but outside these two institutions there exists a less well understood world of colleges diplomas certificates and professional examinations the world of postsecondary vocational education and training many professional and technical jobs require no more than one or two years of career preparation beyond upper secondary level and in some countries as much as onequarter of the adult workforce have this type of qualification see figure nearly twothirds of overall employment growth in the european union eu is forecast to be in the technicians and associate professionals category the category most closely linked to this sector cedefop