Addressing Mismatch in Spain: A Concern and Proposal Beyond the Economic Sphere

Abstract

In times of economic crisis, labour shortage and high youth unemployment, the attention is put on the relation between education, skills and labour market demand. This article acknowledges the need to assess this relation but claims that a more holistic picture is necessary rather than the one that is behind the attention put on work-based learning in the form of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in some countries. Contrarily, to the concern of current mismatch discourses centred on individual labour wages and national productivity, the paper proposes a human centred approach the Capability Approach (CA) to explore the reasons causing mismatch and the consequences to the individual. By combining documentary and field work research in a college in Spain, the paper posits the view that a capability perspective centred on individual freedoms can be a conceptual but also intrinsic important starting point for formulating an enabling VET which is responsive to the needs of the employers as well as is able to protect students from market imperfections.

Selection of companies for student involvement in work-based learning

“…First successful realisation of work-based learning was conducted in the Netherlands where a very deep analysis of work-based learning in Dutch vocational education experience by their considerable experience in connecting learning places, learning content and learning processes (Onstenk, 2017;Onstenk & Blokhuis, 2007) has indicated important aspects in organisation of workbased learning especially by connecting school with companies and application of gained knowledge, skills and competence in the best possible way. Also, researchers have investigated experience of workbased learning in Spain (López Fogués, 2017) and in Germany analysing the areas of learning and several aspects of the shift towards work and competence orientation within the school-based vocational education has already been well-known for a long time as well as analysed German dual apprenticeship system (Gessler, 2017;Gessler & Howe, 2015) in detail, and made comparisons of practical findings in different countries (Pilz, 2007) with practical findings useful also for other countries. Sweden vocational education has also valuable experience discussed in academic research (Fjellström & Kristmansson, 2016) whose findings are practically usable for policy development.…”