Vocational Education and Training (VET) has reached a new all-time high in the 2025-2026 academic year, with 1,211,062 students enrolled, representing an increase of 2.5% compared with the previous year. This means 30,092 additional students compared with 2024-2025 and confirms the continued expansion of vocational education within Spain’s education system.
Growth has been recorded across the different levels of VET. Basic Grade enrolment has increased by 2.1%, Intermediate Grade by 2.7% and Higher Grade by 2.3%. Particularly significant is the growth of Specialisation Courses, which have attracted almost 10,000 students, 17.7% more than in the previous academic year.
Across all non-university education programmes, total enrolment stands at 8,249,174 students, comprising 4,238,725 males and 4,010,449 females. The overall figure is 0.8% lower than in the previous year, mainly as a result of demographic decline among the school-age population. This trend is particularly evident in the second cycle of Early Childhood Education, where enrolment has fallen by 2.4%.
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Vocational Education and Training enrolment rises by 2.5% to exceed 1.2 million students, setting a new record
In contrast, the first cycle of Early Childhood Education has reached record participation levels. Enrolment has increased by 3,268 children to 491,811. The participation rate among children aged 0 to 2 has risen to 50.2%, the highest level recorded, while the rate among two-year-olds has increased to 76.4%, compared with 74.1% in the previous academic year. A further 140 education centres are also providing this stage of education.
The education system currently employs 806,178 teachers, an increase of 8,815 professionals or 1.1% year on year. Of the total, 589,083 work in public education centres and 217,095 in private and publicly funded private centres. Teaching staff in public schools have increased by 9,490, or 1.6%, while private and publicly funded private centres have recorded a slight decline of 0.3%.
Average class sizes have decreased slightly across most educational stages. The reduction is particularly notable in Intermediate and Higher Grade Vocational Education and Training, where the average has fallen to 16.9 students per unit, supported by a significant increase in the number of available VET units.
Gender distribution continues to vary considerably between educational pathways. Women account for 54.1% of students in classroom-based Baccalaureate programmes, compared with 30.3% in Basic Grade VET, 42.7% in Intermediate Grade and 45.8% in Higher Grade. However, women form the majority in distance VET programmes, representing 67.6% of Intermediate Grade students and 63.2% of Higher Grade students.
Meanwhile, the number of foreign students has risen by 2.3% to 1,175,063, representing 13.5% of total enrolment. The figures for the 2025-2026 academic year therefore highlight the sustained growth of Vocational Education and Training, record participation in early childhood education and an increase in teaching resources across Spain’s education system.