Relation of work-based and vocational education with employment

This study was carried out in East Azerbaijan province in Iran to survey the employment situation of the work-based and vocational education graduates and to explore the probable factors affecting their employment. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered to a stratified random sample of 633 individuals (386 from vocational and 247 from work-based courses).Findings showed that only 17.4 percent of vocational education graduates and 15 percent of work-based graduates were employed in positions related to their fields. The proportion of employment varied in different regions of the province. The maximum percentages of field-related employment belonged to the graduates of the central region. Finally, it was concluded that problems of employment were partially related to the limitations of labor market and also to the quality of educational program. It was suggested to integrate the employability skills with the career and technical programs.