site.btaEmployers Need Tailors and Construction Workers, Schools Produce Restaurant Workers and Economists

Businesses are looking for builders and tailors, while vocational education offers restaurant workers and economists, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Institute for Market Economics (IME) on the topic of vocational education and the labour market. The data collected in 2024 and 2025 analyzes the extent to which vocational education meets the needs of the labour market.

The analysis compares the specific occupations that are in demand on the labour market with those offered by vocational education. For 15 of the 20 occupations seeking the highest number of workers, vocational education prepares few (less than 1% of their admissions) or no personnel. Only 0,2% of everyone enrolled studies to be a construction worker, the occupation with the highest need of workers with a share of 15% of all professionals in demand. Of all jobs listed, tailors and machine operators account for over 6% each, while only 0.3% of the students in professional schools study for them. There is a relatively high correspondence in the occupations of chefs, building technicians and graphic designers.

In 2024, about two in three employers had difficulty finding the workers they needed. This rate marks an increase from the previous year. The jobs seeking the highest numbers of skilled workers over 2025 will be mostly in the fields of Architecture and Construction, Engineering and Manufacturing, and Processing, which account for over 60% of future demand for specialists. Admissions in these three fields account for 36% of all admissions.

An even more obvious discrepancy becomes obvious when examining the professions that will be in demand in the next 3-5 years. Professionals in the field of Business Management and Administration are expected to form 34% of the demand in the medium term - as of this year, however, only 10% of the students today are taking the necessary degree according to the vocational education admission plan.

While the need for computer science majors is only 2%, 15% of eighth graders have started studies in this field. There is also a significant discrepancy in the personal services field, where 16% of students are pursuing such a vocational qualification, while future workforce will need just 4%.

Vocational education graduates represent some 33% of the labour force among the population aged 15-64, and their economic activity rate in 2023 was 82.8%, or almost 7 pp higher than that of people with general secondary education (76.1%) and almost 9 pp higher than the national average (73.9%). The employment and unemployment indicators for the workforce with vocational qualifications were also relatively favourable. In 2023, the employment rate of people with vocational qualifications was 79.7%, compared with 70.7% nationally. The unemployment rate is 3.7%, compared with 4.4% nationally.