in most oecd and partner countries boys are at least more likely than girls to enrol in vocational education figure a and students whose parents did not attain tertiary education are more likely to choose upper secondary vocational programmes than general programmes box b by including formal and nonformal education this indicator captures participation in any type of programme that aims to improve knowledge skills and competencies from a personal civic social or employmentrelated perspective unesco in most oecd and partner countries at least of yearolds have participated in formal or nonformal education and training in the previous months with participation among men and women varying greatly across countries