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A group of VT students on an internship at Repsol

Dual VT: what it is and what advantages it offers in your vocational training

Combine your studies with in-company internships 

Reading time: 5 min

In the Dual Vocational Training model, you learn while demonstrating your technical skills and cross-cutting competencies in a real environment. What advantages does dual training offer? Who is it for? You'll find all the answers here.

What is Dual VT?

Dual VT is a form of vocational training that has emerged as a solution to two shortcomings that young people have when starting their first job at a company: The lack of experience and the disparity between what is studied and what is put into practice in the workplace. 

Dual Vocational Training, also known as Dual VT, combines classroom learning with in-company internships. In other words, it gives students the option of receiving training in an academic setting while being able to put into practice what they've learned in the workplace.

In this way, students in this modality don't just receive theoretical training, but they're polishing their knowledge, developing their technical skills, and getting experience in real situations such as those that they're going to experience when they finish their studies.

On April 21, 2022, the Organic Law on the Organization and Integration of Vocational Training came into force, which plans to unify educational VT with vocational training for employment into a single VT system; adapt the professional qualification to the demands of the job market; as well as establish a system of support and professional guidance that supports people to make formative decisions throughout their lives.

Thus, the new VT system will be more flexible and accessible as it will be divided into five cumulative and ascending levels of qualification (A, B, C, D, and E), ranging from "micro-training" to specialization degrees. This training allows people to officially certify their experience, as well as increase the percentage of young people who choose this study method and which will allow them to schedule training itineraries depending on their expectations and needs.

Advantages of Dual Vocational Training

girls studying dual VT

  1. Learn in a real environment.
  2. Development of practical skills and specific competencies that are highly valued by companies.
  3. More opportunities to find employment as you have a minimum of 9 months of experience.
  4. Training adapted to the reality of the company.
  5. Attractive academic records due to the demand, effort, and dedication during the studies.
  6. Less unemployment due to the high probability of remaining in the company after graduation.
  7. Guaranteed paid internships.
  8. Increased motivation as you work in what you have studied.
  9. Access to new professions that arise in the labor market.
  10. Direct access to college studies at the end of Dual VT studies.
  11. You get an official degree in European territory.

What modalities of dual VT are there?

The new 2022 VT Law creates two forms with a dual character: General VT and Intensive VT: They differ mainly in these three aspects:

  • GENERAL VT: 
    • Between 25% and 35% of the training is done in the company.
    • The company takes on up to 20% of the content and assessment.
    • Binding to the student's statute (there is no contract).
  • INTENSIVE VT:
    • At least 35% of the training is done in the company.
    • The company takes on a minimum of 30% of the content and its assessment.
    • Existence of an alternating training contract.

The Organic Law on the Organization and Integration of Vocational Training establishes the dual character of all vocational training. We are currently in a transition period of the law, which will be introduced gradually until the end of 2024. Therefore, the previous system is still in force.

Dual VT as a response to the labor market

In addition to strengthening students' professional skills in parallel to their training, Dual VT also responds to a market demand. 

According to data from the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, in 2025, 50% of jobs will require an average qualification, i.e. that of technicians and qualified Vocational Training technicians. Currently, in Spain, the population between 25 and 64 that has VT studies has increased from 2017 (20.08 %) until 2022 (22.3 %).

“In the last few years, the Spanish labor market has evolved. More technical and very qualified jobs are in-demand in areas like administration and finance, mechatronics, or computer systems, than college graduates,” explains Piedad Curiel, Repsol Technology Lab researcher, who also acts as a mentor for the dual vocational training students who do their internships at our Company.

Teaching is adapted to what the market demands and the professional skills that companies require. This is a response to an essential condition in a more and more specialized, technical, and competitive job market.

The new Law on the Organization and Integration of Vocational Training ensures that all VT will be dual. This training modality will revolve around several cross-company themes: innovation, digitalization, applied research, and entrepreneurship.

According to all the experts, this training modality is going to be fundamental to respond to one of the big challenges of the Spanish economy: Having workers with high technical training capable of pursuing the new professions that the market is already demanding, in which new technologies are going to play an increasingly important role.