And now that? This is the question that all students ask themselves after passing the University Access Test (PAU) or High School Assessment for University Access (EBAU or EvAU), popularly known as selectivity. The answer is not easy and is usually delimited between two possibilities: University or Vocational Training. Although it is not a definitive decision and impossible to change, the truth is that all the options must be carefully assessed because sooner or later it will mark the professional future of the students.
There is no right or wrong answer or choice. Several factors must be considered. The first and most important is the professional field, that is, choosing a sector that you like, in which you see yourself working in a few years and developing all your abilities. The second has to do with job opportunities after completing higher education, that is, which option offers more chances of finding a job, and in this Vocational Training leads all the rankings.
Several studies reflect this. According to the latest Infoempleo Adecco Report, 36.8% of job offers published in Spain require a Vocational Training degree, above university degrees (36.4%). In addition, the percentage of offers aimed at FP graduates to fill management and middle management positions has increased, while those seeking technicians and employees have decreased. This figure confirms a trend that began a few years ago with the revaluation of Vocational Training by the educational and business system itself, definitively leaving behind the stigmas of VT.
The truth is that today’s FP is far from the Vocational Training of two decades ago. The profile of the student in this type of training has changed and companies value it more and more. Centers such as ILERNA, with more than 50 years of experience in the education sector, offer a quality training model adapted to the needs of the labor market. This training institution offers more than 30 FP cycles in three study modalities: face-to-face, blended and online, under a teaching methodology that recreates real work environments, 85% of the classes are practical.
Precisely one of the main advantages of Vocational Training is that its model is mostly practical during the two years that the Intermediate Grade and Higher Grade cycles last. In addition to the FCT subject (company internships), very practical classes are offered to facilitate the assimilation of the contents.
One of the main reasons for choosing Vocational Training is its high employability. Some VET professional families present better job prospects than university studies related to the arts and humanities, education or social sciences. According to the latest report from the Vocational Training Observatory in Spain, published by Caixabank, VT is experiencing very positive growth in terms of recruitment.
The SEPE Observatory of Occupations highlights that among the FP degrees with the most job opportunities we find the branch of administrative management and finance, with administrative employees and assistant managers in customer service. This is followed by cycles linked to healthcare, from auxiliary nursing technicians for whom up to 112,000 contracts were created in 2022, to pharmacy and parapharmacy technicians, oral hygiene and dental prostheses, imaging technicians for diagnosis and nuclear medicine or technicians in clinical and biomedical laboratory.
The state body also highlights the cycle of Higher Education in Early Childhood Education as one of the most sought after profiles in the family of socio-cultural services, and for which 67,000 new contracts were created in 2022. Likewise, it augurs good prospects for the future for graduates in the cycles of Social Integration and Promotion of Gender Equality, a specialty highly requested by companies seeking to implement an Equality Plan.
As expected, technology activity continues to lead job creation. In this sector, the FP of Administration of Computer Network Systems, Development of Multiplatform Applications and Web and 3D, Games and Interactive Environments stand out. Finally, it is worth noting the professional family of trade, marketing and advertising and transport and logistics. Following the rise of online shopping, the demand for professions in the logistics sector has grown exponentially.
The decision between university or Vocational Training is not made from one day to the next, it requires a time of reflection. If you finally opt for a FP cycle, ILERNA has more than 30 Intermediate and Higher Level cycles in very diverse professional branches: from health and administration and finance to socio-cultural services and information technology and communications, which you can study remotely, blended or face-to-face.
Information prepared in collaboration with ILERNA.
