Understanding why young people choose - or do not choose - initial vocational education and training (IVET) is a persistent challenge for education and employment policy. Attractiveness is shaped by a complex mix of individual perceptions, family and peer influence, institutional factors, and broader societal, economic and labour market dynamics that existing analytical frameworks do not yet capture systematically.
In preparation for the forthcoming EU VET Strategy, Cedefop has developed two complementary research resources that offer a well-rounded overview of the factors at play in IVET attractiveness. They map both the conceptual terrain of IVET attractiveness and the indicators available to understand what drives it from a demographic and labour market perspective.
What the resources are
The internal factors framework is a structured inventory of 67 analytically distinct subdimensions, organised into five dimensions: image and awareness; access and resources; quality and effectiveness; relevance of VET provision; and outcomes and impact. Designed for researchers, policymakers, and system designers, it provides a comprehensive map of the factors shaping IVET attractiveness - from media framing and gender stereotypes to curriculum relevance and qualification value.
The external factors indicator list complements the internal factors framework by identifying the demographic and labour market factors that help explain the broader phenomenon of IVET attractiveness. It includes associated indicators that enable empirical tracking and cross-country comparison over time. The two resources do not map one-to-one: the indicator list covers the measurable, data-available subset of a wider landscape.
Who these resources are for
The two resources are designed to be useful at different stages of research and policy work. Researchers designing comparative studies will find in the internal factors framework a structured analytical lens and in the external factors indicator list a ready-made measurement toolkit. National VET authorities and system designers can use the framework diagnostically: to audit which attractiveness determinants their system addresses well and which it neglects. EU-level monitoring bodies and policy advisors will find the indicator list directly applicable to cross-country benchmarking. Guidance professionals and those working on VET communication may find the image and awareness dimension particularly relevant to their work.
Provenance and versioning
These resources were developed in the final quarter of 2025 under a Service Level Agreement between Cedefop and the European Commission's DG Employment, in the context of preparatory research for the forthcoming EU VET Strategy.
They are living documents and will be updated as the research develops. The date of the current version is indicated in each file.
Please use the contact details provided on this page to provide feedback or ask questions.
Dataset details
© European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), 2026
Cedefop (2026). IVET attractiveness dataset https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/datasets/dataset-ivet-attractiveness
Ke stažení
Internal factors framework