Eighty-three percent of vocational education graduates are satisfied with their chosen profession, a recent study by Praxis policy think tank has shown.

Mihkel Nestor, education policy analyst at Praxis and author of the study, said that graduates have been quite successful on the labor market: 71 percent were working after graduating, two-thirds of those in the field of their specialization. “Nevertheless it cannot be said that the graduates are entering the labor market for the first time, because 44 percent were working before finishing school,” said Nestor.

The average monthly net salary of trade school graduates stands at 646 euros, which is on the same level as the national average.

However, Nestor noted that the gender pay gap among the recent graduates is significant, with men earning an average of 759 euros and women 505 euros per month.

Answering questions about their overall experience with vocational education, the graduates surveyed said that helpful classmates and good teachers were one of the most positive aspects of their school years, and pointed to simplicity of studies and a somewhat low level of training as weakness in the system.

The study was conducted among 961 former vocational education students who graduated from 2008 to 2010.