SKILLS
MISMATCH 3
RESEARCH
With astonishing rates of youth unemployment across many european member states,
policy makers are increasingly called into action in order to tackle a generational plague
affecting both european youth, and the overall prosperity of the continent.
The observation that countries with low youth unemployment rates are those where
Vocational Education and Training (VET) and apprenticeship programmes are more developed
is driving the debate on effective education policies, and puts an emphasis on VET
and apprenticeships as key instruments in tackling youth unemployment.
Apprenticeships are believed to promote a smoother transition from school
to work for young people, giving them a good start to their working careers.
To test these claims, this ThinkYoung and Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies report
investigates young people’s perceptions on the effective provision of VET schemes in 6 major European countries
(the UK, Spain, Germany, Austria, France and Italy) and their role in addressing youth unemployment.
The report sheds light on young people’s initial perception and attractiveness of VET,
the determinants of choosing a VET based educational path, the experience and perceived
quality of VET instruction, as well as options for skills transferability and sector mobility.
This is done through a comparison of the findings from those who graduate from such programmes,
and those pursuing a general education track.
DOCUMENTARY
Download the report here