QUALITY PERCEPTIONS IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION – THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRAINING WHILE PROVIDING A SERVICE

Abstract

The present article is intended to evaluate the quality of training and initial vocational qualification of young people, of professional courses secondary levels, with school accreditation and professional qualification of level IV. In that sense, it´s intended to know the perspective of students of professional courses in various areas of knowledge, their perceptions and expectations about the quality observed in a vocational education organization in Alentejo – Portugal through the SERVQUAL methodology. With this work it is shown that, on the one hand, the continuous improvement in the quality of vocational training process brings new approaches and best strategies in order to achieve competitive and sustainable development. On the other, it was found that the need for investment in quality management systems must not be separated from the acquisition of specific knowledge, justifying the analysis of perceptions of trainees in vocational education.