Artificial intelligence is becoming relevant to how vocational education and training programmes are designed, reviewed and updated.
The OECD report “Developing Vocational Education and Training with Artificial Intelligence”, published on 23 June 2026, explores this development. It describes how AI is being used to analyse labour market trends, identify emerging skills needs, map competencies and support curriculum and qualification development. Examples from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Estonia and Germany illustrate different emerging applications and pilot initiatives.
For VET providers, this addresses an important challenge: keeping training relevant as occupations, technologies and workplace practices change. Updating a programme requires institutions to understand which competencies are becoming more important, which need revision and how those changes should translate into learning outcomes.
AI could help organise and compare the evidence needed for these decisions.
Consider a training centre reviewing a programme for maintenance technicians. AI could help compare existing learning outcomes with recent job descriptions and employer feedback, highlighting references to digital diagnostics or new equipment. Teachers and employers would then assess whether those findings justify changes to practical activities, learning materials or assessment.
Similar analysis could support the development of modular learning pathways and micro-credentials, allowing institutions to consider more focused opportunities for developing specific competencies.
The OECD emphasises the importance of embedding AI within established governance processes. Evidence gathering, stakeholder consultation, expert review and administrative work can benefit from AI assistance, while responsibility for decisions remains with the people and institutions involved.
This matters because adoption is still uneven and often experimental. Incomplete or outdated data can produce misleading conclusions. Bias and limited transparency can affect the reliability of recommendations. Excessive reliance on generated outputs can also weaken the collaborative discussions that help keep vocational qualifications relevant and trusted.
Successful implementation therefore depends on reliable data, appropriate digital infrastructure, clear responsibilities and meaningful participation by educators, employers and public authorities. Institutions also need the skills to interpret AI outputs and examine the evidence behind them.
These findings provide useful context for AI4VET. The project strengthens educators’ AI competences, supports AI-assisted teaching and guidance, promotes inclusive learning and tests practical applications in institutional settings.
For VET providers, developing this capacity can also support informed discussions about changing occupational needs and the relevance of existing learning activities.
AI can help institutions respond more quickly to change when its use is guided by professional expertise, transparency and shared responsibility.
Which part of curriculum review would benefit most from AI support in your institution: analysing skills needs, mapping competencies or preparing draft updates?
Material source: OECD — Developing Vocational Education and Training with Artificial Intelligence
Photo source: UNESCO-UNEVOC — Integrating AI in TVET: Launch of a practical guide for institutions
