Samuel Pendolila, Professor of Economics at the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies, is one of the authors of the study ‘The Impact of Dual FP on Employment in Catalonia’. Funded by the Social Observatory of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, other researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Institute of Political Economy and Governance have collaborated on the report. One of its main results Graduates in dual apprenticeships earn 28% more than those in traditional apprenticeships.. We spoke to Professor Pendolila about the current situation Vocational training In Spain.
“In Spain we won’t have Germany’s FP; center-institute cooperation is not the same”
FP, finally, seems to have regained the social, familial and academic prestige that had been denied him for so many years.
This bias is characteristic of our country and other southern European states. This does not happen in Central Europe. In Germany, once your daughter is admitted to FP, uncork the champagne bottle.
Is it always like this?
Yes, Germany, Switzerland, Austria for VET courses… So what we are doing now in Spain is in line with what is normal in these countries. In Spain, there was not a single crack. On the contrary, it is something progressive and hand in hand with reality. FP graduates were more employable and salaried. However, we must distinguish between secondary and higher apprenticeships. Later, they graduate at the age of 22 or 23. They’re not so young anymore.
What other factors have contributed to the rise of academic and social prestige?
In times of crisis – we’ve had two in a row here – it’s proven that there are university graduates who go into higher vocational training in order to get a job. In some branches, VET graduates have better employment outcomes than university graduates. University students earn more, but the pay gap is narrowing.
Demand outstrips supply. Can FP die by victory?
Whenever there is a crisis and job opportunities decrease, the demand for education usually increases. In 2008, thanks to the real estate bubble, many young people found work easily but when the recession hit they went back to school. The Covid crisis has also fueled the demand for FP, and it has not caught the attention of the government and autonomous communities.
“Flexibility and flexibility between centers and institutions will enable more efficient vocational training”
Germany’s FB
Probably not. Another challenge we have is that the vocational training offer is adapted to the reality of work. In Germany, there is intensive cooperation between academic centers and institutions. They collaborate, and if there is a new cycle to be released, they release it. In our case, collaboration between institutions and centers is limited. In the countries of Central Europe, chambers of commerce are more involved than in Spain. Although they are in Catalonia, their system is exemplary compared to other communities. On a general level, I believe it is this flexibility and fluidity that allows for more effective and efficient vocational training.
I understand that you are calling on institutions to focus on vocational training.
Yes, but there is a problem. Firms, logically, make decisions only if they expect them to be profitable.
