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The paper seeks to disclose the features and implications of the neoliberal VET and employment policy agendas for the social and institutional VET ecosystems and the integration of at-risk youth in the labour market in the Baltic countries.

The research is based on the comparative policy analysis approach with reference to the theories of social and skill formation ecosystems and the historical institutionalism perspective.

The research has revealed three interconnected and alternately/simultaneously applied development pathways in the skill formation and vocational education of at-risk youth in the Baltic countries: (1) the market-oriented approach based on fostering immediate employability based on the momentary skills needs in the economy; (2) the state-assistance approach based on ensuring equal access to the VET and employment services by the state and (3) the approach of systemic support to socially disadvantaged or at-risk young people in developing their capabilities.

The originality of the paper lies in a new, holistic and comparative perspective in analysing the implications of the “Baltic neoliberalism” for the development of skill formation systems, VET and employment of at-risk youth in this region.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) prepares citizens to participate in the labour market, but requires continuous development to adapt to the impacts of global trends, to become more attractive and relevant, to support lifelong learning, to encourage creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, and to become more inclusive. European legislation and structural funds improved VET for people with SEN and/or disabilities, for example in the case of the European qualifications framework (EQF) and the national qualifications frameworks (NQFs). NQFs often lead to the development of a national qualifications catalogue, specifying training standards for all, including people with SEN/disabilities, yet with the challenge to achieve the right balance between the flexibility and the standardisation requirements of programmes and procedures. A recent European Agency project investigated the key aspects of VET programmes for learners with SEN and/or disabilities in 26 European countries and identified success factors that contributed to auspicious VET and transition to employment for learners with SEN and/or disabilities. These factors will finalise this chapter showing, in an inclusive design perspective, that they benefit all learners.

This chapter seeks to provide insights into a hitherto neglected topic – that of gender segregation among those who have taken part in vocational education and training (VET). In spite of a growing body of work on the link between educational and occupational segregation by gender, relatively little attention has been given to the specific role played by VET in facilitating gender-specific occupational segregation. Using the European Social Survey (ESS) for 20 European countries and comparable macro data from different European sources, the study examines the extent to which cross-national differences in the gender-typical or atypical occupational allocation of vocational graduates aged 20–34 can be attributed to VET-specific institutional differences.

The findings are consistent with earlier research showing the protective role played by VET in reducing non-employment levels. The findings in relation to the gender-typing of work are somewhat surprising, as they indicate that VET system characteristics make relatively little difference to occupational outcomes among women, whether or not they have a VET qualification. Slightly stronger, but still modest, relationships are found between VET system characteristics and occupational outcomes for men. Male VET graduates are more likely to be in a male-typed job in systems with a higher proportion enrolled on vocational courses. In tracked systems, however, they also tend to be more likely to enter female-typed jobs. In systems where VET prepares people for a wider range of occupations, a VET qualification can act as a protective factor against non-employment, at least for men.

Indian government initiated several skill development policies and different types of vocational education and training (VET). Yet the participation in skill education is low because of poor labour market outcomes. This paper aims to calculate returns to skill education to understand the type of training that will have better labour market outcomes.

In this paper nationally representative data from the periodic labour force survey (PLFS), collected by the national sample survey office for 2017–2018, are used to estimate the returns to formal and non-formal VET obtained (after different levels of general education) with the help of Heckman's two-stage method.

Nearly 8% of the working-age population has received some form of VET (mostly non-formal), generating poor returns. For the overall population, formal on-job training (OJT) and full-time VET influence wage positively and significantly. Full-time VET obtained after secondary and below levels of education generates positive returns, whereas part-time VET is profitable only to those without formal education. At the graduate level, technical education obtained along with VET is associated with better wages.

In India where a considerable proportion of the workforce is employed in the informal sector, different types of skill training like full-time, part-time and OJT influence labour market outcomes. This finding has policy implication for countries with large informal sector and calls for further research in such countries.

This paper explores the vocational training of construction workers in Guangdong Province of China and identifies its position in the global political-economic spectrum of skill formation.

The paper reviews construction vocational education and training (VET) of major political economies to develop a theoretical framework that guides an in-depth case study of Guangdong. Document analysis, field trip observations, meetings and semi-structured interviews were combined to explore the political-economic environment, political stakeholders and quality assurance mechanisms of industrial training in Guangdong's construction sector. The findings were compared with construction VET of other economies reported in the literature.

Construction training in Guangdong is deeply rooted in the local history and culture, under strong dominance of the state, while continually evolves to respond to the fluid market and therefore can be conceptualised as “market-in-state”. The political stakeholders are embedded within the state to ensure that skills policies are implemented in-line with industry policies. The differences between the training of Guangdong and its foreign counterparts are attributed to their divergent political-economic models.

As the case study was undertaken only with Guangdong, the generalisability of its findings can be improved through future research within a broader context of multiple provinces of China through both qualitative and quantitative research approaches.

Plausible foreign VET approaches are likely adaptable to the Chinese context only when conducive political-economic environment could be enabled. The findings are useful for developing countries to learn from the VET experience of industrialised economies. Construction workers' training in Guangdong can be improved by strengthening labour regulation at lower subcontracting levels and ensuring the presence of industrial associations and unions for collective training supervision.

The paper contributes to the field of construction engineering and management with a theoretical framework that guides empirical studies on the influence of the political-economic environment upon the ways political stakeholders develop and participate in construction VET. The exploration based on this framework revealed the position of the vocational training of construction workers in Guangdong in the global political-economic spectrum of skill formation.

This introductory chapter develops the overall research focus and the aim of the present special issue ‘Gender segregation in vocational education’. Against the backdrop of strong horizontal gender segregation in vocational education and training (VET), we ask how institutional arrangements affect gendered (self-)selection into VET, and to what extent the patterns of the latter vary by context and over time. In order to expand our knowledge about the impact of educational offers and policies on gendered educational pathways and gender segregation in the labour market, we have gathered comparative quantitative studies that analyse the relationship between national variations in the organization of VET and cross-national differences in educational and occupational gender segregation from an institutional perspective. Following a review of the core literature within the field of gender segregation in VET, this introduction presents a discussion of education system classifications and institutional level mechanisms based on the contributions made in this volume. We then discuss gendered educational choices at the individual level, with particular emphasis on variation across the life course. Finally, we conclude our introductory chapter by commenting on the main contributions of the volume as a whole, as well as addressing suggestions for further research.

This article traces the experience of countries reforming their vocational education and training policies and summarizes the lessons learned. It is based on a recent joint World Bank‐ILO study focussing on the obstacles to implementing change in vocational education and training systems in response to changing labor markets and innovative approaches to overcoming these constraints in 19 countries worldwide. It tracks the demand‐side pressures and supply‐side responses and highlights some critical issues, constraints and innovations in the reform of these systems. The main messages from this study are: matching instrument to target group is as important as picking the best delivery mode; the government’s role in facilitating the provision of information about vocational education and training has been relatively neglected; a vigorous private response has refuted claims of the reluctance of private providers to enter the field; and political will, not institutional capacity, is the main obstacle to comprehensive reform.

In the process of school-to-work transition, the role of general education and vocational education and training (VET) remains quite central. Based on the human capital theory, we estimate whether investment in VET brings additional returns for workers across the age cohorts.

The focus of our study being the labour market in India, the data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2018–19, conducted by the National Statistical Office, has been used for analysis. We have applied the ordinary least square method with sample selection correction, the quasi-experimental technique of propensity score matching and heteroskedasticity based instrumental variable approach to estimate the returns with respect to no VET, formal VET and informal VET.

Our study shows that workers with formal VET earn higher wages than workers with no VET or informal VET. The study finds that workers with informal VET do not earn higher wages than workers with no VET. Moreover, from the age cohort analysis, we have deduced that wage advantage of workers with formal VET persists across all age cohorts and, in fact, accentuates with an increase in age.

We have estimated that VET being complemented with basic general education fetches higher returns in the labour market, especially when provided through formal channels. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, in the case of developing countries where informal VET is widely provided, this is one of the first studies that captures the return to informal VET. Lastly, complementing the existing studies on the developed countries, we have estimated the returns to VET over the life cycle of the workers.

This paper aims to analyze the role of human capital (HC), human resource development (HRD) and vocational educational and training (VET) in the emerging Indian economy. How may we define the HC, HRD and VET in India? To what extent and how as HRD investments in India contributed to India’s recent economic development? What were the investments and what were the returns? Who invested and who obtained the returns? Is India really different from other countries?

To achieve that goal, the authors use a model of the HC, HRD and VET national market. Specifically, they divide the analysis in four broad stages: stocks, investments and outcomes; supply, demand, price and quantity; needs; and private and public forces.

The authors conclude that the India’s HC, HRD and VET have been growing and will have to grow even more, for India to become developed. Currently, the urgency is even greater in the HRD and VET side than in the education side. The government goals for 2022 are immense, and the raise in the HRD and VET in India that is aimed will effectively change India’s economy and society.

The authors only use secondary data. They believe that a deeper and very detailed study on all the States of India could be made, following this paper. Also, the analysis could be replicated for the other BRICS.

India HRD and VET market is described as being one of the major India’s problems of today and promises of tomorrow.

Today, only around ten million of India’s citizens receive HRD and VET annually. This number is to be multiplied between 20 and 50 times. This change will change India’s economy and society.

Also, the authors believe that the paper is original because it analyzes India’s HC, HRD and VET with a new conceptual model.

The paper describes the Swiss Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, its crucial role and challenges with respect to the inclusion of vulnerable groups and investigates the effectiveness of the efforts undertaken to promote inclusion in VET so far.

Empirical research focusing on various indicators of inclusion (national monitoring data and own studies) is analysed.

The overall findings show that equity and inclusion of persons with a migration background or special education needs in VET have been successfully promoted but can be improved.

Long-term, in-depth longitudinal data regarding some issues are still scarce.

The paper provides information about young people having difficulties to access and complete VET or who are at-risk of exclusion and points out further courses of action.

A comprehensive and detailed account of the current state of inclusion in Swiss VET and of related systemic problems is given.