Extent and forms of work-based initial VET
Cedefop research shows that work-based learning can provide a bridge to the labour market by supporting the transition from education to work and developing relevant skills for the labour market. The 2010-20 European VET policy cycle called for work-based learning to become a key feature of initial VET systems.
The post-2020 European VET policy cycle has continued the emphasis on work-based learning in VET. The 2020 Council Recommendation on VET and the 2021 Council Resolution on the European Education Area set a quantitative statistical target, for the EU overall, of 60% of recent graduates from VET having work-based learning as part of their VET studies by 2025.
In 2022, in the EU an estimated 60.1% of recent VET graduates had a period of work experience as part of their studies (Figure 1) exceeding the EU’s target of 60% by 2025. There are significant geographical differences behind the EU average. Estimates of recent VET graduates having experienced work-based learning ranges from 8.4% in Romania to 98.4% in Spain.
Figure 1. Recent IVET graduates (20-34-year-olds) with work-based learning experience as part of their VET (%), 2021 and 2022
Source: Eurostat, EU LFS. The indicator covers graduates who obtained a VET qualification as their highest at ISCED level 3-4 in the last 3 years. NB: 2021 and 2022 data for Bulgaria and Latvia as well as 2021 data for Denmark are not sufficiently reliable to publish due to small sample sizes. 2021 and 2022 data for Cyprus, Germany and Ireland as well as 2021 data for Hungary should be interpreted with caution as they are affected by some reliability issues
Measured by the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS), this target indicator defines recent VET graduates as people aged 20-34 years, who have acquired in the last three years an upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary vocational qualification (ISCED 3-4) as their highest level of educational attainment. It reports the share of recent VET graduates who said that they had work experience as part of their formal programme. Work experience with a (cumulative) duration of at least one month is counted, whether compulsory or not. Work experience is distinguished by remuneration (paid or unpaid) and duration (short-term lasting from one to six months; or long-term more than seven months) (see Eurostat).
Periods of work experience in VET, tend to be, mostly although not necessarily, long and paid. At EU level, 37.9% of recent VET graduates had a long period, seven months or more, of work experience, while 22.2% a short period of between one and six months (Figure 2). Some 39.9% had a paid work experience, while 20.2% had an unpaid one (Figure 3).
Figure 2. Recent IVET graduates (20–34-year-olds) with work-based learning experience as part of their VET (% of recent VET graduates) by duration, 2022.
Source: Eurostat, EU LFS. NB: The indicator covers graduates who obtained a VET qualification as their highest at ISCED level 3-4 in the last 3 years. Breakdown by duration distinguishes: Short work experience (1 to 6 months). Long work experience (7 months or over). 2022 data for Bulgaria, Latvia and Ireland are not sufficiently reliable to publish with this breakdown due to small sample sizes. 2022 data for Cyprus, Malta and Germany should be interpreted with caution as they are affected by some reliability issues.
Figure 3. Recent IVET graduates (20–34-year-olds) with a work-based learning experience as part of their VET (% of recent VET graduates), by remuneration, 2022.
Source: Eurostat, EU LFS. NB: The indicator covers graduates who obtained a VET qualification as their highest at ISCED level 3-4 in the last 3 years. Breakdown by remuneration distinguishes paid and unpaid work experiences. Data for Bulgaria, Latvia and Ireland are not sufficiently reliable to publish due to small sample sizes. 2022 data for Cyprus, Malta and Germany should be interpreted with caution as they are affected by some reliability issues.
Duration and remuneration of work experience varies considerably across Member States. Using available country data, some of which are affected by reliability issues, an indicative picture can be derived.
Many countries where work experience is considerably below the EU average tend to have small shares of VET graduates benefiting from longer and paid periods of work experience (section Q3 of Figures 4 and 5). However, in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark, high levels of long and paid work experience in VET combine with high shares of VET graduates (section Q2 of Figures 4 and 5). This reflects a well-established work-based VET model that includes apprenticeships.
Other countries where the share of recent VET graduates who had a period of work experience is above the EU average, provide shorter periods of work experience (section Q4 of Figure 4). For example, in Spain and Sweden, which have above average levels of work experience in VET, data suggest that those periods of work experience are mostly short and unpaid. In Estonia and Portugal data also suggest that most work experience is of short duration, but the share of VET graduates being paid during their work experience is higher than in Spain and Sweden. In France and Finland, most work experience in VET is of short duration, but many VET graduates also benefit from longer periods of work experience.
Figure 4. Recent IVET graduates (20-34- year-olds) with a (long) work-based learning experience as part of their VET (% of recent VET graduates), 2022.
Source: Eurostat, EU LFS. NB: The indicator covers graduates who obtained a VET qualification as their highest at ISCED level 3-4 in the last 3 years. The breakdown by duration distinguishes: Short work experience (1 to 6 months). Long work experience (7 months or over). The axis of the chart are centred at the EU averages for both indicators. 2022 data for Bulgaria, Latvia and Ireland are not sufficiently reliable to publish due to small sample sizes. 2022 data for Cyprus, Malta and Germany should be interpret with caution as they are affected by some reliability issues
Figure 5. Recent IVET graduates (20–34-year-olds) with a (paid) work-based learning experience as part of their VET (% of recent VET graduates), by duration, 2022
Source: Eurostat, EU LFS. The axes of the chart are centred at the EU averages for both indicators. NB 2022 data for Bulgaria, Latvia and Ireland are not sufficiently reliable to publish due to small sample sizes. 2022 data for Cyprus, Malta and Germany should be interpreted with caution as they are affected by some reliability issues
To some extent, these findings can be complemented by how many students in initial VET are enrolled in programmes combining work- and school-based components, as opposed to vocational programmes which are wholly, or mainly, school-based.
The indicator is defined as the percentage of upper secondary VET students enrolled in combined work- and school-based programmes. In the UNESCO, OECD, Eurostat data collection on formal education (UOE), a vocational programme is classified as combined work- and school-based if between 25% and 90% of the curriculum is presented outside the school environment; otherwise, it is classified as school-based. This definition includes apprenticeships.
Using Eurostat data, Cedefop estimates that in the EU, in 2021, 29.3% of upper secondary VET students were enrolled in combined work- and school-based VET (Figure 6). This suggests that the incidence of work-based learning for the EU overall is well below the estimates of the levels of recent VET graduates benefiting from work experience. However, the data are not comparable.
Data on work experience refers to graduates, data on work-based learning refers to students. More importantly, work-based learning is defined more narrowly to capture apprentice type schemes in formal initial VET, which are characterised by structured, paid, mandatory and long term alternance between school and work. There are wide variations across countries in the availability of, and enrolments in, such schemes. In most countries availability of work-based learning has remained stable or increased.
Figure 6. IVET work-based students as % of all upper secondary IVET, ISCED 3, 2015 and 2021 
Source: Cedefop calculations, based on Eurostat data, UOE data collection on formal education. EU averages are Cedefop estimations based on available country data. NB: 2015 data for the Netherlands and the EU are not presented due to break in time series. Data for the Netherlands only cover the public sector of upper secondary VET. The distinction between combined work-based and school-based and mainly school-based vocational programmes is not applicable for statistical purposes in the EU member states not displayed in the chart.