Vocational students in the UK experience larger student-to-teacher ratios and less public spending than their peers in general education, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has found.

This finding sets them apart from their peers in other OECD countries, according to today’s Education at a Glance report.

Unlike in many OECD countries, there is also no employment premium for young adults with upper secondary vocational education over upper secondary general education in the UK, the report highlights. The OECD defines “upper secondary” as the final stage of secondary education, commonly starting aged 15 or 16. 

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Speaking in a webinar launching the report, Andreas Schleicher, director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at the OECD, said the figures “raise questions on whether vocational education in the UK is up to scratch.”

He said: “Vocational education should cost us more and should be worth more.” This, he said, was down to the need to state of the art equipment needed, as opposed to the more lecture theatre-based education on more academic routes. 

According to today’s report, the human resources invested in vocational education are lower than in general education. While on average across OECD countries the ratio of students to teaching staff is similar in both upper secondary vocational and general programmes, there are 10 students more per teacher in vocational programmes (25) than in general ones (15) in the UK.

The OECD goes on to highlight the comparatively lower spending of UK government on vocational students, stressing that spending per student on upper secondary vocational programmes tends to be higher than for general ones in most OECD countries due to the higher cost of equipment, lower student-to-teacher ratios and work-based requirements of such programmes.

Investment in vocational education

On average across OECD countries, expenditure per student in upper secondary vocational programmes - which start generally from the ages of 15 or 16 - was £1,119 higher than in general programmes in 2017. “However, the United Kingdom is one of the few countries with the opposite pattern: spending per student in upper secondary vocational programmes was [£6,832] in 2017, [£3,387] lower than in general ones.”

Compared with other OECD countries, young adults in the UK have similar employment prospects for upper secondary general and vocational qualifications. “In contrast, on average across OECD countries, the employment rate of young adults with a vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is 9 percentage points higher than the employment rate of those with a general qualification at this level on average across OECD countries.”

The report suggests that the lesser advantage of young adults with a vocational qualification in the UK is mostly due to the higher than average employment prospects of an upper secondary general qualification, at 85 per cent compared with 73 per cent on average across the OECD.

It adds that while on average across OECD countries adults with an upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary vocational education have similar earnings to their peers with a general education at this level, and the difference in relative earnings between these two groups is less than 5 percentage points in about one quarter of OECD and partner countries, it is 17 percentage points in favour of general qualifications in the United Kingdom - “one of the highest across OECD countries”.

Other findings from the report include:

• About one in three students from lower secondary to short-cycle tertiary level are enrolled in a vocational education and training programme in the UK, a similar value to the average across OECD countries.
• On average, 44 per cent of all upper secondary students are enrolled in VET programmes in the UK, a slightly higher proportion than the OECD average of 42 per cent.
• The most common broad field is arts and humanities with 21 per cent of upper secondary vocational graduates earning a qualification in this field, compared with 6 per cent on average across OECD countries.
• The UK is one of the few countries where the share of upper secondary students with direct access to tertiary education is larger among those enrolled in a vocational orientation (52 per cent) than in a general one (33 per cent). However, both shares are lower than the average across OECD countries (70 per cent for upper secondary students with a vocational orientation and 92 per cent for those with a general one
• While the share of adults with an upper secondary vocational qualification has declined across generations in many countries, it has remained generally stable in the UK: 18 per cent of 55- to 64-year-olds (“older adults”) and 19 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds (“younger adults”) held this qualification in 2019. However, the attainment level across both age groups is lower than the average across OECD countries, where 26 per cent of older adults and 21 per cent of younger ones have attained an upper secondary vocational qualification.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “These findings are a stark reminder of the value of further education and training. Coronavirus has had a significant impact, and so it is vital we act now to make sure everyone can gain the skills they need to progress, as well as help our economy to recover.

“To support this we are creating more apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities, establishing a network of Institutes of Technology and introducing pioneering new T level qualifications. Our forthcoming white paper will set out plans to build a further education system that unlocks potential, levels up skills and improves opportunities across the country.”