Vocational education and training (VET) pathways for disadvantaged youth

Citation

Erica Smith, P. (2010), "Vocational education and training (VET) pathways for disadvantaged youth", Education + Training, Vol. 52 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2010.00452eaa.001

Vocational education and training (VET) pathways for disadvantaged youth

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Education + Training, Volume 52, Issue 5

This special issue has its roots in a conference of the International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP), a rapidly growing network of researchers and practitioners interested in apprenticeship and related issues. The third conference of the network, “Innovative apprenticeships: Promoting successful school-to-work transitions”, was held in Turin in September 2009. As co-chair of the network I attended this conference, as did Rick Holden, Editor of Education + Training. We noticed that a number of presenters focused upon research into programs which used vocational education and training (VET) as a means of assisting or even rescuing young people whose transitions from school to work were problematic or who suffered from various forms of disadvantage. Some speakers presented the view of VET as a “cure” for young people’s disadvantage as being quite problematic.

It was therefore decided that I should edit a special issue of Education + Training, which would examine the national and social contexts in which VET has the role of addressing disadvantage in young people, and the opportunities and challenges associated with using VET as a vehicle to improve the economic and social chances of such young people. I approached a number of people who presented papers at the INAP conference to ask them to develop their ideas further in papers for the special issue. In addition a number of other researchers in the area were contacted, particularly from countries not represented by relevant papers at the conference.

The issue contains seven papers, covering Germany (two papers), Switzerland (two papers), Italy, Australia and the UK. Authors were asked to commence their contributions with a short overview of the transition from school to work in their country, including any important information about economic and social context. They were also asked to include a reflection, within their concluding discussion, on the implications of their research for the bigger picture of transition from school to work and successful engagement in economic and social life, not just in their particular country. The seven authors and author teams have undertaken this task admirably, so that the issue provides a rich picture of the contemporary landscape for young people entering working life in the five countries presented in the special issue.

Within this broad context the seven papers in the special issue present diverse approaches to the topic as well as informing us about a variety of policy and practice responses to disadvantaged young people. Some of the papers present fascinating detailed data about specific programs in which young people are involved. Examples of this are Martin Lang’s small-scale study of a system of mentoring in Germany and Laura Bonica and Viviana Sappa’s Italian study of young people’s views about vocational courses designed specifically for disadvantaged young people. In each of these examples the authors draw out implications for policy and practice as well as providing us into an insight into the young people’s viewpoints. Larger scale studies presented include Christian Schmidt’s evaluation of the outcomes of a vocational school course designed for young people unable to find an apprenticeship, using data from teachers, students and employers; and Marlise Kammermann’s comparison of outcomes for young people enrolled in two types of program in Switzerland. A paper by Jonas Masdonati, Nadia Lamamra and Marine Jordan, based on the Swiss experience, focuses particularly on attrition from VET programs, placing the issue in broader contexts rather than focusing on the “drop-outs” as being in some way deficient. Unlike some European countries, the UK and Australia tend to see vocational pathways as of lower status than other educational pathways. What does this mean for the possibilities of VET assisting disadvantaged young people? The papers by John Polesel, analysing Australian data, and Rob Lawy, based on English and Scottish policy analysis and detailed empirical research with young people in England, examine the relationships between government policies and young people’s life chances in such contexts.

The papers in this issue challenge traditional assumptions. They challenge the view of “transition” from school to work as being a one-off event, asserting that there are a range of transitions that take place. They point out the cracks in government policy; for example the German “dual system” and the related Swiss system are shown as struggling to deal with twenty-first century economic and social conditions. Young people’s choices of work and learning pathways that do not conform to conventional social norms are presented as being valid rather than to be deplored. But the papers are not only critical; they are constructive and engaged with both policy and practice.

I would like to thank the authors, who completed their writing and revising tasks with great promptness and courtesy, under great time pressure. The team of reviewers is also thanked; the reviewers were also working to very tight timelines, which, in addition, spanned the Christmas holiday period.

I would also like to thank to co-chair of the INAP network, Professor Felix Rauner from the University of Bremen, Ursel Hauschildt who managed the administrative side of the INAP conference, and staff members from the European Training Foundation, particularly Helmut Zelloth. Without their hard work to convene the 2009 INAP conference, this special issue would never have existed.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity of thanking Rick Holden the Editor of Education + Training for his sterling service to the journal over a 20-year period. Rick’s good humour and enthusiasm are much appreciated by all who work with him in this and other endeavours. As Associate Editor of the journal, and as Editor of three special issues over the past five years, I have much appreciated Rick’s supportive attitude and actions. It is also worthy of record that, in the Australian context, Education + Training has recently been awarded an A* ranking in the Australian Research Council’s listing of national and international Journals, produced in 2010 for the “Excellence in Research for Australia’ exercise. The A* ranking was limited to 5 per cent of journals. This outstanding achievement is in no small measure due to Rick’s work as Editor.

Professor Erica SmithGuest Editor