The future of work in Latin America largely depends on how young people navigate learning and employment opportunities. School-to-work transitions are particularly challenging in the region, marked by high unemployment, informal work, and precarious jobs, alongside limited alignment of educational programs with the emerging needs of the labour market (ILO 2025). In this context, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provides a strategic pathway connecting general education with the acquisition of practical and sector-specific skills, offering more direct routes to decent employment.

This report maps TVET systems across 15 Latin American countries, analyzing four key dimensions:

1. Institutional arrangements and governance: It examines different organizational models, the role of the private sector, and National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs), highlighting challenges in coordination and recognition of skills acquired through formal and non-formal pathways.

2. Curricular relevance: It assesses how TVET programs align with future-oriented jobs, particularly in digital, STEM, green, and care sectors. Significant gaps remain in the integration of digital, socio-emotional, and sustainability-related skills.

3. Access and equity: It highlights gender disparities and limited inclusion of vulnerable groups such as migrants, youth, Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, and the LGBTIQ+ community, alongside scarce and fragmented data on enrolment and outcomes disaggregated by these groups.

4. Quality and impact: Although some evaluations show improvements in employment probabilities and income, results are heterogeneous, and evidence on TVET effectiveness remains fragmented, especially regarding social inclusion and gender equity.

The report also identifies three knowledge gaps that constrain the effectiveness of TVET systems in the region:

• Data gaps: lack of reliable and integrated information to guide policy and practice.

• Distance gaps: fragmented knowledge that is not shared or scaled across institutions and countries.

• Diversity gaps: insufficient consideration of local contexts and disadvantaged groups, leading to persistent inequities.

Finally, the report proposes recommendations for a high-impact research and policy agenda, including the systematization of best practices, strengthening of disaggregated data, evaluation of gender-sensitive initiatives, and promotion of public-private collaboration to improve relevance, quality, and equity in TVET systems across Latin America.

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