Why vocational training is needed

Vocational training can be a desirable option for individuals entering a highly technical or hands-on field, as well as for those who wish to develop new skills. In this article, we define vocational training, explore some of the different types of vocational training available, list skills acquired through vocational training and provide information about jobs you can get with vocational training.

Vocational training refers to instructional programs or courses that focus on the skills required for a particular job function or trade. In vocational training, education prepares students for specific careers, disregarding traditional, unrelated academic subjects.

Sometimes called Vocational Education and Training or Career and Technical Education, vocational training provides hand-on, job-specific instruction, and can lead to certification, a diploma or even an associate's degree. Students typically require vocational training to prepare for trades including, but not limited to:. Related: Learning Styles for Career Development. Vocational training can be accomplished through many channels, and at varying points in someone's career. Here are some different resources for receiving vocational training:.

CTE programs are designed for high school students hoping to gain work experience in a variety of trades, as well as continue their academic studies. This type of vocational training is often offered as part of a high school curriculum, but students can also attend separate vocational training centers. These vocational training programs allow students to explore different career choices and prepare for industry-specific work or advanced education.

In most vocational training programs at this level, students continue to pursue their high school diploma while completing their training.

Tech Prep programs serve as an intermediary between secondary and post-secondary vocational training to prepare students for high tech careers. Through collaboration between the two institutions, Tech Prep programs combine at least two years of secondary and two years of postsecondary education. The program usually results in either a certificate or an associate's degree in a particular field of study.

Areas of focus include:. Sometimes referred to as trade schools, postsecondary vocational schools are another viable option for individuals considering attending a community or four-year college. They offer degree programs as well as vocational certificates and are usually designed to cater to working adults by offering night and weekend course options. Attending a postsecondary vocational school is typically required in trades such as:.

Many trade schools focus on a specific career or industry. Types of vocational schools include:. Apprenticeship programs are trade-specific and can last as long as four or five years.

In these types of programs, the apprentice, or student, works under the supervision of a professional in their trade and they are compensated for the work. This type of vocational training is most common in highly skilled, hands-on professions.

Apprenticeships typically combine on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Because some apprenticeships include classroom courses, they can result in a certification or degree.

A major benefit of this type of training is the fact that it is an educational program in which the student is paid. Due to this, placement in apprenticeship programs is usually competitive. Most on-the-job training is either done through an employer or a third-party training provider sourced by the employer.

It's common for companies to provide employees with job-specific training as well as training in general employment skills, such as human resources training, training on how to work well in a team or computer skills training. These skills can prove valuable in an employee's current position, as well as in any future employment opportunities. When learning a skill through on-the-job training, new employees are often paired with someone who is more experienced. Classroom instruction may also be utilized for on-the-job training, but it's typically only seen when a company develops its on-the-job training program into an apprenticeship program.

Related: What is On-the-Job Training? Class time tends to increase in these schools, compared to their outside research time, because students spend more time exploring actual work opportunities that prepare them for their future jobs. They do not focus as much time on researching the theoretical as learning the practical.

Students also have courses that will walk them through chances to use the highly specialized equipment and spaces that they need to do their jobs well. Rather than simply learning about this type of equipment or how it might be useful in the job, they actually have the chance to try out their own skills while still in school. When the time comes for them to transition to an actual job, they have the experience they need to begin the job right away.

They will not have to spend time learning how to physically operate the equipment on the job, allowing them to become a valuable employee and build a career faster. When employers look for new employees to join their institution, they know that they want to find someone who has the skills to do the job well and can adapt quickly to the work environment. Businesses spend a significant amount of money trying to onboard new employees, as they must go through a training process and anticipate that there will be a learning curve for the employee on a new job.

Students do not enter the work field with little practical experience regarding the tools and environments in which they will work. Instead, they have specifically worked in these situations throughout their education under the supervision of their trainers. This creates a more favorable employability skills assessment. Potential employers can look at the academic record of these students and know the type of skills they will already have when they first enter the building.

This effect can be leveraged even more, when a training institution is applying a competency based training approach that is mapped with the industry's needs.

For those interested in learning how to enhance employability skills, therefore, the first solution should lie in vocational learning opportunities.

These skills can help students learn the techniques and strategies that they specifically need for this area of work and ensure that they are prepared to succeed.

Employers can feel confident that the candidates they receive from a quality school already have the experience and training they need to begin work right away.

Many graduates struggle to find employment immediately following graduation. It can be a stressful time for many students, trying to balance their last few months of studies as they begin to submit applications and search for positions in their chosen field of work. For students who have graduated from a vocational training school, however, this situation can go a bit differently.

They have the experience to list on their resume and employers know they have a significant portion of the training they need. Often they even have started building a professional network through their job placements and internships they could potentially leverage. This helps to open doors to new possibilities. Graduates often want to know how they can enhance their employability opportunities. The answer lies in gaining the work experience that employers want to see.

Bringing this experience can make it significantly easier to find a job. Experience gives employers more insight into how a candidate will perform on the job and how many resources will need to be dedicated to training a new hire for the job. For vocational students, these work experiences become part of the curriculum.

Throughout the studies, students gain hands-on opportunities through internships and practical learning opportunities. Completing real work projects, as they do in a variety of classes, helps students build employable resumes before they even graduate.

In nearly any industry, the importance of a strong network can play a direct role in finding a job and building a successful career. The schooling experience differs when it comes to the vocational education experience. Students spend significantly more time in their physical classes and less time working on outside projects.

Students work together closely with their classmates and form relationships with teachers as they move through the program. This can help students set up better networking experiences and a mentorship.

Students in vocational jobs enter their career paths because they have the chance to pursue their passion or a career that interests them. When they get to school, they find that they can spend significant hours every week engaged directly with this area of interest for them.

This encourages interest in the courses and creates an excellent learning environment for students. Vocational Courses are intended to support non-conventional students who wish to study while balancing other obligations.

Options such as online learning, evening, night weekend make this alternative beneficial for those trying to develop new career expertise while working full-time.

Students entering vocational programs also find that they experience a variety of different economic benefits from choosing this educational path. When students graduate from a vocational program, they have work experience and precise training for their exact field. In other words, their prospective employer knows that this candidate has gone through specialized learning and practice in the field and is prepared to start working in the new position right away with minimal training.

Many vocational based programs can be finished faster than the training and education programs provided for other fields. With less time spent in school, students get to make the transition from spending money for learning and training opportunities to making money in their careers faster.

This helps to create net benefits for them from a financial standpoint. Many students also find that vocational schools have a lower price on a year to year basis. Tuition and other fees that go into learning this field do not run as high as they do at other types of schools. This contributes further to the financial savings experienced by students during their education.

Although the benefits for students entering vocational educational programs are many, there are a few challenges of vocational education that those entering a related field should be aware of.

In a traditional academic school program, students have opportunities to explore different subjects and disciplines outside their core topics for their future degrees. In a vocational setting, however, the subjects that students study revolve around their core concentration. While they may take some closely related tangential courses, they have fewer opportunities to take classes well outside their disciple.

Some organizations have encountered struggles when it comes to adapting with students who were educated in largely vocational settings. Students who did not have the opportunity to broaden their skills across a variety of disciplines and topics might be less willing and able to transition and adopt new technology and strategies within the workplace. Since their education focused on learning a specific means of completing certain routine tasks and engaging within the industry, sharp changes might be difficult to adopt.

While the dual education model is used with success in many other countries, we can take a look at the Swiss apprenticeship system as an ideal example of this educational system. People, organizations and countries take note of the Swiss system around the world, and it has shown its value in comparison to the education systems of other countries.

Further, the SwissSkills national professional team was European Champion and has achieved other high international championship rankings. In Switzerland , students learn about apprenticships and start them when they are still young.

They begin the process in about fourth grade and most start apprenticeships by the age of 15 and then have skills for work by high school graduation. Switzerland has great high school graduation rates, with almost all students 97 percent finishing high school, and low youth unemployment rates at about eight percent. In the Swiss apprenticeship system, the majority of vocational training programs have have two tracks to include both classroom and practical training.

During every school week, these programs tend to include the hands-on apprenticeship part for three to four days per week and classroom training for the rest of the time.

Swiss vocational programs last two to four years. They vary by the chosen program. Training is adjusted to fit needed skills and jobs within the chosen field at any given time, so it helps students prepare for the jobs that are available. Vocational programs are very common and popular in Switzerland.

There are about programs students can choose from in upper secondary school, and about two-thirds of Swiss youth enter vocational training.

There are benefits to apprentices, who are able to transition from the apprenticeship to a job or to a professional college or university. Companies also benefit, as they receive a full return on investment for the cost of each apprenticeship and the program has a 50 to 80 percent retention rate.

An argument against this type of program is that students at young ages are not always ready to make educational path choices that impact the rest of their lives. But Switzerland takes this into account. This system is unique because it allows students to change their educational path if they decide to do so.

You would have different options available to you in this system. After completing the apprenticeship program, you can continue with advanced training in your area of focus or you can continue your education through universities of applied sciences or other Swiss universities. The Swiss apprenticeship system is an example of how well dual training can work for students and a society.

It offers a combination of academic and on-the-job training while removing school debt and providing pay for the apprenticeship. READ: Swiss vocational education and training model: the recipe for success? When it comes to finding a job and encouraging emerging professionals to excel in their new career path, making sure that graduates have the skills they need for the position plays an essential role.

Vocational education and training, allows students to gain practical experience in their chosen career path before they even graduate. Students who finish these rigorous programs have the credentials and training they need to get started right away in their chosen career path. Vocational learning opportunities play a critical role in skill development and employability.

The importance of vocational development can largely be summed up as the difference between theoretical knowledge vs. In non-vocational studies, students have significantly fewer opportunities to actually put their acquired knowledge to work compared to students going through a vocational education situation.

However, for students in a vocational education setting, this situation gets corrected. Students spend hours in the classroom each week learning hands-on practical skills related to their chosen field. They do not focus as much time on researching the theoretical as learning the practical.

When employers look for new employees to join their institution, they know that they want to find someone who has the skills to do the job well and can adapt quickly to the work environment. Vocational schools help with bridging the skills gap between work and education. Students have specifically worked in practical situations throughout their education under the supervision of their professors.

This creates a more favorable employability skills assessment. Many graduates struggle to find employment immediately following graduation. Students who have graduated from a vocational training school have the experience to list on their resume and employers know they have a significant portion of the training they need.