Choosing Vocational Courses: Why twelve British Pakistani males selected vocational courses at the age of 16

ABSTRACT

The higher participation of England’s ethnic minority students on vocational courses at the age of 16 initiates them onto the ‘lower tier’ pathway in tertiary education. Lower tier implies participating in certain vocational courses and entering lower status universities. Consequently, ethnic minority students in England have a weaker labour market position upon graduation. Using semi-structured interviews, this article explores the decision-making process of 12 British Pakistani students, as they are initiated on this lower tier pathway. The findings suggest that decision-making is a negotiation of student biography with ethnic capital and ‘racial warehousing’. This interplay funnels many ethnic minority students towards the lower tier pathway, where selecting certain vocational courses is deemed as the only pathway feasible for progression. This study sheds light on the need to promote alternative vocational pathways to England’s ethnic minority students.

KEYWORDS:

• Words: Race
• TVET
• BTEC
• racial warehousing
• Bradford
• ethnic capital

Acknowledgement

Thank you to Professor Kevin Orr and Dr Shamim Miah for their support and guidance throughout my research journey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.