In many countries, the proportion of young people entering vocational schools has declined and academic education has expanded. However, VET, and especially enterprise-based VET, has been promoted as a means of addressing youth unemployment. In this regard, many countries are trying to strengthen VET in order to more quickly integrate young people into the labor market after completing secondary education.

At the macro level, VET has been recognized as a driver of economic prosperity and fostering an adaptable and diversified workforce. However, VET is also considered to hinder the ability of workers to adapt to changing skill requirements, as general skills training can be too narrowly focused.

These developments raise two questions: How is vocational education and training adapting to new challenges and diverging trends? What factors strengthen or weaken vocational education and training at the level of national economies, educational systems, schools, firms and individual students?

The organizer of the congress, the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET), invites researchers to submit papers related to the main theme of the congress “The future potential of vocational education and training: Strengthening VET for the next generations”. Other research topics in VET are also welcome.

The purpose of the congress is to contribute to these issues and provide an overview of national and international research in the field of VET. We welcome all areas of VET research. The congress also aims to provide interchange between leading institutions and present the latest results of international research in various scientific disciplines. For more information visit the website.