Why has the Vocational Education Act changed?

In the preamble of that Organic Law 3/2022, a very enlightening piece of information is given, which emphasizes the urgent need to change the current model: of the 11 million people who could have benefited from the procedure for verifying professional qualifications, only 300,000 users have been registered in more than 10 years. We have a strong Vocational Education, with a varied and up-to-date offer of training cycles, but it is clear that the mechanisms for verifying skills and obtaining professional certificates have not been put into effect. Therefore, this system that gives value to the acquired skills has not been taken advantage of through work. This new law aims to be an umbrella that will bring together the entire offer of Vocational Education, from professional credentials to intermediate or higher education cycles and specialization cycles, giving the same support to all qualification options.

What are the most significant aspects of the new Law?

Undoubtedly, the most noteworthy aspect is the creation of the National Catalog of Vocational Skills Standards, on which the Modular Vocational Education Catalog and the National Catalog of Vocational Education Offers are built. Supporting the full range of training with this first catalogue, all qualification levels, from partial qualification certificates to VET Specialist Courses, are linked to one or more standard competences and are subject to the same legal structure. In this way, new ways and facilities are created to accumulate certificates and obtain higher levels, as well as being able to obtain certificates through work experience, as well as to accumulate them and obtain higher levels.

Likewise, the general model of Dual Vocational Education is established, in which learning is done through work, with which all students of the educational cycles, including the first year, alternate classroom studies with work practices in the real environment. This new law gives more weight to companies when establishing the competences to be obtained in the study plans.

What is the state of Vocational Education in the Basque Country? What has been its evolution?
Basque Vocational Education is experiencing a gradual but sustainable increase in students and is in a strong position, without any interruption in this improvement due to the pandemic we have experienced. In Bizkaia, specifically, since the 2018/2019 academic year, we have had almost 2,000 more students, going from 19,401 to 21,314 in Basic Vocational Education, Intermediate and Advanced Degrees. VI. The Basque FP Plan, the roadmap presented by the Department of Education of the Basque Government in response to the changes being made in this education model, has set the ambitious goal of obtaining 10,000 more students in the Basque Autonomous Community by 2026, and given the evolution we have had over the years, we believe that this is an achievable goal.

On the other hand, in order for all Vocational Education to be dual for that year, it is anticipated that there will be a progressive increase in the number of people studying in this model from the first year of the cycles, aiming at 50% for the following year and 70% for the 2024/2025 academic year, until the integration of this model is completed.

Compared to other communities' VETs, can the VET of the Basque Country be proud of something?
Basque Vocational Education has a remarkably innovative character, it promotes research through initiatives such as the Technical Center, and specifically we make efforts that respond directly to the concerns conveyed to us by the production sector from the public Vocational Education. To give a new example, CIFP San Jorge, one of the centers of the Ikaslan Bizkaia network, is the only public center in the territory that offers the Higher Degree of Renewable Energy and has recently inaugurated the first infrastructure for the production of green hydrogen in Basque, the Vocational Training Center, Telki, the energy that is in great demand by companies to train professionals.

In fact, ecological transition and digital transformation are the protagonists of VI. In the Basque VET Plan, as well as the goal of achieving 100% of students studying Dual VET for the 2025/2026 school year. In the 2021/2022 school year, we were conducting the first pilot experiences with Dual Vocational Education at the first level of the educational cycles and the fact that we have established this ambitious goal this year is a reflection of the ability of Vocational Education in the Basque Country to reinvent itself and adapt to changes. This academic year we have already doubled the number of companies offering Dual VET, and 30% of students study in this modality, above the European average.