Monday, October 10, 2011
[IWS] Eurobarometer: ATTITUDES TOWARDS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING [September 2011]
IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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European Commission
Special Eurobarometer 369
Attitudes towards vocational education and training [September 2011]
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_369_en.pdf
[full-text, 219 pages]
[excerpt]
...this Eurobarometer survey sets out to gauge the opinion of European
citizens about vocational education and training in 2011 to help inform the work of the
European Commission and Member States as they begin to implement the new VET
strategy. It sets out to assess the image of vocational education and training, and
people’s impression of VET’s potential benefits within the EU. It evaluates the impact of
VET on society and on the economy, and looks at the factors that influence young people
as they choose between VET and other forms of education.
In the course of this survey, 26,840 European citizens aged 15 and above were
interviewed about VET by the TNS Opinion & Social network between the 4th and the 19th
June 2011 in all 27 European Union Member States7, as requested by the European
Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture....
The key findings of this Eurobarometer survey include:
- 47% of European respondents have taken VET in the past or are doing so
currently.
- 71% of the Europeans think that VET has a positive image in their country.
- European citizens overwhelmingly believe that VET is relevant: 82% say that
people in vocational education and training acquire skills that are needed by
employers.
- VET is also widely understood to offer high-quality learning, with 75% of
respondents believing this to be the case.
- Over half (55%) of all respondents believe that VET leads to jobs which are well
paid, with 72% of respondents thinking that VET offers good career opportunities.
- The economic benefits of VET are accepted by most of European society, with
83% of people saying that VET contributes positively to the economy of their
country.
- Approximately half of EU citizens (52%) think that young people receive enough
advice concerning their learning and career opportunities from schools and
employment services.
- While family and schools remain the most used sources of guidance when
choosing an educational path, the internet and social online networks are
increasingly influential.
- In spite of the perceived benefits of VET, a relative majority of respondents say
that they would recommend general secondary or higher education to a young
person who is finishing compulsory education rather than VET, by a margin of
34% to 32%.
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Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 262-6041
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
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