What used to be cramped classrooms have turned into educations with waiting lists and a lack of space. – Vocational subjects work a little differently than normal school and are more practical work, but I’m having a great time, says Elina Lien Bruås (16). She is in the first year of electrical engineering at Laksevåg and Bergen Maritime secondary school. Sebastian Avila Kaland (16) nods. – Many are tired of regular school, but here there is more varied work, he says. At their vocational school, there are twice as many applicants as places. At other schools, there are three times as many applicants as pupil places. This is shown by figures from the Norwegian Directorate of Education. A total of 38,284 pupils have applied for vocational subjects in Norway from the autumn, while around 2,000 fewer have applied for a preparatory course. Five years ago it was the other way around. At the time, there were several students who applied for a study permit. No more space Projections point to an enormous need for more skilled workers in the coming years. Several years of application for vocational subjects is therefore a bad policy. But while the young people have been encouraged to choose more “nutritious courses of study”, the school structure is not adapted. At the vocational school in Laksevåg, only one in three applicants gets a place on electrical subjects. Principal Tove Føsund wants more space. – We need a new school building, she says. LACK OF SPACE: Principal Tove Føsund at Laksevåg and Bergen Maritime secondary school talks about the lack of space and that she wants a new school building as soon as possible. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen / news Bjørn Lyngedal, who is department director for training and competence in Vestland County Municipality, believes that it is urgent to expand the capacity. – Over several years, we have turned over all stones to increase the capacity for vocational subjects in the schools we have. But now we are no longer coming and the situation is precarious, he says. By 2027, there will be a need for 1,050 more vocational places in Bergen and the surrounding area alone. Lyngedal calls for a wider debate on school structure. – We see that both the population, the search pattern and the business world’s needs are changing. In this sense, there should be a continuous debate about school structure, he says. LUCKY: Elina Lien Bruås is one of the lucky ones who has been given a place in electrical engineering at Laksevåg and Bergen Maritime secondary school. There are three times as many applicants who place in electrical engineering. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen / news Most popular for boys Vocational subjects are most popular among boys, while girls have more of a sense of study preparation. – First and foremost, vocational subjects provide good opportunities to get an education that is in demand in working life, says senior adviser Victoria Katharina Solheimsnes in the Directorate of Education. She points out that vocational subjects open the way to quickly enter paid work, but that it also provides a basis for further education. “Vocational subjects are also attractive because you can get paid while training,” she says. DEMAND: There will be an enormous need for Sebastian Avila Kaland and others who take vocational courses in the years to come. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen / news 6 out of 10 vocational subjects in Northern Norway The county council for education and skills in Nordland county municipality, Fredrik Persson (Ap), says that fully 60 per cent of the students have applied for vocational subjects this year. – We have to look at whether additional space is needed to fill needs in the future, he says. He adds that Nordland is also dependent on students who take up study specialist training, and that it is not desirable that an even greater proportion of vocational subjects in the years to come. Also in Møre and Romsdal and Troms and Finnmark, 60 per cent of the pupils have applied for vocational subjects. In Oslo, the situation is the opposite. Here, only every fourth secondary school student applies for vocational subjects. A slight decrease from last year. Wants debate on school structure In Bergen, the majority constellation, led by Sp and Ap, has preserved the school structure in the current election period. In the coming election period, the school structure must be up for debate, signals county mayoral candidate Stian Davies (Ap). He adds that they will retain a decentralized school structure. – The offer must also be in line with the needs of the working and business world, he clarifies. County mayor candidate for Høgre, Silje Ekeland Bjørkly, believes it is “very unfortunate” that the position has closed the debate on school structure in the current period. – They have done this to avoid problems and uncomfortable questions, she says. Those who take the reins after the autumn election “must take the spoon in another hand”, she says. – I want to have a structural debate, not necessarily to close schools, but to see how we can dimension the offer as best as possible according to the need. PROVOKED: County mayoral candidate Silja Ekeland Bjørkly (H) in Vestland thinks it is very unfortunate that Ap and Sp have preserved the school structure. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news
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Vocational education campaign has led to a “precarious” shortage of places – news Vestland
