Ei-iE

Technical and vocational education and training

Spotlight

Technical and vocational education and training is essential to life-long learning and plays a crucial role in providing opportunities for people from all backgrounds, including those who have been marginalised in the labour market.

We work to ensure the provision of free, quality, accessible and equitable technical and vocational education and training. We advocate for a holistic approach based on developing productive capabilities and believe that educational institutions at all levels should provide individuals with a range of knowledge and skills that allow them to not only pursue meaningful work, but also participate fully in all aspects of society.

An essential dimension of our work in this area is supporting the professional development of teachers and other personnel, promoting decent terms and conditions of employment, and strengthening the voice of trade unions in this sector.

Our work on Technical and Vocational Education and Training

  1. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 1 June 2023

    Realising ambitions for apprenticeships

    Amanda Brown

    At the upcoming International Labour Conference (5-16 June 2023), the International Labour Organisation will discuss the terms of a new international standard which could mark an important step in the improvement and development of national apprenticeship systems.

    Read more Realising ambitions for apprenticeships
  2. Leading the profession 29 September 2020

    “Education at a Glance 2020: what can we learn for education systems’ recovery post-COVID19?”, by John Bangs.

    John Bangs

    It is an indicator of the depth of the crisis created by Covid that OECD’s Secretary General, Angel Gurria should take on the responsibility for launching this year’s edition of Education at a Glance. While the OECD describes the EAG as a flagship publication and it’s full of interesting comparative...

    Read more “Education at a Glance 2020: what can we learn for education systems’ recovery post-COVID19?”, by John Bangs.
  3. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 8 September 2020

    OECD Education at a Glance 2020; education for more resilient societies

    Today, 8 September, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued its annual Education at a Glance (EAG) report for 2020. Although the data was gathered prior to the shock of COVID-19, the concerns expressed in the findings are only amplified by the pandemic and the economic hardship that...

    Read more OECD Education at a Glance 2020; education for more resilient societies
  4. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 29 April 2020

    “What’s next for schools after coronavirus? Here are 5 big issues and opportunities”, by Andy Hargreaves.

    Andy Hargreaves

    No schools, no exams, more online learning and parents in COVID-19 lockdown with their kids. What a mess! People are responding heroically. Some parents are working from home, others have lost their jobs and teachers are creating an entire new way of doing their jobs — not to mention the...

    Read more “What’s next for schools after coronavirus? Here are 5 big issues and opportunities”, by Andy Hargreaves.
  5. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 17 September 2019

    Germany: Appropriate funding for ICT in educational settings still needed

    Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft expresses concern regarding the gap between the allocated 5.5 billion euros announced by the federal government and the 21 billion euros required to ensure the minimum equipment of all general and vocational schools until 2024.

    Read more Germany: Appropriate funding for ICT in educational settings still needed
more: Our work on Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Publications and research

  1. Fighting the commercialisation of education

    Technical and vocational education and training as a framework for social justice: Analysis and evidence from world case studies

    Gavin Moodie, Leesa Wheelahan, Eric Lavigne
    31 July 2019

    This report observes several limitations of human capital theory, both as a description of the way qualifications are used in the labour market, and in severely limiting the potential roles of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). It proposes as an alternative the human capabilities approach which posits that...

    Technical and vocational education and training as a framework for social justice: Analysis and evidence from world case studies
    1. Download
  2. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4

    Global trends in TVET: a framework for social justice

    Leesa Wheelahan, Gavin Moodie
    16 November 2016

    This report commissioned by Education International provides a conceptual framework to understand how vocational education is positioned in many countries, and the different ways in which the relationship between vocational education and the structures of the labour market mediate the variable outcomes that vocational education graduates achieve.

    Global trends in TVET: a framework for social justice
    1. Report
    2. Summary
  3. Future of work in education

    The Global Report on the Status of Teachers 2021

    Greg Thompson
    12 October 2021

    The status of teachers remains a concern in many jurisdictions. Teachers are aware that holding the same qualifications or levels of training as other professions does not bring the same status, despite teaching and facilitating learning being complex work that requires significant expertise.

    The Global Report on the Status of Teachers 2021
    1. The Global Report on the Status of Teachers
    2. The Global Report on the Status of Teachers | Summary
  4. Standards and working conditions

    Teacher professional development and curriculum Enhancing teacher professionalism in Africa

    Yusuf Sayed & Eva Bulgrin
    16 June 2020

    This report is a comparative study on teacher professional development in relation to curriculum. The review seeks to understand the relationship between teacher professionalism and curriculum in Africa by investigating 10 selected countries covering primary and lower secondary schooling.

    Teacher professional development and curriculum Enhancing teacher professionalism in Africa
    1. Download
  5. Leading the profession

    Global framework of professional teaching standards

    Jointly developed by Education International and UNESCO
    4 November 2019

    The joint Education International/ UNESCO framework on the development of professional teaching standards aims to improve teacher quality, teaching and learning, as well as support the implementation and monitoring of the teacher target in the Education 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and specifically Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).

    Global framework of professional teaching standards
    1. Download
more: Publications and research

Our policy on Technical and Vocational Education and Training

more: Our policy on Technical and Vocational Education and Training