Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Human Development

Course description
This course introduces students to a theoretical discussion on the importance of VET in the so called ‘knowledge society’. Training the workforce has always been a national political aim and a company concern. However, the profound changes that have occurred at economic, technological and demographic levels, among others, have contributed to the growing importance of skills formation and development worldwide. The VET designation encompasses a huge variety of education and training modalities. In this course, the study of VET focuses on the provisions of initial VET included in educational systems, and on the continuing VET developed by companies. If the first is aimed at training the future workforce, the second is targeted at workers already in the labour market. 
The course is design in order to provide students with theoretical tools to critically analyse the arguments that legitimize VET national policies and in company practices and to discuss the role of initial VET  in the Europeanisation process. 
During the course, students will analyse and compare different European initial VET systems in order to understand their structures, functions, effects and their relations with the variety of capitalism in European countries. A similar methodological strategy will be used for the study of in-company VET.

Outline of the course contents
Part 1: 
•    VET policies: between humanism and managerialism
•    VET policies and the building of the European Educational Space
•    Human Capital framework and VET policies
Political Economy of Skills and VET policies
Part 2:
•    Economic, social and political functions of Initial VET policies
•    Initial VET effects on individuals, companies and labour markets
•    Structures and challenges of Initial VET systems in EU
Part 3:
•    Economic and social functions of continuing VET in companies
•    Employers’ reasons to promote in-company continuing VET
•    Workers’ reasons to attend in-company continuing VET
•    Patterns of participation in-company continuing VET
•    Learning at workplace: the learning potential of work

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