OECD reviews of vocational education and training More than 30 country studies published since 2007. More than 5000 policy makers, employers, teachers, trade unionists, students and experts interviewed. OECD reviews have become a global benchmarking standard for vocational education and training systems.

1. Skills beyond School: the Review of
Post-secondary Vocational Education
and Training
www.oecd.org/education/VET
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2. OECD reviews of vocational education and training
More than 5000 policy makers, employers, teachers, trade
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More than 30 country studies published since 2007.
unionists, students and experts interviewed.
OECD reviews have become a global benchmarking
standard for vocational education and training systems.

3. Skills beyond School is about post-secondary
vocational programmes
• Full reviews. Austria, Denmark, Egypt, Germany,
Israel, Kazakhstan, Korea, the Netherlands, South
Africa, Switzerland, the UK (England), and the United
States.
• Commentaries. Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Iceland,
Romania, Spain, Sweden and in Northern Ireland and
Scotland in the UK.
• Background reports. France, Hungary.
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4. 22 countries have actively
participated
• Full reviews. Austria, Denmark, Egypt, Germany,
Israel, Kazakhstan, Korea, the Netherlands, South
Africa, Switzerland, the UK (England), and the United
States.
• Commentaries. Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Iceland,
Romania, Spain, Sweden and in Northern Ireland and
Scotland in the UK.
• Background reports. France, Hungary.
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6. 6
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
%
Professional education and training* qualifications
Percentage of adults aged 20 – 45 who have short‑cycle professional
education and training as their highest qualification

7. Strengthening the profile
• Stronger
nomenclature would
enhance the profile
and brand image of
the sector
• Post-secondary
vocational
programmes go by a
host of different
names
Recommendation
“Professional education
and training” should
become the internationally
accepted description of
substantial post-secondary
vocational programmes
(more than six months full-time).
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8. Institutional and funding barriers
• Stronger
nomenclature
would enhance the
profile and brand
image of the sector
• Post-secondary
vocational
programmes go by a
host of different
names
Recommendation
An institutional base that:
•offers short cycle professional programmes in a tier
of institutions separate from universities;
•makes use where relevant of the successful model of
universities of applied science; consolidates training
providers into institutions of adequate size;
•provides a consistent framework of public funding.
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9. Coordination
Recommendation
• Stronger
nomenclature
would enhance the
profile and brand
image of the sector
• Post-secondary
vocational
programmes go by a
host of different
names
Ensure that there is an institutional framework to
co-ordinate professional education and training,
engaging employers and organised labour, so that
programmes and qualifications are comprehensible
and accessible to key stakeholders.
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10. Strengthening the profile
• ISCED 1997 categories
do not adequately
separate out vocational
programmes
• Professional
qualifications awarded
by industry associations
are not always included
in national education
statistics.
Recommendation
Ensure that ISCED 2011
delivers an accurate
classification of
vocational programmes.
Develop better data on
professional
examinations.
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11. Workbased learning
• The workplace provides
a strong learning
environment, and
facilitates recruitment;
while trainees
contribute to output.
• Work-based learning
opportunities are a
direct expression of
employer needs.
Recommendation
All professional
programmes should
involve some work-based
learning as a condition of
government funding. It
should be systematic,
quality assured and
credit-bearing.
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12. Vocational teachers
• It is often challenging
to recruit and retain
teachers who have both
strong pedagogical
skills and practical
professional expertise.
• Keeping practical
knowledge of the
workplace up-to-date is
also a major challenge.
Recommendation
Ensure that the workforce
in professional training
institutions benefit from a
strong blend of
pedagogical skills,
industry experience and
academic knowledge.
Adapt qualification
requirements to that end.
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13. Literacy and numeracy skills
• Basic skills of literacy
and numeracy are
critical both for labour
market success and to
support further
learning.
• Some adults – even
some with post-secondary
qualifications – have
weak basic skills.
Recommendation
Ensure adequate basic skills
among students alongside
occupation-specific
competencies. This means
assessing basic skills at the
outset of programmes,
addressing weaknesses, and
integrating basic skills
development into
professional programmes.
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14. Strong qualifications
Recommendation
• Stronger
nomenclature
would enhance the
profile and brand
image of the sector
• Post-secondary
vocational
programmes go by a
host of different
names
Build qualifications that are meaningful to
employers and useful to students by fully involving
labour market actors in their design, updating and
delivery; ensure the qualification system delivers a
manageable number of qualifications, avoiding
proliferation and overlaps; the content of
qualifications should be, so far as possible, nationally
consistent while allowing an element of local
flexibility.
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15. A focus on learning outcomes
A traditional qualification
is obtained through a set
programme of study
within a defined
institution. Relaxing
those requirements in
favour of an emphasis on
learning outcomes
(regardless of how they
are realised) could yield
multiple efficiencies.
Recommendation
Flexible ways of
recognising skills should
be encouraged, including
both recognition of prior
learning and competence-based
examinations,
supported by strong
assessments.
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16. Effective assessments
• It is demanding to
conduct effective
assessment of the
complex package of soft
and hard skills making
up an occupational
skillset.
• The incentives for
qualification providers
to pursue effective
assessments can be
weak.
Recommendation
Assessments need to be
reliable, consistent and
demanding so that the
qualifications they
support are credible
proofs of competence.
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17. Post-secondary options for
vocational graduates
The strongest vocational
systems offer a wide range
of opportunities to upper
secondary vocational
graduates. These establish
a career structure those
graduates, support the
training of apprentice
trainers, and play a key
role in developing
management skills.
Recommendation
To meet labour market
needs and the aspirations
of students, ensure that
graduates from upper
secondary vocational
programmes have the
opportunity to pursue
higher-level vocational
and academic
qualifications. 17

18. Flexibles modes of study
• Entrants to post-secondary
programmes
include many older
students who have to
balance their pursuit of
further qualifications
with the demands of
work and home.
• Their needs are often
different from those of
most school-leavers.
Recommendation
To meet the needs of adult
learners, ensure flexible
modes of study, including
part-time and modular
arrangements, distance
learning and competence-based
approaches.
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19. Transition to academic
programmes
Graduates of short-cycle
professional programmes
wishing to continue into
connected academic
programmes often face
obstacles, such as
unclarity about how
different programmes
relate to one another, and
inadequate incentives for
higher level institutions to
offer course exemptions.
Recommendation
Build articulation
frameworks to support
transition from
professional programmes
to academic tertiary
education. Underpin these
with measures to ensure
transparency and quality
in the learning outcomes
from professional
programmes. 19

20. Effective career guidance
• While growth in post-secondary
programmes
is expanding
opportunities, it is also
increasing the
complexity of the choices
that young people need
to make.
• Effective career guidance
is needed to help
students navigate these
pathways
Recommendation
Underpin pathways of
progression with good-quality
career guidance
and information both
before entering and
during professional
programmes.
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21. Thank you!
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For further information see:
www.oecd.orgeducationVET