Vocational Training Courses

What are Vocational courses?

Vocational courses refer to programs whose aim is to prepare learners for a specific career. These courses help learners to upgrade career to become more employable quickly. Professional training mainly equips students with the necessary practical skills in a given profession. 

Employers today focus more on practical skills than just academic prowess. Therefore, when hiring workers, they look for those people with impeccable practical skills as well as knowledge. The beauty of vocational courses is that they focus sufficiently on both theory and, practical.

The good thing about vocational courses is that they have low entry requirements. Usually, degree programs have very high academic qualifications. Therefore, they tend to lock out many potential students.

Examples of Vocational Courses 

Academic experts subdivide vocational courses into five major categories. These categories include;

• Agriculture
• Home Science
• Commerce
• Hospitality
• Health

Below is a list of standard vocational courses on offer in most vocational schools across the world.

• Banking: this is a vocational course that prepares the student to become good accountants. Students need to be very sharp, analytical with impeccable skills in accounting.
• Bakery; This vocational course helps students to acquire foundations of bakery and confectionery. For example, the students learn about the ingredients of baking as well as the recipe. 
• Beauty services; as the name suggests, this course helps the learner to know about different beauty services. The students get the right knowledge and skills required to start their beauty shops. 
• Nursing; this vocational program helps the students to know how to take care of different health-related conditions. These techniques aim at relaxing the patient to help him or her, to recover. Additionally, nursing students also learn the best precautions against diseases.
• Mass media and production; the entertainment industry requires creative and competent journalists. The course equips the students with hands-on experience in the field of journalism and mass communication.
• Fashion and design; this program entails designing clothes as well as lifestyle accessories. Students learn the best outfits for different cultural and social events. Additionally, the program also introduces learners to a diverse cultural heritage. This information is very fundamental for the designing of the appropriate clothes for clients. 
• Information technology; students develop skills in web designing, computer programming, and other web applications. Additionally, the learners also learn networking, digital designing, as well as web content creation.
• Library and information sciences; students learn the main fundamentals of efficient management of libraries and information centers. That’s not all; the students also learn critical interpersonal and interdisciplinary skills.
• Business administration; the success of any organization heavily relies on the business administrators. This vocational program equips the students with the necessary professional skills in the field of business administration. Additionally, the students also learn the responsibilities of business administrators. 

Examples of Traditional Program on Offer

Academic experts classify traditional programs into bachelor’s, masters, and doctoral degrees. Experts subdivide bachelor’s programs into different categories. Notable categories are;

• Commerce
• Medicine
• Pharmacy
• IT

Here is a list of the top traditional courses on offer in colleges today.

Bachelor of Science (Computer science); this is an IT-related degree program. The students learn different web applications, web technologies, as well as web design. 

Bachelor of Science (Civil engineering); this degree program helps students draw structural drawings and interpret them. Additionally, the program also teaches students different construction techniques as well as survey methods.

Bachelor of Arts; this degree program covers the fields of arts as well as the field of sciences. The program takes a total duration of four years full time. For a student to pursue this course, they need to have passed at least one art subject. 

Bachelor of Commerce; the degree program aims at preparing the students in the different fields of commerce. Major Fields include administration, banking, accountancy, and finance. Experts have designed the course to help the learners to meet the demand of the world of commerce fully. 

Bachelor of tourism management; the degree programs equip the students with the necessary skills in tourism. Furthermore, the students also learn wildlife management, sustainable tourism, as well as ecotourism. 

Bachelor of Law; this degree program helps the scholars to become outstanding lawyers in society. The course has different fields of specialization, such as constitutional law, business law, environmental law, and health law. A student must have passed highly in the English subject to pursue the course. Usually, this degree program takes a total duration of four years, full time.

Bachelor of Science (Actuarial science); the course equips the students with impeccable technical and specialist knowledge and skills. For one to excel in this course, he or she needs to have a particular passion for mathematics. The program introduces learners to the actuarial profession. Therefore, one needs to excel in Mathematics subject, to qualify for the program. 

Traditional Courses versus Vocational Courses

Let’s discuss traditional courses first,

• Traditional courses are those academic programs that require no online technology. These courses have the usual classroom teaching model and evaluation. Examples of current courses include Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science (Engineering), and B.com.
• Traditional courses only impart knowledge to students in a class setting alone. The courses pay particular attention to theory and case studies. The only way regular courses learners get practical skills is through internships. Traditional courses learners face a challenge in applying what they learned in their workplace. 
• Traditional courses tend to focus more on academic prowess. For this reason, they tend to have very high academic requirements. Learners focus their energy more on the theoretical part of the courses. In some cases, evaluation of traditional courses may gravitate towards theory than practical. 

Comparing with vocational courses,

• On the other hand, vocational courses mainly take place in a practical setting. For example, you may find engineering students learning from a workshop to get the actual skills. Learning of professional programs rarely take place in classrooms or lecture rooms.
• Experts design vocational courses in such a way that they equip learners with practical work skills. Consequently, by the time a learner graduates, he or she is ready for employment. No wonder, vocational courses graduates are quickly absorbed by the job market, unlike others. 
• Unlike traditional courses, vocational courses focus majorly on knowledge and skills. Therefore, you may find the course instructors concentrate their energy on equipping learners with skills. The evaluation also focuses on testing the learner’s expertise in a given field or career. 
• Interestingly vocational courses are quite shorter compared to traditional programs. Since these courses are theory-oriented, they tend to take longer. Diploma and advanced diploma courses take between one to two years full time. On the other hand, traditional courses may take between 3 to 5 years full time.

Differences between Vocational Courses and Traditional Courses

• Vocational courses take a shorter duration as opposed to traditional programs. Traditional courses take between four to five years full time. On the flip side, professional training takes between one year to two years full time.
• Academic experts designed vocational courses to pay more attention to skills than theory. Learners hence spend most of their time horning their expertise in their relevant field. On the other hand, traditional courses pay more focus on the theoretical aspect of the area rather than the skills. 
• Vocational schools hire industry professionals such as engineers, medics, dieticians to teach their students. These professionals are highly skilled in their respective fields. On the other hand, traditional course institutions hire academic experts in the field of specialization to teach their students. 
• Vocational courses students adopt a different lifestyle from traditional courses students. Usually, conventional course institutions allow students to reside within the school premises. For example, universities have hostels within them to accommodate the students. On the other hand, vocational schools do not have accommodation facilities for their students. 
• Vocational courses have a flexible schedule, whereas traditional courses have a fixed plan. An occupational course schedule depends on the practical that needs to complete, on a particular day. On the other hand, regular programs have a set timetable during which an instructor covers a given topic or subtopic. 
• Vocational courses leave little time for non-academic activities. On the other hand, traditional courses demand a lot of non-contact time. Therefore learners get enough time for research as well for extra-curriculum activities. Vocational course students spend time in groups working on projects and other assignments 
• A traditional course tends to have very high entry requirements than vocational programs. Typically, professional courses have low qualifications and hence can accommodate anyone. Conversely, regular programs value academic prowess, thus sets high educational qualifications.

Top 5 Vocational Courses Today

Today vocational courses are in high demand as they are skills-oriented. Research shows that some of these programs have varying degrees of value, in the job market. Below are some of the leading programs that every student wishes to pursue.

1. Diploma in tourism and travel management

The tourism sector has grown tremendously in different countries. For this reason, there’s a high demand for tour guides as well as travel managers. This course helps to introduce students to the immense potential of the tourism sector.

Additionally, the learners also get to learn about our beautiful country as well as the different cultures. That’s not all; the students also learn about the immense treasures that the world has to offer.

2. Diploma in hotel management and catering

Different sectors have grown immensely hence triggering demand for hotel managers. For example, the tourism sector requires personnel, such as professional hotel managers and professional chefs. This relevant vocational course prepares students to become proficient in cooking. 

Additionally, students also learn communication skills as well as critical interpersonal skills. Remember that waiters and waitresses interact directly with their customers. Apart from that, students can also become effective hotel managers of large hotels, hospitals, and other institutions.

3. Diploma in Business administration

The number of organizations and firms in different countries has increased rapidly. Consequently, the demand for professional administrators with impeccable skills has shot up. This vocational course prepares students to become good administrators. The course covers essential areas such as computer proficiency, word processing, as well as accounting. 

4. Diploma in banking

Banking stills remains the most lucrative career option in the globe today. This vocational program aims at equipping the learner with essential accounting as well as commerce skills. Professional banking instructors introduce students to the fundamentals of banking. 

Students who take this course are in high demand as they can venture into different sectors. Probable employment sectors include the public sector, the private sector, as well as overseas banks. 

5. Diploma in office secretaryship

As the course title suggests, this course helps students become good office secretaries. Unknown to some people, the course suits both males, and females. Students learn about all the roles of an office secretary in an organization. 

Furthermore, the course also equips students with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Employers highly value office secretaries as they play a vital role in the running of organizations. Some of the tasks of an office secretary include; 

• Scheduling
• Photocopying
• Sending emails
• Preparing memos
• Processing files
• Faxing
• Word processing

Why Employers Prefers Skilled Vocational Course Graduates

Research shows that most employers prefer vocational course graduates. Interestingly, professional courses tend to take a shorter duration than, college education. We can attribute this preference to a wide range of reasons, such as design and employability skills. However, this does not, in any way, imply that university graduates are unemployable. 

Here are some of the main reasons why employers go for vocational graduates.

Firstly, vocational training is skill-based as opposed to university education. Most vocational schools hire industrial professionals to teach the students. Additionally, the students learn from workshops hence develops the relevant expertise. For this reason, the vocational schools churn out all-rounded graduates who are ready for the job market. 

Secondly, vocational training schools attract fewer learners. Typically, the learner to instructor ratio is quite reasonable; hence learners absorb more from the instructors. Not to add, that the course instructors focus more on skills and not the theoretical part of the course. 

Vocational schools hire industrial professionals to teach students. Industrial professionals not only have the right knowledge, in a given field, but also the skills. They know precisely, what the employers look for when hiring employees. Therefore, the instructors help the students to rise to the occasion. By the time one graduate, they are fully ready for employment. 

Reasons why Demand for Vocational Course is on the Rise

Lately, the demand for vocational training has increased sharply. Different factors have contributed to this, including;

• Increased demand, for employability skills in different fields; as hinted before, employers are now looking for skilled graduates. For this reason, they prefer to high a vocational course graduate than a college graduate. Vocal training imparts the necessary job skills to the students, right from the word go. 

• Teamwork spirit; vocational course students spend most of their time together working on projects. Therefore, they tend to have splendid inter-personal and communication skills. Teamwork is especially crucial for the achievement of the overall organization’s goals.
• Demand for innovative minds; employers today are searching for employees who will help their organizations to rake in better returns. For this reason, they opt for vocational course graduates who tend to be creative and knowledgeable. 
• Increased demand for dependable employees; employers, dislikes employees who work maximally under optimum supervision. Vocational course students are fond of working on projects, in groups, under minimal control by their supervisors. This fact explains why, they look for professional program graduates. 
• Splendid communication and interpersonal skills; Organization’s objectives majorly rely on the input of every employee. Therefore, employees need to be capable of communicating with each other effectively. Vocational course students are fond of working on assignments and projects together. Consequently, they have the right attitude as well as interpersonal skills to correlate and communicate efficiently. 

Benefits of Pursuing a Vocational Course

• It equips the learner with practical skills; the most notable benefit of a vocational course is it provides you with the right job skills. Commonly, instructors are industry professionals who work in a specific field and have the proper knowledge and skills to impart to the students. 

• One spends less money; vocational training is usually quite less expensive than university education. Additionally, professional training takes a shorter time, as opposed to college or university education.
• They attract good pay, as hinted before a vocational course primarily gives students the right skills for the job. For this reason, professional course graduates are more qualified for the job.

They solve the day to day challenges that crop up in work set up. For this reason, such employees get a decent salary. Not to add, that the courses help the graduates to get a stable and secure job position. 

• One gets financial aid; the relevant government ministries accredits most vocational schools in most countries today. For this reason, students stand a chance of getting financial assistance from the government and well-wishers. The financial aid package covers tuition fees as well as books. 

Vocational courses make one easy to work with; unknown to some, professional courses involve a lot of group work and discussions. Therefore students learn critical social and interpersonal skills, as they interact. These skills are highly essential in work set up to attain the overall goal. Employees must work together, both seniors and juniors, to achieve the overall organizational objectives.