Vocational degrees in Spain don't guarantee jobs, warn workers

Vocational degrees aren't enough: what current workers say

Does studying really pay off? This question comes from someone unemployed for years, about to start an advanced vocational course in ASIR (System Administration and Information Networks). Their antiestéticar isn't failing exams; it's finishing with the degree and remaining exactly where they are. "I'll stay unemployed even if I get every certification," they write. It's not an isolated case. In an economy where many argue that nepotism acts as currency, formal education is increasingly seen as a costly and slow toll.

The Spanish labor market holds a contradiction: there are too many qualified candidates and too few companies willing to train them. The experience of those who have been through this points to a pattern: the degree opens the door to internships, but something else decides if you stay.

What those who completed internships say

Vocational training has a part not shown in brochures: company internships. That's where employability is largely decided. One participant puts it bluntly: he did an administrative vocational course, started an internship, and was hired. His conclusion is that it's hard to find people who work well, so if during internships they see you work hard and take it seriously, they usually want to keep you.

But it doesn't always go well. Another case describes three internships from different vocational courses, one involving treatment that led him to refuse staying. Another ended in an internship contract paying peanuts, and soon after, the company went bankrupt. Even during the bubble era, he says, everything was precarious: working long hours like hell, sometimes without even getting paid properly.

The recurring conclusion: internships are the only real filter. If you don't stand out there, the degree remains worthless paper.

Nepotism as the real entry point

The theory of effort clashes with an uncomfortable reality. Several messages suggest access to many jobs, even basic ones, depends on contacts. In a hypermarket, a worker recounts, you used to be able to recommend a colleague for a stocking job; now managers and supervisors hire their children so they can earn some pocket money.

The repeated advice is clear: make lots of friends and acquaintances, flatter people—even when you know it's fake, because studies show it works—send resumes constantly, and persevere. Five steps that sound like self-help manuals, but which many identify in practice as the real method.

Some nuance this: without connections, you can enter a low-quality company by doing your job well, and with great luck, a foreign multinational. But what truly makes the difference, another argues, is being ambitious. Ambitious people rise quickly and position themselves well.

Saturation in the tech market

For those considering ASIR or any IT vocational course, the warning is serious. One message summarizes it: if you want a job after an advanced IT module, you must be among the top two or three in your class, work yourself to death during internships—preferably in a large or very large company—to get hired, and pray a lot. If you do the vocational course without distinction, don't waste time: the market is saturated.

The diagnosis extends to attitude. It is argued that the market is full of people who just want a salary without caring about anything else, with zero vocation, who slack off at the slightest opportunity. The proposed remedy is to escape this by putting quality into your work and demanding recognition afterwards.

The role of environment and inherited positions

One of the most repeated theses is that most people start working due to their environment. Many study based on what surrounds them, or simply don't study and inherit positions. Spain, it is said, is a country where it's quite easy to build a life if you choose not to move much and rely on what you know: parents' jobs, acquaintances.

The alternative for those without such a safety net is different: enter a public sector position where access still has some merit, such as healthcare or civil service exams. If you are effectively disadvantaged—a child of minimum-wage employees, for example—healthcare jobs and civil service exams are almost the only way to prosper.

The conclusion of this analysis is uncomfortable: studying for the sake of studying is useless in Spain. What works is studying for something specific, with career prospects and a plan.

The alternative of not studying and the mirage of trades

There are those who defend that a degree isn't the only path. A participant shares that, among his friends, those with the best jobs and highest salaries are those who didn't study: they started working at 15 or 16, gained experience, and have spent their lives in the same company, improving and earning good wages.

Others point to trades: if you become a plumber, you spit money, one summarizes. Hospitality, gastronomy, and podiatry also appear as high-demand fields. And for those wanting to leave Spain, plans for vocational training in Europe are mentioned: getting the vocational degree plus language skills and leaving with a contract in a German company or similar.

But skepticism weighs heavily. The initial question remains unanswered: if you've been unemployed for years, will anything change upon completion? The final irony comes from someone who says the degree no longer guarantees a noble life, and that now millions with degrees compete for the same spots.

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In the end, the most honest answer is one that closes nothing: the degree helps, but isn't enough. And anyone saying otherwise probably has connections.