Search Results for
"Vocational education"

Entries into firm-based vocational education and training (VET) stagnated in Germany during the 2010s and decreased by 11% between 2019 and 2020, which is likely to exacerbate future shortages of skilled workers. Against this backdrop, we study the VET market through the lens of a matching function estimated at the occupation by district level between 2013 and 2021. We employ a novel strategy to instrument for applicants and vacancies which draws on differences in local labor market conditions for different occupations. Our estimated matching elasticities for applicants and vacancies are 0.46 and 0.57, respectively. Matching efficiency shows a slight downward trend before Covid and a large drop during Covid. Using our estimates to decompose aggregate trends in matches, we find that while matching efficiency and applicants drove matches down before Covid, the increase in vacancies until 2019 stabilized the VET market. During Covid, the drop in applicants, vacancies, and matching efficiency contributed similarly to the sudden drop of matches. Furthermore, without the increase in migrants applying to VET positions, demographic change alone would have led to an even greater decline in matches already before Covid. Changes in occupational and regional mismatch did little in explaining the overall trend in matches. © 2025 The Authors

Educational institutions are facing a crisis characterized by the need to address diverse learning styles and vocational aspirations, exacerbated by ongoing financial pressures. To navigate these challenges effectively, there is an urgent need to innovate educational practices and learning environments, ensuring they are adaptable and responsive to the evolving needs of students and the workforce. The adoption of the Industry 5.0 framework offers a promising solution, providing a holistic approach that emphasizes the integration of human creativity and advanced technologies to transform educational institutions into resilient, human-centric, and sustainable learning environments. In this context, this article presents a transdisciplinary methodology that integrates Asset Management (AM) with Social Innovation (SI) through Design Thinking (DT) to co-design Educational Facilities 5.0 with stakeholders. The application of the proposed approach in an AgroLab case study—a food and agricultural laboratory—demonstrates how the methodology enables the definition of an Educational Facility 5.0 and generates AM Design Knowledge to support informed decision-making in the subsequent design, implementation, and operation phases. Following DT principles—where knowledge emerges through iterative experimentation and insights from practical applications—this article also discusses the role of SI and DT in AM, the role of Large Language Models in convergent processes, and a vision for Educational Facilities 5.0. © 2025 by the authors.

Active learning strategies and methodologies place the students at the core of the learning process. The objective is to engage students in their own learning through significant activities that involve active participation. These activities are designed to promote collaboration, reflection, and practical application of the knowledge acquired to develop cognitive, social, and emotional competences. These methodologies are of particular interest in STEM disciplines and vocational education, where practice is a key element in the assimilation of theoretical concepts. In this line, a case study is presented where active methodologies have been applied to two groups of vocational education and Training in the area of Computer Science to improve interest and commitment. The present study focuses on two groups of first-year students enrolled in the Web Application Design course, one in the Programming subject and the other in the Markup Language subject. Both groups are heterogeneous, composed of young adults with significantly different backgrounds, skills, and motivation. The teaching–learning process is based on active methodologies, such as Project-Based Learning, Design Thinking, Flipped Classroom, or gamification, which are adapted for different subjects in the field of Computer Science. These methodologies facilitate the experimental design and testing of diverse solutions for programming problems, thereby enhancing students’ motivation and interest, while promoting creativity and reflection. The results show an improvement in the interest and commitment of the students in both groups. Despite the fact that less than 50% of students successfully passed in the initial examination, more than 75% students passed after the second-chance examination. The findings have consistently suggested that the implementation of active methodologies leads to significant enhancements in the proficiency, development, motivation, and self-learning capabilities of students, and that these methodologies make students more aware of their learning process. © 2025 by the authors.

This study develops and validates an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted internship learning platform for automotive electronics based on the Llama 3 large language model, aiming to enhance pedagogical effectiveness within vocational training contexts. Addressing critical issues such as the persistent theory–practice gap and limited innovation capability prevalent in existing curricula, we leverage the natural language processing (NLP) capabilities of Llama 3 through fine-tuning based on transfer learning to establish a specialized knowledge base encompassing fundamental circuit principles and fault diagnosis protocols. The implementation employs the Hugging Face Transformers library with optimized hyperparameters, including a learning rate of 5 × 10−5 across five training epochs. Post-training evaluations revealed an accuracy of 89.7% on validation tasks (representing a 12.4% improvement over the baseline model), a semantic comprehension precision of 92.3% in technical question-and-answer assessments, a mathematical computation accuracy of 78.4% (highlighting this as a current limitation), and a latency of 6.3 s under peak operational workloads (indicating a system bottleneck). Although direct trials involving students were deliberately avoided, the platform’s technical feasibility was validated through multidimensional benchmarking against established models (BERT-base and GPT-2), confirming superior domain adaptability (F1 = 0.87) and enhanced error tolerance (σ2 = 1.2). Notable limitations emerged in numerical reasoning tasks (Cohen’s d = 1.15 compared to human experts) and in real-time responsiveness deterioration when exceeding 50 concurrent users. The study concludes that Llama 3 demonstrates considerable promise for automotive electronics skills development. Proposed future enhancements include integrating symbolic AI modules to improve computational reliability, implementing Kubernetes-based load balancing to ensure latency below 2 s at scale, and conducting longitudinal pedagogical validation studies with trainees. This research provides a robust technical foundation for AI-driven vocational education, especially suited to mechatronics fields that require close integration between theoretical knowledge and practical troubleshooting skills. © 2025 by the authors.

This study analyses the effectiveness of a contextualized teaching and learning sequence (TLS) based on forensic entomology (FE) to disprove the idea of spontaneous generation (SG) among students enrolled in the Higher vocational education and Training (VET) Cycle in Pathological Anatomy and Cytodiagnosis. Through an inquiry- and project-based learning approach, students replicate a version of Francesco Redi’s historical experiments, enabling them to engage with core scientific concepts such as the metamorphic cycle of insects and the role of entomology in forensic science. The research adopts a semiquantitative and exploratory design. It investigates: (1) whether students’ prior knowledge about FE and related biological processes is sufficient to refute SG; (2) to what extent this knowledge is influenced by their previous academic background and gender; and (3) whether a contextualized TLS can significantly enhance their conceptual understanding. The results reveal that most students begin with limited initial knowledge of FE and multiple misconceptions related to SG, irrespective of their previous study. Gender differences were observed at baseline, with women showing lower prior knowledge, but these differences disappeared after the intervention. The post-intervention data demonstrate a significant improvement in student’s ability to reject SG and explain biological processes coherently. The study highlights the importance of integrating entomology into health-related VET programs, both as a means to promote scientific literacy and correct misconceptions and as a pedagogical tool to foster critical thinking. It also highlights the potential and historically grounded methodologies to equalize learning outcomes and strengthen the scientific preparation of future healthcare professionals. © 2025 by the authors.

This study explores the potential of immersive virtual reality (IVR) to enhance knowledge transfer in vocational education, particularly in bridging the gap between academic learning and practical workplace application. The focus lies on relevant predictors for actual learning transfer, namely knowledge acquisition and the transfer-related self-efficacy. Additionally, the Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL) is used to investigate potential predictors in IVR learning. This approach allows for empirical testing of the CAMIL and validation of its assumptions using empirical data. To address the research questions, a quasi-experimental field study was conducted with 141 retail trainees at a German vocational school. Participants were assigned to either an IVR group or a control group receiving traditional instruction. The intervention spanned four teaching sessions of 90 min each, focusing on the design of a retail sales area based on sales-promoting principles. To assess subject-related learning outcomes, a domain-specific knowledge test was developed. In addition, transfer-related self-efficacy and other relevant constructs were measured using Likert-scale questionnaires. The results show that IVR-based instruction significantly improves knowledge acquisition and transfer-related self-efficacy compared to traditional teaching methods. In terms of the CAMIL-based mechanisms, significant correlations were found between transfer-related self-efficacy and factors such as interest, motivation, academic self-efficacy, embodiment, and self-regulation. Additionally, correlations were found between knowledge acquisition and relevant predictors such as interest, motivation, and self-regulation. These findings underscore IVR’s potential to facilitate knowledge transfer in vocational school, highlighting the need for further research on its long-term effects and the actual application of learned skills in real-world settings. © 2025 by the author.

Project-Based Learning (PjBL) is a constructivist learning model that emphasizes active student engagement through real-world projects. Implementation in vocational education often faces challenges such as limited time, high material costs, and procedural errors. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating vlogs into Project-Based Learning, or Project-Based Learning with Vlog (PjBLV), in improving learning readiness, reducing procedural errors, and enhancing students’ culinary practicum outcomes. Employing a quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent control group, the research involved 26 third-semester students of the Hospitality Management Program at Universitas Negeri Padang, divided equally into an experimental group (PjBLV) and a control group (PjBL). The instruments consisted of a pre-test, essay-based post-test, and practicum assessment, all validated and tested for reliability. At the same time, data were analyzed using N-Gain and independent t-tests at a 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that the experimental group achieved a higher post-test mean score (88.67) than the control group (84.42), with an N-Gain of 80.46% categorized as high, indicating significant improvement in learning outcomes. The consistent distribution of scores demonstrated that PjBLV benefitted students across different ability levels, thereby reducing performance gaps. PjBLV proved more effective than conventional PjBL by promoting time efficiency, minimizing errors, and optimizing resources. The implications suggest that PjBLV is a promising pedagogical model for broader application in vocational education. Future studies are recommended to examine its impact on long-term skill retention and to explore the integration of interactive, technology-enhanced vlog-based learning for more personalized instruction. © 2025 by the author(s).

This research developed a problem-based worksheet (PB-Ws) model integrated with a learning management system (LMS) for the pneumatic course, targeting improvements in students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The study employed a four-phase design-based research (DBR) method: needs analysis, design planning, development, and reflection. The PB-Ws was validated by three expert validators. Data collection methods included interviews, observations, literature studies, and documentation. Results demonstrated that the PB-Ws model achieved a high feasibility level, particularly in the context (curriculum alignment and goal relevance), design, and language aspects, each scoring 4.0. However, input (adaptability to student characteristics) and process (implementation clarity and evaluation suitability) scored 3.7 and 3.3, suggesting areas for improvement in evaluation mechanisms and promotion of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). This is because, although the model aligns with educational needs and standards, enhancements in cognitive challenge are necessary to maximize its effectiveness. The development of the PB-Ws model, integrated with LMS, significantly impacts vocational education by providing a structured, interactive, and accessible learning experience, supporting the cultivation of 21st-century skills in mechatronics and pneumatic systems. © School of Engineering, Taylor’s University.

The type of nonwork orientation and decent work perception are supposed to be important factors that influence well-being at work. In this study, 196 Swiss apprentices enrolled in a vocational education training were assessed twice during the first 24 months of their apprenticeship. The results showed that there are specific links between nonwork orientations, decent work, and job satisfaction over time. Concerning relations among decent work dimensions, the results highlighted the importance of safe working conditions to predict complementary values perception and the importance of this in predicting adequate compensation perception. Implications for practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2023.

Using virtual laboratories for practical learning in vocational education has significantly increased in recent years. This study aims to analyse virtual laboratory research trends for practical learning in vocational education through bibliometric analysis by taking data from Scopus (intro/issue). The method used in this bibliometric journal article is the bibliometric method. This research step consists of (i) determining search keywords, (ii) collection of publication data, (iii) bibliometric data processing, (iv) bibliometric data mapping, and (v) data analysis. The search keywords used to collect data were "Virtual laboratory," "vocational," and "education." There are 31 articles indexed by Scopus from 2002 to 2023. From 2019 to 2023, research on virtual laboratories in vocational education has increased. This is because access to computer technology, the internet, and mobile devices is increasingly widespread, and a surge in technology use occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the bibliometric mapping analysis show there are 24 terms grouped into 3 clusters. The terms virtual laboratory and vocational education are related in research. Virtual laboratories help overcome problems in vocational education, especially for productive vocational subjects such as working on dangerous equipment. © 2025, Semarak Ilmu Publishing. All rights reserved.