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5 NEWS 31.3.2022 Alexiei Dingli Anthony Padovani is Deputy Director of the Institute of Business Management and Commerce (IBMC) at MCAST A news article authored by the European Commission's Di- rectorate-General for Employ- ment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion, Vo- cational Education and Training (VET) is described as the practice of teaching stu- dents the skills directly related to a trade or job role. It follows, therefore, that any VET programme taught to students must convey the knowledge, skills, and competencies required of employees in the industry both currently and in the foreseeable future. VET's strength lies in its ability to prepare students to occupy jobs across the industry's wide spectrum. VET adopts a learning by doing approach. Hence, this is the reason why VET students experience apprenticeship in a real-world work en- vironment. e merger of theory and practice proves invaluable as employers themselves report. Just like academic education is bro- ken down into various Malta Qualifi- cations Framework (MQF) Levels, so is VET. One can therefore achieve a VET qualification at an MQF Level just like academic qualifications. For ex- ample, a VET Level 4 qualification is considered to be at the same level or depth of study required as a Matric- ulation Certificate, an Advanced Level or an intermediate level. is is clearly indicated in the referencing reports is- sued by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority. Furthermore, MQF Level 4 VET qualifications are pathways towards Bachelor's Degrees. is means that VET students may progress to ter- tiary education via a VET pathway. It is therefore no longer the case that undergraduate degrees and higher qualifications are available exclusively to students who pursue an academic ed- ucation. It is now possible to complete degree requirements for a specific trade or career. is means that a first de- gree achieved via the traditional route passing through secondary, pre-tertiary and university education and a degree achieved following VET education's various MQF Levels both have the same parity of esteem. is parity of esteem means that ca- reer prospects for VET students are at least as wide as they are for traditional university graduates. More importantly on a practical lev- el, what do employers make of the ef- fectiveness of VET? e feedback we receive at MCAST from employers suggests that hands-on experience be- fore students actually become full-time employees is at par with the need for technical knowledge, skills and com- petencies. Whilst academic qualifica- tions deserve full respect per se, their blend with work-based experience means that new employees' learning curves when recruited is significant- ly reduced and the student becomes productive in the shortest time possible. VET is also a very popular choice in leading EU and world economies. In 2019 according to Eurostat, 48% of students in upper secondary education in EU member states followed voca- tional programs with this percentage growing to 95% for post- secondary non-tertiary education. Finland surpasses this EU average by having 71% of all upper secondary stu- dents applying for vocational educa- tion programs. It was reported in 2018 that in Malta, just over a quarter of all students aged between 14 and 16 opt for vocational subjects. is scenario has dramatically changed since that time. e NSO re- ports that last October, 84% of students at the post-secondary level were en- rolled in state-run institutions and that 50% of total students at post-secondary level opted for vocational orienta- tion. e most popular field of study among vocational students was 'servic- es', followed by 'health and welfare and 'business, administration and law'. So what does the future hold for voca- tional education? VET is certainly here to stay and there is no reason to suspect that it will not be kept at its high level of importance in the educational systems of countries around the world. It will continue to provide the key skills and competencies that industries require their workforces to have. We must all realize that learning is not only confined to a time when one attends a formal educational institution. e successful graduate of any educa- tional orientation will be the one who invests in him/herself by completing vocational/traditional study programs and continues to do so during one's ca- reer. Learning is an ongoing business that never stops. In Henry Ford's words, "An- yone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. e greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young"." The European vision on vocational education Whilst academic qualifications deserve full respect per se, their blend with work-based experience means that new employees' learning curves when recruited is significantly reduced and the student becomes productive in the shortest time possible

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