Quality of Initial Vocational Education and Training: Perceptions of Disenchanted, Enthusiastic, Moderate and Fluctuating Apprentices

Summary

This paper studies apprentices’ perceptions of initial vocational education and training quality at school and at the training company. Are there any patterns in the way apprentices capture IVET quality? Are there differences regarding perceptions of IVET quality at school or at the training company? By using data from a survey of 333 apprentices in the retail and commercial employees’ fields, we performed a cluster analysis. The aim was to identify natural groupings and explore the association of these clusters with outputs of IVET quality, such as self-efficacy and engagement at school and at the training company, and with sociodemographic variables. We identified four clusters of apprentices: “disenchanted”, “enthusiastic”, “moderate” and “fluctuating”, each with a different pattern of IVET quality perception. Apprentices in the “enthusiastic” cluster had higher scores in IVET quality compared to the other three clusters. Conversely, “disenchanted” apprentices had lower scores. “Moderate” apprentices had very centred scores, while “fluctuating” apprentices showed varied patterns.