The standing and status of vocational education and training in Denmark

ABSTRACT

Looking at the current figures for enrolment and completion, vocational education and training (VET) in Denmark is in a bad way. Over the course of the last 15 years, significantly fewer students have enrolled in VET, whereas enrolments in general upper secondary education have increased. Furthermore, approximately half the students enrolling in VET do not complete the programme. This has been widely interpreted as reflecting a loss of prestige for VET. This article examines assumptions regarding the reasons for the low standing and status of VET among young people that inspired the initiatives comprising the 2014 reform of Danish VET. It also summarises the findings of research on the impact of these initiatives. Concluding that the 2014 reform has had no impact on either enrolment or completion rates, the article provides a number of explanations for the lack of effect; explanations that can be used to assess the likelihood of success for current and future measures to improve the standing and status of VET.

KEYWORDS:

• Standing
• reform
• transition
• admission
• pedagogy
• VET students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The combined youth education programme has since been abolished. FGU (preparatory basic education) has been established as an alternative, please see below.

2. In Norway, students begin VET with a 2-year school-based course (VG1 and VG2), which might be one explanation as to why VET enrolment rates in Norway are significantly higher than in Denmark.

3. One of the challenges in relation to establishing a youth-oriented learning environment was to define the characteristics of this environment, the aim being to establish a vocational youth education environment and thereby clearly distinguish the learning environment at VET colleges from that at high schools (gymnasium).

4. Having a focus in the article on the young people in VET, issues related to VET for adults will not be elaborated.

5. From the age of 25, students are classified as part of the adult education system.