The 16th International Conference of the Journal of Vocational Education and Training (JVET) took place from July 24–26, 2025, at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. This year’s conference reaffirmed its role as a leading forum for exploring the future of vocational education in a rapidly evolving world. Among the standout contributions was the presentation of VETprep, a pioneering European research project that is reshaping how we understand and support youth participation in vocational education and training (VET) in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aligned with JVET 2025’s Core Themes
This year’s JVET conference focused on “VET Journeys and Destinations,” inviting research that confronts the pressing challenges facing vocational education, including economic austerity, climate change, political instability, and rapid technological transformation.
VETprep’s work directly addresses these issues by investigating:
- How VET can promote or hinder social inclusion through equitable practices.
- How spatial mobility—or the ability of young people to move for education and work—is shaped by post-pandemic realities.
- The influence of systemic disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, on youth transitions and participation in VET.
By tackling these questions, VETprep embodies the conference’s commitment to research that informs meaningful change in policy and practice.
Shaping the Future of Vocational Education
Spanning 2025 to 2027, VETprep is designed as a longitudinal, multi-country study, allowing researchers to capture both immediate post-pandemic impacts and longer-term trends in vocational participation. This comparative approach provides a nuanced understanding of the shared challenges across Europe while identifying context-specific solutions tailored to national VET systems.
Its findings promise to contribute to:
- More resilient and inclusive VET systems capable of adapting to economic and technological shifts.
- Evidence-based policy recommendations for supporting youth transitions into education, training, and employment.
- Innovative methodologies for tracking how young people navigate post-pandemic educational landscapes.
Looking Ahead
The presentation of VETprep at JVET 2025 highlights the vital role of research in guiding VET practice and policy. As Europe continues to confront the lingering effects of the pandemic, the rapid pace of technological change, and evolving labor market demands, projects like VETprep offer crucial insights for ensuring vocational pathways remain relevant, accessible, and empowering for all young people.
For practitioners, policymakers, and researchers, VETprep serves as both a source of inspiration and a practical resource, demonstrating how collaborative European research can lead to tangible improvements in vocational education.
As the project progresses over the next two years, the VET community can look forward to groundbreaking findings that will influence how we design, deliver, and evaluate vocational education for the next generation. The successful integration of VETprep into the JVET 2025 discussions reaffirms the conference’s role as the premier stage for advancing the dialogue between research and practice in vocational education.