Since 2010, the college enrollment rate of vocational high school graduates has declined from 61.0% in 2011 to 32.8% in 2017, whereas their employment rate has risen from 25.9% to 50% in the same period.
Vocational high school graduates have a higher employment rate and a lower unemployment rate, which means that they enjoy greater job security than those in other education level segments.
They often work in the manufacturing sector and have a higher rate of employment in traditional manufacturing jobs (semi-skilled, equipment/machine operator, and assembly jobs) than general high school graduates do.
As for wage levels, vocational high school graduates make 25.0% more than middle school graduates or lower and 3.1% more than general high school graduates, but they earn 21.7% and 44.2% less than junior college and college graduates, respectively.