For the first time in ten years, more children started their studies in vocational schools than in regular secondary schools last year, indicating that “vocational training is the way of the future”, the minister of innovation and technology said on Saturday. Last year, 8.5% more students started their studies in vocational schools as against regular schools. László Palkovics said at the opening event of the school year in a Nyíregyháza vocational centre that the government’s major achievement of the past year to approve a strategy dubbed Vocational Training 4.0 which has been developed with the involvement of market players and is based on an Austrian model.
Developing a flexible and modern vocational training system adjusted to the demands of the labour market will benefit all, Palkovics said. It will give more opportunities to students to learn and receive further training, as well as providing companies with skilled workers that meet their demands, he added. The system will also cater for those who want to continue their studies in higher education, he said. Vocational secondary schools will be transformed and will provide development opportunities to young people who were unable to prove their skills in a conventional educational environment, he said. The aim is to reduce the proportion of school-leavers from 12% to below 10%, he added. A new state scholarship system will also be introduced to guarantee financial support to students who opt out of dual education, he said, adding that teachers, meanwhile, will be offered a viable career model and salary system.