Students in ex-Soviet Union shy away from vocational training

Citation

(2001), "Students in ex-Soviet Union shy away from vocational training", Education + Training, Vol. 43 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2001.00443gab.018

Students in ex-Soviet Union shy away from vocational training

Students in ex-Soviet Union shy away from vocational trainingKeywords: Vocational training, Students, Soviet Union, Education

Uncertainties surrounding skill needs, and problems with financing education in the mid-1990s, led the states of the former Soviet Union to concentrate on general, rather than vocational, education and training. This may have harmed the quality of vocational training and encouraged more students to opt for general education, according to a report published by the European Training Foundation. The "Tacis Key Indicators" report shows that:

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  enrolment in vocational schools at upper-secondary level was falling between 1995 and 1997, the latest year for which figures were available;

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  while the drop-out rate for general education varied from 0.2 per cent to 3 per cent, the figure for vocational training varied between 3 per cent and 14 per cent;

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  all the countries making up the Commonwealth of Independent States experienced difficulties in paying for their education systems in the mid-1990s.

The report is available, free of charge, from the Information and Publications Department of the European Training Foundation. Tel: 00 39 11 630 2222; Fax: 00 39 11 630 2200; E-mail info@etf.eu.int