Source: BBC

The topic of “vocational education” often has a recurrent theme.

Everyone says it’s a good thing and it’s vital for the economy. But – and there is always a but, it’s still the academic pathway that has the higher status.

As the saying goes, vocational education is a great thing… for other people’s children.

Another side of this conundrum is that there is more need for vocational education than ever before.

Youth unemployment, particularly among those without training or qualifications, is a scourge in many countries. But at the same time employers are warning about skills shortages and not being able to find the right staff.

And a major report commissioned by the City and Guilds group, which provides vocational qualifications, shows how this “mismatch” is an international problem.

“Globally, the stigma of vocational education often reduces it to a second choice to academia,” concludes the study, carried out by the Centre for Business and Economics Research.

India’s skills gap

The expansion in university numbers – in developed and developing countries – has been a global phenomenon.

India is forecast to become the world’s biggest producer of graduates – even overtaking China.

But the report highlights that the real challenge for India’s economic ambitions is the shortfall in vocational skills.

India’s rising population will see its labour force growing by 32% in the next two decades – with tens of millions more young people needing to find jobs.

But at present only 2.3% of the workforce have had formal skills training, compared with 80% in Germany.

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