High-quality vocational education pathways can also improve graduation rates1. If large numbers of students fail to complete a programme, or the programme does not lead to further learning opportunities, including in academic programmes, it is not a high-quality' programme. Similarly, programmes that do not position students to succeed in the labour market cannot be regarded as high quality (OECD, 2014a). The strongest vocational systems offer a wide range of opportunities for students to move between vocational and more academic programmes, and vice versa.