Dealing with Diversity in Denmark
The Danish educational system has different initiatives to address diversity, which target students with special needs, including refugee and migrant students as well as gifted students. The clear objective is that all students must reach their fullest potential, which means that teaching in VET is necessarily differentiated and holistic.
The EGU (erhvervsgrunduddannelse) vocational basic programme is an option for people under the age of thirty to achieve personal, social and professional qualifications that admit them to one of the other education and training programmes leading to a professional qualification and provide them with a basis for employment at the same time.
The FGU (Forberedende Grunduddannelse) Preparatory Basic Education and Training is programme of up to two years that enable youths below 25 to improve professionally, personally and socially with the aim of proceeding into the labour market or upper secondary and vocational education and training. The preparatory basic education and training consists of three entries.
General basic education: education in basic subjects like Danish language, mathematics, English, nature and science etc. Aimed at young people who want to qualify for further vocational education.
Basic production education: Workshop based education with high level of practical learning. Aimed at young people who want to proceed to vocational education and training or labour market on a more qualified basis.
Basic vocational education: Internship based education.
Combined post-compulsory education is an option for youngsters aged 15–24 who do not possess the necessary vocational, social or personal skills to complete a VET programme or an alternative upper secondary education.
To stimulate VET excellence, there are different options. One of the options is that students may choose different subjects at a higher level than the minimum compulsory level specified, and as a means to improve. This supports permeability to higher education.
Another option are the so-called talent tracks at the VET colleges. All VET colleges are obliged to have talent tracks to ensure diversity and nurture students with special skills and motivations. The advanced manufacturing programmes, which run at four colleges in Denmark, are one such example.
The EUX programme. Combined vocational and general upper secondary education. A relatively new pathway used by highly motivated students. It gives them a double qualification providing access to the labour market as skilled workers, as well as allowing them to continue in tertiary education.