OECD (2000)

Participation in and Completion of Secondary Education
In Germany and Switzerland more than 60 per cent of all students (47 per
cent in Austria) are enrolled in programmes that provide access to further
education at the tertiary-type B level. These programmes are primarily dualsystem
apprenticeship programmes. Upon completion of these programmes,
most students enter the labour market, as many of the tertiary-type B
programmes require work experience before entry.
Some countries, such as Canada and the United States offer more
“modular” programmes at the upper secondary level, which are difficult to
classify by destination of study. In these, primarily general programmes,
students combine individual courses into a curriculum that can prepare them
for entry into higher education or a specific occupation.
Participation and completion in vocational education
Programmes at the upper secondary level can also be subdivided into
three categories based on the degree to which they are oriented towards
specific occupations or trades and lead to qualifications of immediate
relevance to the labour market:
Vocational education programmes are designed to prepare participants
for direct entry, without further training, into specific trades or occupations.
Successful completion of such programmes leads to a vocational
qualification of relevance to the labour market.
Pre-vocational education programmes are mainly designed to introduce
participants to the world of work and to prepare them for entry into further
vocational or technical education programmes. Successful completion of
such programmes does not lead to a vocational or technical qualification
of relevance to the labour market. For a programme to be considered
pre-vocational or pre-technical, at least 25 per cent of its content should
to be vocational or technical.
General education programmes are not designed explicitly to prepare
participants for specific occupations or trades nor for entry into further
vocational or technical education programmes.
C2
The degree to which a programme has a vocational or general orientation
does not necessarily determine whether or not participants have access to
tertiary education. In several countries, programmes with a vocational orientation
are designed to prepare for further studies at the tertiary level, while in
other countries a number of general programmes do not provide direct access
to further education.
In all OECD countries students can choose between vocational, prevocational
and general programmes. In more than half of the OECD countries,
the majority of upper secondary students attend vocational or apprenticeship
programmes. In countries with dual-system apprenticeship programmes (such
as Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland), as well as
in the Flemish Community of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland,
60 per cent or more of upper secondary students are enrolled in vocational
programmes. The exception is Iceland, where the majority of students are
enrolled in general programmes even though dual-system apprenticeship
programmes are offered (see Chart C2.2 and Table C2.1).
In more than half
of the OECD countries,
the majority of upper
secondary students
attend vocational
or apprenticeship
programmes.
© OECD 2000
141