Vocational Education and Economic Growth Connections and Conundrums. Occasional Paper No. 112.

This paper notes that vocational education has been associated with economic growth since the turn of the century, when such growth was used as a justification for the funding of early vocational training. Today, vocational education's contributions to economic growth include efforts such as employer demand research, dislocated worker programs, strategies for school/business linkages, and entrepreneurship education. Following a short history and rationale for the connection between vocational education and economic growth, this paper (1) describes a variety of connections between vocational education and economic growth and their underlying theoretical foundations, (2) notes the historical context in which the connections were shaped, (3) lists policy initiatives that were stimulated by the various connections, and (4) suggests future vocational education policy issues to be resolved in order to maximize the effects of vocational education on economic growth. Throughout the paper, the ways in which vocational education supports growth are divided into four types that reflect different periods in the nation's economic history: traditional, locational, emerging, and potential. The discussion is restricted to vocational education provided by the public sector, on which public policy can have a direct effect. Questions and answers on school-business cooperation, entrepreneurship education, and skill training in relation to economic growth follow the presentation. (KC)