How did vocational students become an economic interest? Media representation of Hungarian VET

Neoliberalism is becoming more dominant in education internationally. In Hungary, the marketisation of education is well illustrated by the government's 'Vocational Training in the Service of the Economy' development concept and the amendment of the vocational law. My main question is how the capitalist system reproduces itself through vocational education, with the support of neoliberal ideology. In my research I examine the online media representation of the 2011 and 2019 VET laws in terms of the news coverage of vocational education on the three most read online news portals in the three months before and after the laws were passed. The aim of the research was to identify which media actors emphasize the function of VET; which image of the student is associated with it; and whether the discourse on VET is dominated by a narrative of economic interest or a narrative of its critique. I analyzed 183 articles with the methods of content analysis and narrative analysis. The results show that narratives related to the economy are predominant, describing those in training as a resource that can be used in many ways, but never referring to them as students. In the conclusion I argue for the need for an anti-capitalist agenda for vocational education and training.