Positive returns from IVET are of crucial importance.
Being mainly, though not solely, designed for participants to acquire practical skills and know-how needed for employment in particular occupations, IVET can aid transition from education to work and contribute to lowering unemployment among the young.
The indicator below is defined as the employment rate of young people aged 20-34 who have a vocational qualification at ISCED 3-4 as their highest level of education attainment and who are no longer in education and training. In this section the indicator is considered first on its own. In the following sections it is compared with the corresponding rates for medium-level graduates from general education and for those with at most lower secondary level education.
Figure 23: Employment rate for IVET graduates (20-34 year-olds)
Source: Eurostat, EU labour force survey.
Key points
In 2016, the average employment rate for EU IVET graduates with a medium level of education (ISCED 3-4), and no longer in (either formal or non-formal) education, was 78.1%. The highest rate is observed in Malta (93.6%) and other additional 11 Member States report percentages ranging between 80% and 90%. The lowest employment rates for 20-34 year-old IVET graduates are found in Italy (64.1%) and Greece (58.7%).
Among the non-EU countries for which there are data, Iceland and Norway had rates above 85%, well above the EU average. The employment rate for 20-34 year-old IVET graduates was below the EU average rate in Turkey (at 67.3%) and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (at 61.3%).
In the EU, in the period 2014-2016 the employment rate of IVET graduates went up by 1.3 percentage points. Although to a different extent, this happened in the majority of EU member states. In only three countries (Czech Republic, France and Romania, the trend was opposite).
In the EU, in 2016, at 78.1%, the employment rate for graduates from the VET stream % is higher than that of graduates from the general stream (72.4%). It is also higher than the rate for those with a low level of education attainment (54.7%). These differences are described in more detail in the following indicators.
Table 23: Employment rate for IVET graduates (20-34 year-olds), including comparison with a similar indicator for graduates from upper secondary general education and for young people with a low level of educational attainment
Arrows ↗ or ↘ signal a positive or negative trend based on more than two data points and of magnitude 0.1 per year or more. Trends based on more than two data points but of smaller magnitude are indicated by →; trends based on two points only are marked ▪. Trends are estimated by means of regression models.
(b) Break after 2010. Therefore baseline data not included. (u) Eurostat: "low reliability". (z) Eurostat: "not applicable". (e) Eurostat: "estimated".
Source: Eurostat, EU labour force survey.
Data insights details
