Almost five years of dual vocational education and training in Costa Rica - Time for an assessment

It has been just over five years since Costa Rica passed the law on dual vocational training. On 15 October 2019, the law passed through parliament with a clear majority of 49 votes to 2. After that, things continued in leaps and bounds. In mid-2020, the National Vocational Training Commission (Commission Asesora y Promotora de la Educación y Formación Técnica Profesional Dual) was founded. Since then, ministries, economic and social partners have met regularly in this context to jointly promote the implementation of dual vocational education and training. The foundation of the CAP was an important milestone, as it strengthens the exchange between the stakeholders in vocational education and training.

Despite the high visibility of the topic from the outset, implementation was initially slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic: in times of school closures and distance learning, nobody in Costa Rica dreamt of learning in the workplace

In early 2022, the first dual vocational training programmes were finally launched by the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación Pública, MEP) and the National Institute for Continuing Education (Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, INA). A total of 34 trainees began their training in the fields of industrial electronics, web development and industrial maintenance and repair at a total of seven companies.

Now, at the end of 2024, INA and MEP are reporting substantial progress in the implementation of dual vocational training - and this can be proven by the figures:

• The INA works with 99 companies and the MEP with 27.
• A total of 335 people have already completed their training: The majority of these are at Técnico 1 level, which involves a programme duration of four to six months. The theoretical part of the training programme involved the graduates attending courses at INA. The MEP programme has 18 graduates to date, all of whom can be assigned to the Técnico 4 level. The programme lasts just under three years, which explains the low number of alumni.
• Almost 200 people are currently on a training programme:
• INA currently has 143 trainees in eight different programmes.
• The MEP has 55 trainees in four different programmes.

Furthermore, the portfolio of training programmes has also been expanded at both institutions: At the start of 2025, INA has 26 different programmes, while MEP has eight to ten programmes. However, not all of these will automatically be implemented; rather, this depends on demand from companies and the possibility of implementation in training centres.

Both institutions expect a significant increase in the number of training programmes by 2025. The MEP always starts its training year at the beginning of February, so that it coincides with the start of the general school year. INA has already planned 39 courses at Técnico 1 level for 2025. Almost 19 technical vocational schools (Centro Técnicos Profesionales) have expressed interest in offering dual vocational training on the part of MEP, provided that enough companies can be found.

In spite of these successes, criticism has also been raised in the country, for instance on the low numbers of trainees, few participating companies and graduates. Moreover, companies complain about the costs they incur through the training programme. It has been observed that the involvement of companies still requires some convincing, as the dual vocational training programme is a new type of learning. To date, companies have seen themselves more as recipients of trained specialists and less as a training part of the professional development of their employees. Nevertheless, the companies involved so far are convinced by dual vocational training and most have already welcomed the second group of trainees into their company. There are also pioneers such as the Hotel Westin Reserva Conchal, which has already trained the tenth generation.

To summarise, five years after the law was introduced: Costa Rica is at a very promising point. Although it has faced challenges, dual vocational training has established itself and is gradually becoming an integral part of the education system. A pivotal success factor, however, remains the willingness of companies to provide training.