Vocational school

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A vocational school, providing vocational education and also as referred to as a trade school or career college, and school was operated for the express purpose of giving its students the skills needed to perform a certain job or jobs. Vocational schools did not exist to further education in the sense of liberal arts, but rather to teach primarily or only job-specific skills, and as such are better considered to be institutions devoted to training, not education. In recent years this has changed with vocational schools providing education at competitively high standards.

1 Finland
2 Germany
3 Republic of Ireland
4 United States
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Finland

See also: Education in Finland

The Finnish system is divided between vocational and academic paths. The vocational school is a secondary school for ages 16-21, which prepares for entering the workforce directly. The curriculum has very little academic general education.

In tertiary education, there are higher vocational schools (ammattikorkeakoulu which is translated to polytechnic or university of applied sciences), which give about 3-4 -year degrees in more involved fields, like engineering (see insinööri (amk)) or nursing.

In contrast, an academically orientated upper secondary school, or high school as they are commonly known also in Finland (lukio in Finnish) teaches no vocational skills. It prepares for entering the university or a higher vocational school. There also many programs that can help you with your education.

[edit] Germany

See also: Education in Germany

In Germany, vocational schools — Berufsschulen — have a history stretching back to the 19th century. A German Berufsschule is generally a secondary public school and does not charge tuition fees. Today they are part of the dual education system which combines apprenticeships in a company and vocational training in a school, both taking place over the same period of time on different days of the week.

As part of the dual education system, the Berufsschule is a part-time school, with students attending 8—12 45-minute lessons a week. Sometimes schooling is arranged in blocks of several weeks, in particular for trades which are only learnt by a small number of people. The rest of the students' time is spent learning at the company where they take their apprenticeship. The whole course lasts 2—3.5 years depending on the subject taken.

Additionally, there are two other types of vocational schools in Germany. The first one is the Berufsfachschule, a full-time secondary vocational school. The majority of these schools are private and therefore do charge tuition fees. The course at this type of school lasts 2-3 years. However, this type of vocational education is generally considered inferior to the vocational education at a Berufsschule. The second additional type of German vocational schools is the Fachschule, a full-time post-secondary vocational school, and also most often a private school. Only graduates of a Berufsschule, with a minimum of 1 year work experience after graduation, are permitted to attend this type of school. The course at a Fachschule lasts 2 years, and is comparable in level to the Higher National Diploma in the UK.

[edit] Republic of Ireland

See also: Education in the Republic of Ireland

A vocational school in the Republic of Ireland is a type of secondary education school which places a large emphasis on vocational and technical education; this led to some conflict in the 1960s when the Regional Technical College system was in development. Typically the schools are managed by Vocational Education Committees which are largely based on city or county boundaries. Establishment of the schools is largely by the state; funding is through block grant system providing about 90% of necessary funding requirements.

Vocational schools typically have further education courses in addition to the traditional courses at secondary level. For instance Post Leaving Certificate Courses which are intended for school leavers and pre-third level education students.

Until the 1970s the vocational schools were seen as inferior to the other schools then available in Ireland. This was mainly because traditional courses such as the Leaving Certificate were not available at the schools, however this changed with the Investment in Education (1962) report which resulted in an upgrade in their status. Currently about 25% of secondary education students attend these schools.

[edit] United States

See also: Education in the United States

In the USA, vocational schools are usually a post-secondary school, but in some instances may take the place of the final years of high school. They may be public schools and as such are operated by a government, school district or other officially-sanctioned group, in which case they may or may not charge tuition. Most purely vocational schools are private schools; within this group they may be further subdivided into non-profit schools and proprietary schools, operated for the economic benefit of their owners. For a long time many proprietary vocational schools had a poor reputation for quality in many instances, and for overpromising what the job prospects for their graduates would actually be; this has been largely corrected by more stringent regulation. The term career college is reserved for post-secondary for-profit institutions. Vocational schools have decreased severly in the United States by the replacement of offering alternative trade classes at specific schools.

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the largest American national education association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE's core purpose is to provide leadership in developing an educated, prepared, and competitive workforce.