The VETPREP (Vocational Education and Training participation, retention, and educational policies) project was officially launched on 1 January 2025.
Funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, this three-year initiative brings together six partners across Europe. The consortium is coordinated by Syddansk Universitet (SDU, Denmark) and includes Universitat de València (Spain), University of Glasgow (Scotland, UK), Tallinn University (Estonia), Institute for Social Research – Zagreb (Croatia), and LINQ Consulting and Management Ltd (UK).
In mid-2024, the partners learned they had won the grant to study VET challenges, and by January 2025, the team was already at work preparing the research.
Consortium Kick-Off and Early Activities
Immediately after the start date, the project partners convened for a kick-off meeting in early January 2025. In this meeting (held from 8 to 10 January), they refined the research plan and began organising tasks. The first activities include mobilising data sources and setting up surveys and interview guides. Researchers will gather both quantitative data (e.g. enrollment and outcome statistics) and qualitative insights. For example, teams will conduct in-depth interviews with current VET students and educators to understand their experiences. The study’s mixed-methods approach combines analysis of longitudinal data with interviews to build a comprehensive picture of VET student engagement.
Project Objectives and Activities
VETPREP’s research focuses on how to improve student identification, participation and retention in vocational education across different countries. The project specifically examines how learners from diverse backgrounds fare in VET systems and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected vocational schooling.
Researchers will compare five countries (Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Scotland, and Spain) to see what policies and practices work best. In each country, they will study how factors like socio-economic status, gender, and prior education influence whether young people stay in VET or drop out. By combining cross-country statistics with individual student stories, the team aims to reveal patterns and differences in post-pandemic VET paths.
In practical terms, the project will:
- Analyse student engagement and retention factors. Using educational records and survey data, the team will identify which demographic and socio-economic factors affect VET participation.
- Interviews with students will add depth to this analysis.
- Compare VET policies and strategies. The project will map out how each partner country organises vocational training and what support measures exist. This comparative study will help highlight effective practices across Europe.
- Assess the impact of COVID-19. One key aim is to understand how the pandemic disrupted vocational learning.
- Develop inclusive strategies. Ultimately, VETPREP will propose ways to make VET more inclusive and resilient. The findings are intended to inform EU and national policies – for example, by contributing to goals like reducing early school leaving and lowering the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) rate in line with European targets.
- The project explicitly aims to support the EU Social Pillar’s vision of high-quality, inclusive education for all.
In summary, the VETPREP project combines data analysis and fieldwork to tackle the challenges of vocational education in the post-pandemic era. By partnering across five European countries, it will provide a broad evidence base on what drives VET success. The project’s results should help educators and policymakers develop innovative strategies to improve student engagement and retention in vocational training throughout Europe.