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Almost half of the 22 million pupils in the European Union studying at upper secondary level in 2014 were enrolled in vocational education, with 11 million (48 percent) enrolled in these. In 12 EU member states, more than half of all upper secondary pupils studied vocational programs.
Vocational education at upper secondary level was somewhat dominated by men, who accounted for 56 percent of pupils, compared with 44 percent women. This pattern can be observed in almost all member states.
Ensuring that young people develop the skills and competences needed by the labor market by promoting vocational education and training is one of the initiatives of the European Commission to tackle youth unemployment.
Across member states in 2014, the highest proportion of upper secondary level enrolled in vocational education was registered in the Czech Republic (73 percent), Croatia (71 percent), Austria and Finland (70 percent), Slovakia (69 percent), Slovenia (67 percent) and the Netherlands (66 percent). At the opposite end of the scale, shares of less than a third were recorded in Malta (13 percent), Cyprus (15 percent), Hungary (25 percent), Lithuania (27 percent), Greece (31 percent).
At an EU level, almost one in every two pupils studying at upper secondary level was enrolled in vocational programs in 2014.
There were more men than women in upper secondary vocational education in most member states. The majority of pupils were men in every EU member state except Belgium (52 percent were women), Finland and the United Kingdom (both 51 percent) as well as Sweden (where gender distribution was balanced). In contrast, fewer than 40 percent of pupils following vocational programs in upper secondary level were women in Cyprus (20 percent), Estonia and Greece (both 35 percent), Lithuania (36 percent), Germany, Italy and Poland (all 38 percent).
Women accounted for 44 percent of pupils enrolled in vocational education programs at an upper secondary level in the EU.
