Search Results for
"Vocational education"

Women’s participation in Green-STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) careers remains low. This study examined how to remove gender barriers in Environmental-STEM technical and vocational training programs, aiming to expand opportunities for women in the green economy. SENA, Colombia’s public TVET institution, served as the case study. Gender Transformative and Participatory Action Research approaches, along with the MICMAC method, were used to identify, analyze, and address key barriers. Surveys, interviews and focus groups provided qualitative and quantitative data. The MICMAC analysis revealed the relationships among barriers and their interdependencies, identifying nine core barriers. To address these, women-led smart strategies were implemented through learning cycles, supported by small- and full-scale green pilots focused on sustainable resource utilization, production patterns, and circular economy knowledge transfer. As a result, female apprentices strengthened their sustainability-focused skills and confidence, while SENA enhanced its capacity to foster more inclusive Green-STEM vocational pathways. This study expands existing knowledge by deepening the understanding of gender barriers in vocational STEM careers related to sustainability and environmental management in Latin America, where research remains Limited. It offers actionable recommendations on leveraging education to drive progress toward SDGs 4, 5, 12, and 13. © The Author(s) 2025.

This study examines the effects of firm-based (or dual) vocational education and training (VET) on labour market and educational outcomes. Using Swiss administrative data, I compare graduates of dual and school-based VET, all of whom have studied the same curriculum and received the same diploma. In addition to municipality fixed effects models, I use distance to the nearest full-time VET school as an instrumental variable to identify the causal effect. The results show that dual VET is far more effective for securing first employment, especially for men and for occupations with loose labour market conditions. For causal channels, dual VET not only provides the possibility of remaining in the training firm upon graduation but is also more effective among those who do not remain. However, as school-based VET graduates are more likely to progress to higher education, the overall results show that each form of VET has a comparative advantage. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd

Social entrepreneurship education is promising to foster entrepreneurial intentions and inspire vocational learners to tackle societal challenges by applying sustainable business models. Challenge-based Learning is an innovative approach for social entrepreneurship education as it encourages learning while working on real-world challenges addressing societal issues. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence for Challenge-based Learning in the context of vocational education and training. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the design of Challenge-based Learning courses for social entrepreneurship education in vocational education and evaluate their potential to contribute to changing entrepreneurial intentions. N = 44 vocational students in three Challenge-based Learning-oriented social entrepreneurship courses were surveyed using standardized scales in a longitudinal design. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, a mixed ANOVA, and hierarchical linear regressions. Differences in Challenge-based Learning implementation mainly concern the authenticity and complexity of the challenge as well as external stakeholder involvement. Differences in entrepreneurial intentions between courses were only significant after the course. Only participants in course 3 reported a statistically significant increase in entrepreneurial intentions. Beyond course membership, only previous entrepreneurial intentions explained incremental variance. To sum up, Challenge-based Learning shows potential to foster entrepreneurial intentions, but more research on the design of interventions and specific adaptations for the vocational education context is needed. © The Author(s) 2025.

vocational education and training (VET) systems are characterized by both gender-specific occupational segregation and vertical occupational segmentation, leading to considerable differences in income and employment stability prospects across individual training occupations. For refugee men and women in particular, whose labor market positioning is crucial for their socio-economic integration in the host country, it is therefore not only important that they enter VET, but also which specific occupation they enter. This article investigates, first, whether the dual training occupations pursued in Germany by men and women with a refugee background differ from those pursued by those from the majority population in terms of prospective income and employment stability; and second, whether these differences are mediated by variations in search and application strategies as well as network resources, on the one hand, and differences in school-leaving qualifications, on the other. Drawing on data from the BA/BIBB Applicants Survey and the Refugee Migration Study (N = 6,055), the results show that men and women with a refugee background are more likely to enter training occupations with significantly lower occupation-specific salaries than their counterparts in the majority population. Refugee men also tend to pursue occupations with higher occupation-specific unemployment rates, whereas no such difference is found for women. These disparities are only marginally mediated by variations in search and application strategies and network resources, but are largely explained by differences in school-leaving qualifications. When controlling for these resources, women with a refugee background are more likely to enter training occupations with even lower unemployment rates than women from the majority population. © The Author(s) 2025.

Background: The Obesity Policy Engagement Network (OPEN)-EU manifesto, led by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), underscores the urgent need for enhanced, evidence-based education for healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in obesity care. This scoping review aims to identify and profile relevant literature that reports on obesity-related competencies for HCPs and to synthesise identified competencies into obesity competency domains and subdomains to inform HCP education. Methods: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute and PRISMA guidelines, including a comprehensive search strategy targeting PubMed, CINAHL Plus and ERIC databases (2014–2024). Based on clear inclusion criteria, full-text articles which focused on obesity-related competencies in HCP education were identified. Thematic analysis of all reported competencies was conducted to generate obesity-related competency domains and subdomains. Results: Twenty-two studies were included in the scoping review (out of 1286 unique records resulting from database searches) with a diversity of HCP disciplines represented. Multiple obesity competencies were identified, spanning eleven key domains: Obesity Background, Clinical Assessment, Clinical Management, Evidence-Based Practice, Communication, Professionalism/ethical standards, Patient Centred Care, Advocacy/influencing, HCP education, Public Health/Health promotion and Health Systems. The most frequently reported competencies fell within the domains of Clinical Assessment and Clinical Management. Conclusion: This scoping review identified and synthesised obesity related competencies from HCPs education and professionalisation literature into eleven key domains and related subdomains. These findings highlight the multifaceted nature of obesity management, postulating the usefulness of comprehensive, competency-based training for HCPs. © The Author(s) 2025.

This study examines whether adolescents’ interest and self-concept regarding information and communication technologies (ICT) affect their subsequent career paths through the selection into different vocational education and training (VET) programs. Drawing on Eccles’ situated expectancy value theory and related theories, we argue that ICT interest and self-concept should influence adolescents’ vocational choices, possibly contributing to occupational gender segregation regarding ICT. Using longitudinal data from the TREE2 study (Transitions into education and Employment) on 1,995 Swiss adolescents transitioning into firm-based VET, we find strongly gendered patterns. ICT interest predicts selection into occupations with greater intensity of basic and advanced ICT use, but this positive association is driven entirely by girls. In contrast, ICT self-concept significantly predicts ICT use intensity in future occupations only among boys. Selection into ICT specialist occupations is associated exclusively with adolescents’ ICT self-concept rather than their ICT interest, questioning whether girls’ lower average ICT interest represents a relevant barrier for entry into ICT specialist occupations in the context of VET. Our findings emphasize that ICT are an important content domain of adolescents’ vocational choices today and highlight how gendered interests and self-concepts towards ICT perpetuate occupational gender segregation. © The Author(s) 2025.

The government of Ethiopia provides TVET in a cooperative modality, which requires the active involvement of enterprises. The study was conducted to investigate the involvement of enterprises in cooperative training within the Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. The study aimed to determine whether enterprises were appropriately equipped, knowledgeable about the purpose of the training, and participated in planning and assessment, as well as their willingness to provide hands-on practice, if there is compensation for enterprises' involvement in cooperative training. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to 80 TVET instructors selected using simple random sampling technique. This method focused on instructors with direct experience in cooperative training programs across four purposefully chosen administrative zones, considering geographical diversity, community lifestyles, variations in enterprise concentration, and related factors to capture a range of perspectives. The researcher used the mean score to determine the instructors' responses and standard deviation to indicate the degree of variability in the response. The findings revealed a significant mismatch between the number of trainees and the available space in enterprises, highlighting capacity constraints. Furthermore, the study indicated a lack of enterprise involvement in key aspects of the training process, including planning learning activities, participating in trainee assessments, and contributing to the evaluation of trainee performance. Instructors also reported that enterprises possessed limited knowledge regarding the learning outcomes of the training programs and were not actively engaged in trainee assessment. Compensation provided to enterprises for their participation in cooperative training was perceived as minimal, and no formal warranty was in place to cover potential damages occurring during the training period. To mitigate the problem of TVET training, it is necessary to encourage collaboration between TVET colleges and enterprises by compensating enterprises involvement and potential damages. Equip TVET colleges in peripheral areas with well-equipped workshops and resources to enable them to provide comprehensive in-campus training. On top of that, it is paramount to establish clear policy frameworks, invest in capacity-building for instructors and mentors, and implement robust monitoring mechanisms for all cooperative training programs. © The Author(s) 2025.

Objective: This study was to understand the experiences of nursing students in vocational colleges whose clinical nursing procedures were refused by patients, providing reference for the management of nursing students. Methods: Using purposive sampling, nursing students and patients were recruited at a certain tertiary hospital in Xiangyang City from June 2023 to April 2024. Data were collected through in-depth face-to-face interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis. Results: A total of 37 interviews were conducted in this study, and by the time the 35rd interview was conducted, the data reached saturation. Finally, 17 nursing students and 16 patients were included. A total of 3 themes and 10 subthemes were identified: educational background (educational discrimination; educational duration restrictions), patient factors (psychological shadow; stereotypical thinking about interns; patient’s emotional state; severity of the patient’s condition; fear of invasive procedures), and nursing student factors (low professional identity; lack of proficiency in procedures; poor coping skills). Conclusion: The refusal of patients to allow nursing students to perform procedures was influenced by a variety of factors. It is necessary to analyze the causes, explore solutions, and take measures to improve the efficiency of nursing students’ clinical internships. © The Author(s) 2025.

One of the major challenges of the German vocational education and training (VET) system is the integration of adolescents with unfavorable learning prerequisites, i.e., individuals with no or lower school-leaving certificates or low levels of basic competencies (e.g., reading and mathematics). This paper examines the extent to which trainees’ learning prerequisites affect the development of professional knowledge during VET. In addition, the analysis focuses on the role of learning conditions during VET in reducing inequalities that stem from differences in trainees’ learning prerequisites. This paper implements a longitudinal design to examine within-person effects regarding the professional knowledge of N = 401 prospective chefs in a German dual VET program over the first two years of VET. Based on a domain-specific knowledge test, weighted likelihood estimates (WLE) are calculated as person parameter estimates for trainees’ professional knowledge at the beginning (t1) and the second year of VET (t3). Following the idea of value-added modeling, professional knowledge at t3 serves as the dependent variable in a structural equation model. Trainees’ professional knowledge level at t3 is modeled as a function of the initial professional knowledge level (t1) and trainees’ learning prerequisites when entering the VET program (educational background and basic competencies) as well as learning conditions (work assignments, social interactions, and feedback) during the first year of VET (t2). Moderation effects additionally examine whether trainees with less favorable learning prerequisites benefit more from high-quality learning conditions. The study yields two primary findings. First, the association between trainees’ learning prerequisites and their professional knowledge decreases over the course of VET. Controlling for initial levels of professional knowledge, only trainees’ reading skills are found to be significantly directly associated with professional knowledge at t3, i.e. the second year of VET (β = 0.209, p <.01), while mathematical skills are shown to be indirectly related to professional knowledge at t3 (via initial knowledge levels). Similarly, the association between trainees’ educational background and professional knowledge at t3 is mediated via basic competencies. Hence, when controlling for initial professional knowledge levels, the role of trainees’ learning prerequisites in subsequent knowledge acquisition during VET is rather limited. Second, the results underline the importance of learning conditions during in-company training periods in VET – especially for trainees with unfavorable learning prerequisites. Controlling for trainees’ learning prerequisites and initial professional knowledge levels, the variety of work assignments during in-company training is significantly positively associated with professional knowledge gains (β = 0.156, p <.05). In addition, the moderation analyses show that trainees’ learning prerequisites (educational background, reading comprehension skills, and mathematical knowledge) moderate the association between all three learning conditions examined and professional knowledge acquisition during VET. This means that trainees with less favorable learning prerequisites benefit more strongly from high-quality learning conditions. Implications for the selection of trainees as well as the design of VET programs are discussed. © The Author(s) 2025.

This study investigates cadet performance segmentation during on-board maritime training using clustering analysis of data from the On Training Monitoring (OTMon) system. Grounded in the competency-based education framework and experiential learning theory, the research aims to identify behavioral patterns and competency levels among 80 maritime cadets over a twelve-month sea-based training program. The OTMon application continuously recorded task completion rates, feedback interactions, sign-on consistency, and report submissions. K-Means clustering and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed three distinct cadet profiles: Cluster 1 (high-performing) with average task completion of 92.4% and feedback frequency of 15.2 times/month; Cluster 2 (administratively consistent) with 88.1% completion but only 6.3 feedback interactions/month; and Cluster 3 (at-risk) with 67.5% completion and 3.8 feedback interactions/month. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) validated the clusters with 98.8% resubstitution accuracy and 97.6% cross-validation accuracy, supported by generalized squared distances above 9.5 between all cluster pairs, indicating strong separation. These findings demonstrate that unsupervised clustering can reliably distinguish high-performing cadets from those needing targeted intervention, enabling data-informed mentoring and adaptive learning strategies in maritime education. The contribution of this study lies in integrating digital monitoring data with both unsupervised and supervised machine learning methods to enhance competency assessment. The novelty is in applying maritime-specific learning analytics for real-time performance segmentation, offering a scalable diagnostic framework for improving supervision quality and supporting individualized cadet development in vocational training contexts. © 2025, Bright Publisher. All rights reserved.