Aaviksoo: Estonia's vocational education reform needs a genuine long-term plan

Academician and former Education Minister Jaak Aaviksoo believes the ongoing vocational education reform has a reasonable goal but requires a long-term and substantive plan. The aim to direct 40-50% of primary school graduates to vocational education by 2035 is more ambitious than the current 20%. According to Aaviksoo, the education system should better match the real needs of the labour market.

Estonia's vocational education has faced a decades-long problem that reforms alone cannot solve: it is not seen by young people as an attractive alternative to upper secondary school. Jaak Aaviksoo, an academician and former Education Minister, argues in his analysis that the current vocational education reform is pointed in the right direction, but requires far more than simple structural changes.

In a memo presented to the government, a target has been set for 40-50% of primary school graduates to enter so-called applied upper secondary schools and vocational programmes by 2035. Currently, this figure stands at only around 20%. Aaviksoo considers the target entirely reasonable, especially given the experience of other European countries where vocational education is closely linked to labour market requirements and represents a credible choice for young people.

Why reform alone is insufficient

The problem does not lie solely in structure or curricula. Building the reputation of vocational education requires broader changes in society-in attitudes, in wage levels offered on the labour market, and in how vocational graduates progress in their careers. Without these changes, even a well-designed reform may remain merely on paper.

Aaviksoo emphasises that a genuine long-term plan must encompass not only school organisation but also a broader social agreement among employers, schools, and the state. Successful examples from Germany, Finland, and Austria show that growth in the popularity of vocational education is a slow process requiring consistent and decades-long commitment.

Labour market needs should drive direction

The substantive alignment of vocational education with labour market requirements is the reform's most important benchmark. If young people see that completing vocational education opens doors to well-paid and growing jobs, their choices will change too. To date, however, the situation has often been one where vocational school graduates find themselves at the bottom of the labour market, and this image persists for a long time.