According to the OECD’s annual education report, practical training in the workplace plays an outstanding role in Hungary, even in international comparison, the chances of people with vocational qualifications finding work are good, and teachers’ salaries are continuously increasing.

The report, which was published today, places particular emphasis on vocational training. The study highlights the fact that all students attending vocational training schools (formerly vocational secondary schools) receive practical training in a business environment. The 100 percent index for the ratio of students that receive practical training in a workplace environment is almost triple the 34 percent average of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. According to the document, only Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and Latvia can boast a similar index.

In a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI, Deputy State Secretary Gáborné Pölöskei said: “Since 2010, the government has introduced a host of measures in cooperation with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the interests of promoting and reinforcing dual vocational training. Thanks to the comprehensive reform of the vocational training system, we have achieved an index that is forward-looking even within the international arena with relation to 3-year vocational training courses. Our goal is to further develop the Hungarian dual vocational training model in technical schools, which are also a priority development area of the Vocational Training Strategy 4.0 adopted last March”.

The OECD report also includes data on the rate of employment among young adults with vocational qualifications, which in Hungary is 84 percent, 8 percentage points more than for people in possession of a general secondary school leaving certificate.

The study also deals with the salaries of teachers and trainers, which have increased significantly in Hungary over the past ten years. The salaries of the 32 thousand teachers working within the vocational training system increased by an average of 30 percent from July of this year, and beginning in September students of elementary school age and above will be receiving scholarships. The performance-based, motivating salary system and flexible employment will be attracting even more private sector experts to the field of vocational training.

The goal of the reinforcement of the vocational training system is for all young Hungarians to exit the school system armed with skills and competences that are adapted to the requirements of enterprises, so that they can acquire a competitive income and enjoy a dependable future as a result.

(Ministry for Innovation and Technology/MTI)