direction of a skilled professional belonging to a particular trade. 

Standalone courses

Standalone courses can be availed by non-degree seeking students who try to enhance their skills in order to expand their marketability.

This type of education is followed by professionals who attempt to fulfill any work requirements, update their existing skills, expand their current skill sets, or learn supplementary trades.

Distance learning education programs

The distance learning programs are great routes to develop a certain skill set, thus enabling the working professionals to work through materials.

However, a few programs will require the students to attend for a specific time schedule and to follow a particular schedule. It is important to search and find out only accredited and authentic programs.

Military training

Some vocational programs are offered in the military for recruited individuals helping them to prepare well before their military career or training. They also provide technical and vocational licensing along with certification.  

Jobs you can land on with vocational training

Vocational education can be opted for by those who are interested in the careers that are mentioned above.  

A few examples of jobs with vocational skills are medical records technicians, hairstylists, truck drivers, emergency medical technicians, and electricians.

Jobs that can be obtained using vocational training are as follows.

a) HVAC Technician

HVAC technicians are required to finish two years of focused education apart from a high school diploma. This period also includes on-the-job training through an apprenticeship program. 

The primary duties include heating, venting, and air conditioning, or installing cooling and ventilation units.

Plumbers are expected to have a high school diploma. They can also attain licensing depending on their locations. The training is acquired through an apprenticeship program.

Plumbers install repair, test, and maintain plumbing systems.

c) Electrician

The electrician also should have an electrical apprenticeship in addition to a high school diploma. Due to its involvement of danger in this profession, apprenticeships can extend to four years. Electricians are responsible for repairing, maintaining, and installing wiring and test electrical issues.

d) Respiratory Therapist

Respiratory Therapists are required to earn an associate's degree along with an appropriate licensing to perform duties like treatments, developing a treatment plan, and administering diagnostic testing.

e) Dental Hygienist

This job requires you to receive an associate's degree to carry out responsibilities like taking and checking X- rays of patients and instructing them about dental hygiene.  

Vocational Training is very beneficial to those who have limited budgets, time, and who need flexibility in their educational needs.

Therefore, vocational training provides a good-paying position in a short period. It is more affordable than traditional education and is easier to complete for working adults who need to balance it with their jobs.

The importance of vocational education is seen in one's career change through its use where one can easily change an existing career by enrolling in a vocational program with a lesser fraction of the cost of a bachelor's degree.

Vocational education is thus a valuable choice compared to traditional education due to its affordability and other benefits. Besides, it allows you to enter better-paying occupations with great benefits.

Vocational education in the US provides a lot of career opportunities. We hope the article helped you understand vocational training and the opportunities vocational education in the US provides.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why are vocational skills important.

Vocational Education helps people in the better performance of their jobs as they acquire a great learning experience. Working professionals get a chance to hone their skills while making money. Certain vocational skills acquired from vocational education teach students the importance of manual work.

What is a vocational goal?

Vocational goals could include skills needed to find a job, maintain a job, or perform specific tasks required for the job. This could include anything from interviewing skills to following a bus schedule or practicing routine tasks. Like any other IEP goal, vocational goals must be age-appropriate and measurable.

How do you promote vocational education?

Go to where your market is – go to the high schools or the malls. Provide incentives such as scholarships or on-the-job training. Open internship opportunities with private companies. Sponsor skills competitions.

What are pre-vocational skills?

Basic Skills tasks focus on Fine Motor, Matching, Put-In/On, Sorting, and Stacking. Pre-Vocational Skills tasks focus on Assembly, Job Training, and Packaging. Transitional Skills tasks help students transition from the classroom to more independent functioning in the outside world.