Analysis of the motivations, support and difficulties of women participating in vocational training courses

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the motivations, beliefs, opinions, experiences and attitudes of Spanish women in vocational training courses towards initial formal education, vocational and permanent training, with the intention of reflecting the conception of the social reality of women in education and employment fields. We have applied a qualitative methodology of in-depth, semistructured, individual and group interviews to women in vocational training courses. We have also conducted interviews with experts on gender equality. The results indicate that gender socialization has a determining role in the academic and occupational choices of the interviewed women, whose development is conditioned by family and care responsibilities traditionally assigned to women. Family, economic and individual factors influence the abandonment of formal education the most. The main motivation for ongoing permanent training is personal enrichment, but once the family is formed, women find it difficult to reconcile family life and professional development. However, women hint at the possibility of a change that would be desirable to achieve gender equality in the fields of training and employment. It would be necessary to carry a previous study of the needs of women and the success factors of education and/or training from a gender perspective, considering internal (motivations, interests, etc.) and external factors (labor contexts, family, economic, etc.).