Stemming the Tide: Tackling Early Leaving from Vocational Education and Training in Times of Crises. Synthesis Report of Cedefop/ReferNet Survey. Research Paper

This synthesis report is based on a survey carried out during 2022 with Cedefop's reporting network ReferNet. It makes an important contribution to understanding the magnitude of early leaving from VET (ELVET) in those European countries where relevant data are available, and the mechanisms and support measures countries employ to measure and monitor the phenomenon at national and regional levels. The report puts special focus on the main factors leading to early leaving from initial VET as reported by EU Member States, Norway and Iceland. It details the support measures teachers, trainers, school principals and companies providing work-based learning received to overcome the challenges society faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This research is part of Cedefop's pioneering work within the VET for youth team to support policy-makers and VET practitioners tackling early leaving from VET in Europe. For more than a decade, Cedefop has led research, promoted peer learning through its policy learning fora, and developed and managed online toolkits to benefit learners at risk of dropping out, early leavers from VET and young NEETs. The VET toolkit for tackling early leaving and the VET toolkit for empowering NEETs offer a platform of intervention approaches, good practices and interactive tools designed for both policy-makers and VET teachers and trainers. The community of ambassadors tackling early leaving from VET, created and coordinated by Cedefop since 2017, plays a vital role in enriching and disseminating the toolkit resources. The findings of this survey feed into Cedefop's project on Tackling early leaving from VET. It aims to support EU Member States and the European Commission in the implementation of the Council recommendation on pathways to school success (Council of the European Union, 2022) and the achievement of Education and training 2030 strategic target to lower the rates of early leaving from education and training (Council of the European Union, 2021).