Estonia: boosting VET with extended compulsory education

The reform aims to tackle several issues: the increasing number of young people who do not continue their studies after basic education, the high dropout rate in the first year of upper secondary vocational education, and the growing number of young people without qualifications.

In today's labour market, basic education is insufficient. Estonia's education strategy has a target 90% of young people aged 20-24 attaining at least upper secondary education by 2035, up from 83% in 2022. The reform aims to keep the share of young people with low education attainment below 5% and ensure that all young people acquire upper secondary education or vocational qualifications.

To provide all basic school graduates with a suitable learning path, students will have five options after graduating from basic school: academic upper secondary education, applied upper secondary education (former upper secondary VET), adult education, vocational education, and preparatory studies. Preparatory studies are suitable for students who are not ready to continue in upper secondary or vocational education, who need support in choosing a learning pathway or in coping with their studies.

To strengthen VET as a competitive and attractive learning option, enabling graduates both to find a job in the labour market and, if they wish, to continue their studies in higher education, the following changes are planned:

• increase flexibility and learning options in VET: updated programmes at EQF levels 2−5, recognition of prior learning and skills, smoother and better supported transitions from preparatory and to further studies, or between academic and applied upper secondary education;
• introduce 4-year applied upper secondary programmes focusing on science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM);
• increase the scope of general education in VET to strengthen basic skills and/or improve access to further studies, and provide more elective studies to create opportunities to pursue individual interests;
• establish a legal basis for offering paid vocational education for adults alongside free provision, aligning vocational training opportunities with employer needs and labour market forecasts;
• establish connections between general upper secondary courses and credit points used in VET and higher education.

The amendments are set to come into effect for students entering the 9th grade in the 2025/26 academic year. The first new 4-year applied secondary education programmes will be open for admissions starting from the 2025/26 school year, and all programmes will be updated by the 2026/27 school year.