Vocational and general education models in Europe: comparative outcomes and normative implications for education for entrepreneurship

Sažetak

This paper compares different models of vocational education and training (VET; hereafter VET) and general/university
education in Europe, with a focus on their labour-market outcomes and implications for education for entrepreneurship. We analyse
dual systems in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, mixed models in the Netherlands and Nordic countries, and the specific position
of Croatia, which has one of the highest shares of students in VET programmes in the European Union and one of the lowest early
school-leaving rates. Drawing on comparative empirical studies, we show that VET programmes are highly effective in ensuring a fast and smooth school-to-work transition and lower youth unemployment, while general and university education is associated with higher earnings and greater adaptability later in the life-course. The paper integrates these findings with Croatian strategic and legal documents, including the Strategy for Education, Science and Technology, the National Plan for the Development of the Education System and the Croatian Qualifications Framework (CROQF; hereafter CROQF), and offers a critical assessment of the current tendency to promote dual and professional study programmes as functionally equivalent to university programmes. We argue that for a small open economy, sustainable development of education for entrepreneurship requires a balanced architecture: strong VET for short-term operational needs and equally strong university and interdisciplinary programmes for long-term innovation, strategic decision-making and systemic change.
The paper concludes with concrete normative recommendations for Croatian policymakers, higher-education institutions and stakeholders in entrepreneurship education.