Studies show that lack of clarity regarding the steps required to reach specific career outcomes can result in a growing gap between aspiration and achievement. This can ultimately lead to disillusionment with and exit from education and training (Alexander, Entwisle & Bedinger, 1994). It is therefore important that learners develop a realistic understanding of career options and the educational paths available to enter these careers. Vocational educational pathways are valuable routes for many young learners, yet they are often not well signposted or understood.

Instead, there is a widespread assumption that young people need to engage in higher education, rather than vocational education and training, for their future progression into work and prosperity. As a result, messages aimed at young people are often skewed towards promoting HE options rather than VET.  The resultant poor perceptions of vocational education can lead young learners to discount this route prematurely and unfairly (Raffe, Brannen, Fairgrieve & Martin, 2001).

While much research conducted from a policy maker perspective explores a range of contributory factors such as poor careers advice and guidance provision (e.g. Wright 2005; Stanton, 2006) and the role of key influencers such as parents and teachers in the decision making process (e.g. Saiti & Mitrosili, 2005), there is a lack of research which explores young learners’ perspectives on the barriers to engaging with vocational education and training.

Specifically, there is limited knowledge around understanding their attitudes and perceptions towards ‘vocational education and training’ and what this concept means to them; whether they understand the ‘proposition’ around vocational education and training; whether this proposition is poorly or wrongly stated; what needs to happen within this communication process to ensure that the benefits are effectively communicated; and how best to engage young learners.

The City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development is undertaking a survey of young people in five countries (England, the Netherlands, South Africa, India and Ghana) which examines these issues by listening directly to young learner voices and putting forward their recommendations on how the issues can be addressed. This paper will present the results of this survey, with the aim of highlighting how young people perceive vocational options, how these options might be better signposted to them, and how different culturally embedded attitudes towards vocational education relate to these perceptions.

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