A flawed system that does not sufficiently compensate for rising prices and wages has meant that almost all vocational schools have lost the equivalent of approx. 1.5 billion DKK since 2015. The SOSU programs have become free because the politicians have chosen to prioritize them. This shows an analysis from SMVdanmark.
Subsidies do not match the price increases
The prices of materials, paper, pens, salaries and everything else needed to run a school are increasing. But the subsidy per pupil that the vocational schools have received every year since 2015 does not correspond at all to the price increases.
It is highly problematic that educations such as structural engineer, mason and welder are economically starved at a time when everyone is clamoring for more skilled workers, believes SMVdanmark. The organization for small and medium-sized Danish companies is now calling for a financial boost for vocational education.
Deeply problematic
Thomas Gress, senior economist at SMVdanmark, is concerned about what this means for the opportunities to train more skilled professionals.
– We are facing a massive shortage of skilled workers in the future. In the next ten years, 80,000 skilled workers will disappear without anyone replacing them, so we are heavily dependent on training many more. But when you lose between seven and nine percent of the budget, and therefore have to find savings, it will almost certainly affect the quality of the education. The students may not be given the right materials, or the machine that is broken may not be repaired quickly enough. This makes it less educational and fun to get an education, and then we don’t get more people to apply to vocational schools. It is deeply problematic, he says.
Only 93 percent is compensated
For every time prices and wages have increased by DKK 100 since 2015, the vast majority of schools have only received DKK 91-93 in compensation. So in reality, year by year, there has been less money to run a vocational school. This has happened for 108 out of 111 vocational training courses.
– At the same time that everyone agrees that we strongly need more craftsmen for the green transition and energy efficiency, vocational training is being starved. It is completely incomprehensible, and the politicians are failing when they actually cut the vocational schools’ budgets year after year, says Thomas Gress.
Need for DKK 2.5 billion
SMVdanmark calls for political negotiations to be called on vocational training.
– We believe that DKK 2.5 billion should be added to this area. 1.5 billion to close the gap that has arisen over several years, and one billion to improve quality. And it can only go too slowly, says Thomas Gress.
Social and health service programs look good in the press
He believes that the politicians clearly can if they want to, because the SOSU (Social and health) programs have, as the only ones, received extra money in the form of a financial boost of 6.4 percent of the taxi meter subsidy.
– The politicians have prioritized those educations, probably also to look good in the press and in front of the voters, when there have been stories of failure and lack of care in nursing homes and in home care, says Thomas Gress.
