Anne Walstab

Non-Completion in Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Patterns and Possibilities

This article examines the issue of noncompletion in vocational education and training. It looks at how noncompletion is defined and at some of the different ways it is measured, presenting some estimates using recent OECD data. It then outlines some of the approaches to identifying causes of noncompletion, distinguishing between perspectives that highlight barriers associated with institutions themselves and the way they operate and are organized as places of learning, and factors associated with what individuals bring with them to the place of learning, including their family context, their intentions, work situation, dispositions, interests, and motivations. Following this is a brief outline of the sorts of strategies employed to reduce noncompletion.