Financing Vocational and Industrial Education

Abstract

This chapter discusses the financing vocational and industrial education. Vocational and industrial education and training takes many forms. In the past, the bulk of all vocational and industrial education was provided on the job by employers for their own workers. The costs of this education and training were shared between the employers, who provided personnel, equipment, and other facilities, and the trainees, who accepted low wages during the period of training. However, as the skill requirements of the jobs became more complex, the need for more formal types of vocational education and training was widely accepted. Economists have also been much concerned with the question of whether the distinction between general and vocational education is valid. It is difficult to estimate the total costs of vocational education and industrial training, as employers do not necessarily keep accurate records of the time or expenditure devoted to on-the-job training, and it is difficult to estimate the contribution of individual trainees. Another recent development that has changed the pattern of financing vocational and industrial education in some countries is the provision of paid educational leave for employees, which means that employers continue to pay wages to employees while they receive part-time or full-time vocational or general education. In other words, paid educational leave is simply one way of distributing the costs of vocational education and training between employers, workers, and taxpayers.