Development pathways in the skill formation and vocational education of at-risk youth in the Baltic countries
| Ideological background | VET policy strategies and measures applied | Interests and responsibilities of engaged actors (learners, VET providers, social partners, state) | Implications for at-risk youth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fostering immediate employability – a market-oriented approach to dealing with social exclusion of at-risk youth | |||
| A Neoliberal and meritocratic approach to education provision attached to the traditional or banking attitude to investment in human capital (Brown et al., 2020). Vocational and labour market integration of at-risk youth depends mainly on the marketability of the acquired skills and competences | Competence-based VET curriculum reforms, introduction of modular VET curricula | This priority is strongly promoted by the employers and governments, supported by the right wing liberal political parties | A market-oriented approach can improve employment but there is no evidence of its positive impact on the sustainable and high quality employability |
| Promotion of company-based apprenticeships leading to acquisition of the competencies and qualifications profiled according to the current skills needs of enterprises | Even in this case engagement of employers in Lithuania and Latvia remains fragmented and unsystematic, while in Estonia it has longer traditions and better established institutional settings (employer-led national system of qualifications) | It entails high risk of social exclusion due to increasing polarization of the opportunities in the acquisition and development of skills, especially when considering the trends of digitalization and Industry 4.0 | |
| Ensuring access to the relevant public/state-led assistance in the field of vocational education and employment | |||
| Classical welfare state theories, education as a basic human right ensured by the state | Policies targeted at improving the quality of public VET provision and employment services: investment in the infrastructure of VET provision in the regions, teacher training, provision of the social, pedagogical and psychological support to VET students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds | Predominantly state interest driven by the socially oriented policies, strongly supported by public VET establishments. Main support for implementation of these policy measures comes from the EU structural funds | A significant positive impact of some measures (Youth Guarantees), but their long-term sustainability is hampered by comparatively passive social dialogue (low involvement of employers and trade unions) and high dependence on EU funding |
| Systemic support to socially disadvantaged or at-risk young people in developing their capabilities | |||
| A capability development approach by using flexible welfare state mechanisms and interventions aiming to foster and support resiliency of at-risk youth | Policy measures and instruments targeted at the provision of individualised support (counselling, training, career guidance, employment, social support) to at-risk youth oriented to developing their capabilities and sustainable resilience (efforts to individualise VET curricula in Estonia) | Active engagement of different stakeholders based on the well-balanced social dialogue in the field of skill formation of at-risk youth between the government, public VET providers, employers, NGOs and young people themselves, especially at the regional and sectoral levels | More possible future development scenarios than the current reality |
| Ideological background | VET policy strategies and measures applied | Interests and responsibilities of engaged actors (learners, VET providers, social partners, state) | Implications for at-risk youth |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Neoliberal and meritocratic approach to education provision attached to the traditional or banking attitude to investment in human capital ( | Competence-based VET curriculum reforms, introduction of modular VET curricula | This priority is strongly promoted by the employers and governments, supported by the right wing liberal political parties | A market-oriented approach can improve employment but there is no evidence of its positive impact on the sustainable and high quality employability |
| Promotion of company-based apprenticeships leading to acquisition of the competencies and qualifications profiled according to the current skills needs of enterprises | Even in this case engagement of employers in Lithuania and Latvia remains fragmented and unsystematic, while in Estonia it has longer traditions and better established institutional settings (employer-led national system of qualifications) | It entails high risk of social exclusion due to increasing polarization of the opportunities in the acquisition and development of skills, especially when considering the trends of digitalization and Industry 4.0 | |
| Classical welfare state theories, education as a basic human right ensured by the state | Policies targeted at improving the quality of public VET provision and employment services: investment in the infrastructure of VET provision in the regions, teacher training, provision of the social, pedagogical and psychological support to VET students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds | Predominantly state interest driven by the socially oriented policies, strongly supported by public VET establishments. Main support for implementation of these policy measures comes from the EU structural funds | A significant positive impact of some measures (Youth Guarantees), but their long-term sustainability is hampered by comparatively passive social dialogue (low involvement of employers and trade unions) and high dependence on EU funding |
| A capability development approach by using flexible welfare state mechanisms and interventions aiming to foster and support resiliency of at-risk youth | Policy measures and instruments targeted at the provision of individualised support (counselling, training, career guidance, employment, social support) to at-risk youth oriented to developing their capabilities and sustainable resilience (efforts to individualise VET curricula in Estonia) | Active engagement of different stakeholders based on the well-balanced social dialogue in the field of skill formation of at-risk youth between the government, public VET providers, employers, NGOs and young people themselves, especially at the regional and sectoral levels | More possible future development scenarios than the current reality |
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