An Assessment of Vocational and Technical Higher Education Effect on Employment in Agriculture: A Case Study in The North Western Provinces, Iran

The world is moving towards an information-based economy. Vocational and technical higher education is directly concerned with acquisition of knowledge and skills required for the world of work, formal and informal, urban and rural. The purpose of this study was to assess the affects of vocational and technical higher education on the employment in the agriculture sector. The research method employed was correlative-descriptive. The population consisted vocational and technical higher education graduates (N=215) at the vocational and technical higher education institutes in the North Western Provinces in Iran. Results showed 41% of graduates were unemployed, 11.4% were employed fulltime and 32.4% of graduates were employed part time. About thirteen percent of graduates continued their education. More than two thirds (77.5%) of employed graduates held jobs in agricultural sector and 22.5% were employed in non-agricultural sector positions. Employed graduates indicated vocational and technical higher education prepared them for careers in the agricultural sector. Unemployed graduates stated that limitations in job opportunities in the agricultural sector were the main barriers to employment. According to the study findings, there was a significant positive relationship between infrastructure, teaching ability of educators and trainers, teaching methods and educational content with graduates ’ job ability.