The Role of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Preparing Rural Youth for the Labor Market in Isfahan Province, Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Mahya Ahangarha
• Seyed Ali Badri

University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22067/jrrp.v13i4.2406-1102

Abstract

Purpose- The model of sustainable human development goes beyond sustainable development and has been adopted as the global development charter for the twenty-first century. Development should consider the needs of the current generation in addition to being sustainable. The impact of empowering members of society, particularly educated youth, can be significant. Skills-oriented and applied scientific training deals with aspects of human resource capabilities that are developed based on knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The implementation of applied scientific education in a way that is useful in the direction of economic development is critical. Assessing the need of society for a type of education that can be useful is important, but so is the method of providing that education. 
Design/methodology/approach- One of the research's key questions is whether graduates of applied scientific education were successful in achieving their goals of economic development and job acquisition. The students at the Applied Science University are the focus of this research. The challenges of a lack of suitable businesses, as well as the existence of skill training centers that operate in the three sectors of agriculture, services, and industry, are the reasons for choosing this province. They can help the people. A questionnaire-based survey is the research method used in this study. Students from scientific research centers and theoretical foundations were asked to answer questions on a questionnaire designed to achieve the research objectives.
Finding- According to the surveys conducted, only 3.24% believe that the current skill education system is adjusted and designed with the characteristics of the rural community, as well as improving skills and improving social life conditions, respectively 4.04 and 3.99% of the most important motivations for studying in applied scientific universities based on the results of the analysis were based on the information collected from supplementary questionnaires. In addition to that, the examination of the efficiency and performance of the skill training system in different dimensions (curriculum and content, facilities and equipment) shows that "attachment and sense of belonging", "strengthening of urban behavior" and "desire of young people to transform from village to city" are three It is a case where the respondents believe that applied science education contributed to their improvement.

Keywords

• Vocational Education and Training (VET)
• Rural Economic Development
• Applied Science Education Centers
• Isfahan Province
• Iran

Main Subjects

• Rural Studies

---

References

1. Abrishami, H., Barkhordari, S., & Ghobashi, A. G. (2018). Investing of dynamic effect of immigration from rural to urban on income inequality: case study of rural regions in Iran. Journal of Econometric Modelling, 3(3), 39-62.  https://jem.semnan.ac.ir/article_3835_0.html?lang=fa
2. Akhtar, F. (2023). Role of Skill India Programs in Fostering Entrepreneurship among Rural Youth in India. Formosa Journal of Science and Technology, 2(10), 2891-2902. https://journal.formosapublisher.org/index.php/fjst/article/view/6678
3. Aleixo, A. M., Azeiteiro, U. M., & Leal, S. (2020). Are the sustainable development goals being implemented in the Portuguese higher education formative offer? International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 21(2), 336-352. https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/IJSHE-02-2020-007

4. Aleixo, A. M., Leal, S., & Azeiteiro, U. M. (2020). Education for sustainable development: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 251, 119-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119135

1. Bodorkos, B & Pataki, G (2009). Linking Academic and Local Knowledge: Community-Based Research and Service Learning for Sustainable Rural Development in Hungary. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(2009), 1123-1131. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965260900028X
2. Cedefop (2020). Vocational education and training in Europe, 1995-2035: scenarios for European vocational education and training in the 21st century. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Cedefop reference series; No 114. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/794471. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/7994_en.pdf
3. Chauke, T. A. (2023). Determinants of Youth Unemployment among TVET College Graduates in the Vhembe District. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 6(3), 125-143. https://cultureandvalues.org/index.php/JCV/article/view/275 
4. Ebdali, J., Yazdani, H., & Mohammadi, M. (2023). Entrepreneurship education in vocational training: Impact on rural youth in Iran. Journal of Small Business Management, 61(2), 345–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2022.21145242
5. Emadi, M.H. & Abbasi, E. (1997). Independence Development: Introduction and review of the book Agricultural Researches and Poor Villagers, Rural and Development Quarterly, 4th row, Winter, p. 123. (In Persian). https://www.magiran.com/volume/56869 
6. Girdziute, L., Besuspariene, E., Nausediene, A., Novikova, A., Leppala, J., & Jakob, M. (2022). Youth's (Un) willingness to work in agriculture sector. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 937657. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.937657/
7. Jafari, R. (2022). Role of rural infrastructure in promoting economic development: Evidence from Iran. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 101, 103177. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S138996412200031X
8. Jafari, R., Ghanbari, M., & Shokouhi, N. (2023). Assessing the impact of infrastructure investments on rural development in Iran. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 16, 100403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2023.100403
9. Katsande, T. E. (2016). Vocational education and training in rural Zimbabwe: The case of Murewa District (Doctoral dissertation, Anglia Ruskin University). https://repository.anglia.ac.uk/item/x8yq2j/vocational-education-and-training-in-rural-zimbabwe-the-case-of-murewa-district
10. Khorasani, H. (2021). Economic impacts of rural development programs in Iran. Journal of Rural Development, 40(2), 147-164.  https://jrur.ut.ac.ir/ 
11. Khorasani, H., Ebrahimi, A., & Zali, M. R. (2022). Incorporating digital technologies in vocational education: Enhancing employability prospects for rural youth. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 66(4), 531–553. https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331221090601
12. Khorasani, H., Zali, M. R., & Ebrahimi, A. (2022). Bridging the skills gap in vocational education: Lessons from Isfahan province, Iran. Journal of Workplace Learning, 34(1), 15–32. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-08-2021-0114
13. Maghsoodi, F. (2013). The role of technical and professional education in the country's economy and business development, Social, Economic and Cultural Monthly of Work & Society, No. 173, pp. 40-47. (In Persian).  https://ensani.ir/fa/article/
14. Maqsoudi, M. (2022). Barriers to vocational education in rural schools: An Iranian perspective. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 72(2), 147-164. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13636820.2022.2058138
15. Mirzamostafa, S. A. (1987). An investigation of present vocational-technical education in Iran (Doctoral dissertation, Iowa State University). https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/14262/
16. Rahimi, F. (2022). The impact of natural resource extraction on rural poverty reduction in Iran. Journal of Environmental Economics, 105, 102987. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009506981200040X

21. Rahimi, F., Hosseini, S. A., & Karami, E. (2023). Economic diversification strategies for rural development in Iran. Journal of Regional Science, 63(2), 351–374. https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12589
22. Salehi, M., Darabi, F., & Shokri, M. (2022). Migration patterns and economic development in rural Iran. Journal of Rural Studies, 75, 102–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.03.005
23. Salehiomran, E. & Rahmani Qahdrijani, E. (2011). Investigating focal competencies in technical and professional education programs: a review of theoretical issues and countries' experiences. Skill Education Quarterly, 1-31. [In Persian].  https://www.sid.ir/paper/255971/fa#downloadbottom
24. Sobhaninejad, M. & Afshar, A. (2007); Explaining the nature and quality measurement components of the higher education system in order to recognize the challenges and plan some innovative solutions, Islamic University Culture Quarterly, twelfth year, number 4, pp. 65-82. [In Persian].  https://ensani.ir/file/download/article/20120325160524-1064-57.pdf                                     
25. UNESCO (2014). Shaping the Future We Want: UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pff000024727
26. Yami, M., Feleke, S., Abdoulaye, T., Alene, A. D., Bamba, Z., & Manyong, V. (2019). African rural youth engagement in agribusiness: Achievements, limitations, and lessons. Sustainability, 11(1), 185. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/1/185