VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN COMMUNITY GROUPS: SOCIAL CAPITAL, EDUCATION AND EQUALITY

Vocational education can mitigate class and ethnicity divisions by providing access to career opportunities to individuals across the socio-economic spectrum. Social and educational disadvantages reinforce each other, however, which maintains unequal access to training. This paper proposes that local-level community organisations provide an intervention point into this cycle of exclusion. It argues that linking vocational training projects with local-level community organisations enables them to draw on the existing social capital of these organisations, yielding more successful training for their members by facilitating access to training through targeted practical support; by underpinning relevant and effective guidance; and by providing role-models and mentors. Finally, it draws on primary international research to show that the training advantages that local-level organisations can provide are valued by employers and vocational training practitioners, confirming the potential benefit of such interventions.