The pupils who were enrolled in year 3 at upper secondary school in the 2013/14 academic year were the first to graduate after the upper secondary school reform (Gy11). Of those who were enrolled in the vocational programme, 71 percent received a vocational degree while 13 percent did not meet the requirements for a degree and instead received a study certificate with 2 500 upper secondary school points. In addition, 16 percent did not complete the training during the academic year.

Of those pupils who received a vocational degree, 7 out of 10 had work as their main activity in April 2015. Of those who did not complete their training during the 2013/14 academic year, the corresponding figure was 4 out of 10.

More than half of those who had work had duties that were largely consistent with their vocational training.

Large percentage have uncertain position on the labour market

The vocational programmes in upper secondary school should give pupils the opportunity of employment, but it can be difficult to establish oneself on the labour market. Of those who were in year 3 in a vocational programme during the 2013/14 academic year, 29 percent were unemployed at some time during the first quarter of 2015. A larger percentage of men than women were unemployed at some time during the first quarter. Unemployment was also more common among those who had not received a vocational degree compared to those who did.

During the measurement week in April 2015, 17 percent of the entire group were unemployed.

Quality varies in vocational training

Information in this study is from a sample survey among young people who were enrolled in year 3 in a vocational programme in upper secondary school during the 2013/14 academic year. The young people who took part in the survey were also given questions about quality of the vocational programme they were enrolled in.

The quality of the part of the on-the-job training was generally regarded as high. Support from supervisors and work environment received the highest ratings. More than half of the young people thought the quality was high, while less than 10 percent considered it to be low. However, there is a potential for development in some sub-areas of the training, for example, support from the school in the on-the-job section of the training. Young people assessed that quality was higher in the on-the-job training compared to the training in the school.

Eligibility to higher education is rare

More than half of the young people aimed to take a degree with eligibility to higher education, but only 30 percent succeeded. A larger share of women than men received a degree with eligibility to higher education.