Samuel BentolilaProfessor of Economics at the Center for Monetary and Fiscal Studies, he is one of the authors of the study ‘The impact of bilateral FP on job placement in Catalonia’. Sponsored by the Social Observatory of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, other researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Institute of Political Economy and Governance collaborated on the report. One of their main results is that dual FP graduates earn up to 28% higher salaries than traditional FP graduates. We spoke with Professor Bentolila about the current state of vocational education in Spain.
“There will be no Germany’s FP in Spain; headquarters-company cooperation is not the same”
FP seems to have finally regained the social, familial and academic prestige it has been deprived of for years.
This prejudice is characteristic of our country and other southern European states. This does not happen in Central Europe. In Germany, when your daughter is accepted to AP, you uncork a bottle of champagne.
Was it always like this?
Yes, VET studies have always had prestige in Germany, Switzerland, Austria… So what we are doing now in Spain is getting closer to what is normal in these countries. There was not even a moment of disruption in Spain. On the contrary, it became something progressive and came hand in hand with reality. It has been observed that FP graduates have the opportunity to find employment and receive wages. In any case, we must distinguish between secondary and higher vocational education. In the second one, they graduate at the age of 22 or 23. They’re not such kids anymore.
What other factors contributed to increased academic and social reputation?
It has been proven that in times of crisis – we have had two crises in a row here – university graduates enroll in higher vocational education because they need to find a job. In some branches, VET graduates have better employment outcomes than university graduates. College students earn more, but the wage gap is narrowing.
Demand exceeds supply. Can FP die of success?
Whenever there is a crisis and employment opportunities decrease, there is generally an increase in the demand for education. Thanks to the real estate bubble in 2008, many young people easily found jobs, but when the recession hit, they went back to school. The Covid crisis has also triggered demand for FP, which caught the Government and the autonomous communities off guard.
“Fluidity and flexibility between centers and companies will help make vocational education more efficient.”
Will we ever have Germany’s FP?
Probably not. Another challenge we face is adapting the vocational training offer to the reality of the job. There is intense cooperation between training centers and companies in Germany. They collaborate and if a new cycle needs to be released, they release it. In our case, the cooperation between companies and centers is less intense. Additionally, chambers of commerce in Central European countries are much more involved than in Spain. Even though they are in Catalonia, their system is exemplary compared to other communities. In general, I believe that this flexibility and fluidity will enable us to receive a more effective and efficient vocational education.
I understand that you are calling for companies to focus on vocational training.
Yes, but there is a problem. Logically, companies only make decisions when they predict they will be profitable.