Why choose vocational training? Satisfaction, motivations and expectations of trainees about employment and training

Abstract

The aspirations and expectations of students in vocational training about their studies and their future employability represent the main theme of this paper. This items strongly influences in elements such as career choice, the level of satisfaction with training and on the job performance. The research presented here aims to analyze variables such as expectations of students in vocational education, the reasons why they have chosen these studies, satisfaction with training and expectation of employment at the end of their training period. It is a descriptive study that combines quantitative and qualitative methodology, focusing on a Galician county (called Barbanza) and following the paradigm of human and local development. We performed a probabilistic stratified random sampling in function of the vocational school trainees are in, reaching a final sample of 267 trainees, to which was applied a questionnaire designed ad hoc and validated using expert judgment and pilot test. As a result, it is noteworthy that most of the trainees thought about the labour insertion as a priority when they chose their training, followed by the vocational interest and geographical proximity of the school to the family home. After the analysis, it is concluded that there is a statistically significant relationship between the professional field of training and the expectation of employability at the end of it.