As the European Commission celebrates European Vocational Skills Week (5th- 9thNovember) with over 1,000 events taking place in 46 countries, Malta has ranked as the fourth lowest country within the EU of when it comes to the number of youths who attend vocational training programmes.
The statists highlight the number of students within the European Union ranging between the ages of fourteen to sixteen who have followed educational programmes to prepare themselves for Tertiary education or to provide themselves with relevant employment skills.
In regards to Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Malta, there are numerous VET subjects ranging from artisanship, construction, hairdressing, hospitality all the way to textiles and fashion.
The Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) and Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) are the main institutions that provide vocational training in Malta, however there are also some privately owned vocational study institutions.
Such institutions introduce youths to what a vocational career consists of, developing upon skills learnt at secondary level whilst also equipping them with new knowledge related to the chosen programme.
Whilst both MCAST and ITS have expanded in infrastructure and, throughout the years, have introduced numerous new courses and revised old ones, Malta ranks 29% alongside Greece, in regards to the number of upper secondary level students in Vocational Education programmes.
Other member states with a score below 30% were Cyprus (17%), Hungary (21%) and Lithuania (27%).
On the other hand, countries such as the Czech Republic (78%), Finland (71%), Slovenia and Croatia (70%) ranked highest number of upper secondary level students in vocational programmes.
The EU average was 49 %