Making it real: The benefits of workplace learning in upper-secondary vocational education and training courses

In OECD countries, ‘real world’ upper-secondary vocational education and training (VET) programs are used to engage less academically oriented youth in learning, while helping to prepare them for post-school work and/or further education. In general terms, VET programs with high employer involvement, such as apprenticeship schemes, are considered to be superior to classroom-based VET programs that are typically found in many English-speaking countries. In this study, we examine outcomes from a potential ‘third way’: classroom-based VET with a short-term structured workplace learning component. Using propensity score matching and PISA data linked to information from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth, we find this model is associated with higher school completion rates and better employment transitions.     

Young people,education and hope: bringing VET in from the margins

Vocational Education and Training (VET) plays an important role in the reshaping of upper secondary school curriculum. Retention to the end of secondary education in Australia went from 35% in 1980 to 72% in 2000. This increase caused major problems for the senior school curriculum which historically prepared students for university entrance but now has to serve multiple purposes. While the purposes of VET suit different groups, our interest is those students alienated from, reluctant to complete, or attempting re-entry into senior secondary education. Our objective is to understand policy reforms in this area, in order to assist stopping the spiral of disadvantage in which these young people are caught. We shall argue that VET has the potential to re-engage young people with education. With the labour market becoming more knowledge-based, such re-engagement becomes increasingly important. We ask to what extent is the post-compulsory curriculum serving student and family ambitions for employment in a way that is equitable and inclusive?     

Diversity of occupational orientations in Sales vocational education and training

The article examines the ways students in the school-based part of the vocational education and training (VET) in Sales begin to make sense of the world of work they are about to enter. Drawing on a qualitative study of upper-secondary Sales VET students in Norway, a four-fold typology of orientations to retail work is analysed: first, the disoriented Drifter who is restless and eager to move on to other activities or drifts on to retail apprenticeship without developing any substantial interest; second, the product-oriented Consumer is driven by a strong personal interest in the line of products, for example fashion, music, cars or electronics, and the sense of lifestyle they convey; third, the service-oriented Professional reasons on the basis of satisfaction deriving from the act of providing service to customers; and fourth, the career-oriented Aspirer who is motivated by career advancement opportunities within the retail sector. The article aimed to extend understandings of the initial process of becoming by elucidating the students’ subjective accounts of their diverse paths into retail work within the weakly established Sales education, approaching a labour market sector depicted in terms of low-skill and high turnover.     

An education policy paradigm that fails upper secondary school pupils

In this article, we illustrate the creation of the education policy paradigm that constitutes the framework of vocational education and training (VET) programmes, and analyse local school representatives’ perception of VET in upper secondary schools in Sweden. The education policy paradigm, established through three periods of reform during the twentieth century, undervalues VET as being less worthy than general/academic education. This paradigm generates the rhetoric used by interviewed school representatives that encourages school pupils to choose the ‘right’ (academic) programmes in order to foster a specific citizenship competence, even if this competence is not fully compatible with labour market demands. Young people who cannot, or will not, attain the ‘right’ education, and thus the advocated citizenship competence, lose out in a school system where general/academic education and higher education preparatory programmes are consistently prioritised over VET. An educational system that advocates discrimination and suspicion of VET limits career options and restricts entry into the labour market, as well as risk stigmatising pupils undertaking VET; this paradigm is neither justified nor democratic.     

Vocational education and training in India: a labour market perspective

Skill development has been a major policy agenda in several countries and there is a lot of emphasis on the promotion of vocational education and training (VET) programmes. This paper investigates the labour market outcomes of the vocationally trained population in India using the data from a nationally representative survey on employment and unemployment. We find that a large section of the population in the age group 15–59 years does not have any kind of formal training. Among the VET holders, a large share is accounted for by non-formal trainees. Quite a high proportion of formal trainees in the workforce remain unemployed reflecting underutilisation of human resource. We also examine the extent to which individuals’ training matches their occupational levels and find that overall about two-thirds of the trainees are employed in occupations related to the field of training. Further, we compare the returns to general secondary and vocational education streams using the standard earnings function accounting for the sample selection bias. Our findings show that the relative returns to vocational education is higher than that to general secondary education.     

Socio-economic inequality and academic match among post-compulsory education participants

The paper investigates socio-economic gaps in the match between student quality and upper-secondary qualification quality using detailed individual-level linked administrative data from schools, colleges and tax authorities in England. Academic match is identified using a continuous measure defining undermatched, matched and overmatched students based on the distance between each student’s attainment in age 16 high-stake examinations and the median attainment of students who achieved a similar academic or vocational qualification. Students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds are found to be more likely to be exposed to academic undermatch compared to their more advantaged peers and this effect is greater among the highest achieving students. The paper demonstrates that among the highest achieving students, 20% of the identified socio-economic gap in academic match can be explained by geographic differences, such as district deprivation and local Further Education opportunities. Further, the dominant 60% of the gap can be explained by differences in the school composition that students from differing backgrounds attend, such as the proportion of high achieving students and the proportion of disadvantaged students. Finally, although the effect of academic match in upper-secondary education on important individual outcomes, including university participation and labour market performance, in terms of earnings and employment probabilities at age 25, is imprecise, there are clear indications about the detrimental effect of academic undermatch on all these outcomes.     

Labour market effects of the polytechnic education reform: The Finnish experience

This paper evaluates the labour market effects of the introduction of the polytechnic education system in Finland. The polytechnic reform gradually transformed former vocational colleges into polytechnics. Since the timing of the reform differed across schools, we can compare the performance of polytechnic graduates to the performance of vocational college graduates controlling for both the year and the school effects. The results are somewhat sensitive to how the selectivity issues are treated but generally suggest that both the earnings and the employment levels of post-reform graduates are higher in the field of business and administration. The effects are much smaller and usually insignificant in other fields.     

Strong on retention,weak on outcomes: the impact of vocational education and training in schools

The re-shaping of the Australian senior secondary landscape in recent years and the emergence of a new space for vocational knowledge within Australian senior secondary certificates of education have been underpinned by a national focus on raising retention rates and achieving Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates in the context of a diversifying senior secondary cohort, and on delivering effective training to meet the skills needs of the growing economy. Absent from this policy agenda is a focus on the efficacy of the expanding vocational education and training (VET) in Schools. At the core of this discussion are the impacts of ongoing tensions between the instrumentalist labour market role of VET in Schools programmes and the expectation that an equitable senior secondary landscape should respond to the education and training needs of all students. Despite rapid growth, low achievers and socioeconomically disadvantaged learners remain the dominant participants in VET in Schools programmes, and pathways for these students into post-school education and training or full-time employment remain weak. This paper draws on the views of students, teachers, and policy-makers to examine the ways in which vocational programmes are delivered within the different curricular contexts of VET in Schools across Australian senior secondary education systems.     

Massification of higher education,graduate employment and social mobility in the Greater China region

Globalisation and the evolution of the knowledge-based economy have caused dramatic worldwide changes in the character and functions of education, particularly higher education. In the search for global competitiveness, many emerging economies have begun to expand their higher education systems, which has significantly affected the relationship between higher education and graduate employment. Recently, international comparative studies have suggested that increasing enrolment in higher education does not always promote upward social mobility, and can intensify inequality in education. This article critically examines the impact of the expansion of higher education in East Asia on graduate employment and social mobility in the context of an increasingly globalising economy and changing labour market needs. The article discusses emerging trends in the Greater China region, with a particular focus on Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Taipei, and argues that the massification of higher education has not necessarily led to more occupational opportunities for youth or opportunities for upward social movement, particularly since the significant changes in the global labour market after the 2008 global financial crisis. On the contrary, the intensification of ‘positional competition’ among college graduates seems to reflect growing social inequality.     

Socio-technical imaginary of the fourth industrial revolution and its implications for vocational education and training: a literature review

This literature review engages with a diverse and sometimes contradictory body of work, employing an analytic stance rooted in policy scholarship. It discusses rhetorical constructions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th IR), locating these in understandings of the economy rooted in a neo-liberalism which rests upon a capitalist terrain. The 4th IR is an ideological construct which reflects specific material interests and has particular implications for education and training. The 4th IR’s association with digitalisation and artificial intelligence is ambivalent. For some writers, this leads to technological unemployment while for others, even though there is labour market disruption, there is no employment crisis that cannot be resolved. The strong connection between the 4th IR and labour market requirements is softened by those writers who adopt a qualitative analysis of advanced manufacturing work. These scholars suggest that the relationship between technology and skill is rather more complex than the protagonists of technological unemployment describe. Neo-Marxist writers develop a qualitatively different account of the current conjuncture to the imaginary of the 4th IR. In this instance, the analysis turns towards the elimination of labour from paid employment, together with the falling rate of profit and bypasses the former arguments. This review concludes by arguing that technology and artificial intelligence are entwined with social relations, being sites of class struggle. How this is played out is an outcome of the balance of power, not only within the social formation but also globally. How far the development of the forces of production is compatible with capitalist relations is a moot point, as this is also a site of struggle. The paper draws out the implications for VET and considers progressive educational responses. However, such a practice needs to be set within a broader politics that is committed to the development of a socially just society.     

Managing the link between higher education and the labour market: perceptions of graduates in Greece and Cyprus

Abstract

The paper investigates the experience of employed higher education graduates in two countries with high rates of graduate unemployment. It examines the employment experience of graduates and their perceptions regarding the contribution of higher education to their employment and career prospects. Qualitative research was used to collect information from 58 university graduates in two Southern European countries, Greece and Cyprus. Respondents provided information on the skills and competencies acquired through higher education and utilised in the world of work. In both countries, modest links were reported between jobs and graduates’ field of study, as well as between knowledge and non-knowledge-based competencies acquired through higher education, and the requirements of the graduates’ jobs. The findings are used as the basis for suggestions that can enhance graduate employability and contribute to the management of the link between higher education and the labour market.     

Inequalities in school leavers’ labour market outcomes: do school subject choices matter?

Abstract

Despite a wide international literature on the effect of vocational and general education on school-to-work transition, relatively little is known about the role of having studied specific subjects in explaining inequalities in young people’s labour market outcomes. This paper aims to fill this gap by examining differences in employment chances of young people who left education early, either at the end of compulsory schooling or at the end of secondary school. Using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, a large-scale linkage study created using data from administrative and statistical sources, we found little gender differences but strong parental background differences in school leavers’ employment status and type of occupation entered. Social inequalities in labour market outcomes were only partly explained by curriculum choices. Moreover, after controlling for social origin and grades, only history and business for lower-secondary leavers and maths for upper-secondary leavers were associated with a reduction in the chances of being unemployed/inactive.     

University and vocational education,and youth labour market outcomes in Australia

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of university and vocational education, and other influences on a variety of labour market outcomes for Australian youths aged between 16 and 25. The six labour market outcomes investigated are: occupational status, hourly and weekly earnings, employment, unemployment and full-time work. The study finds that a bachelor’s degree has clear positive effects on each of these youth labour market outcomes, in contrast to vocational qualifications. Among men, vocational qualifications show no sizable positive effects on these outcomes. Among women, the higher-level vocational diploma is beneficial for employment and unemployment. In no instance are the positive effects of vocational education stronger than that for a bachelor’s degree. Many of these labour market outcomes are strongly associated with prior experiences of employment and unemployment. The findings suggest that policies, rather than focusing on expanding and reforming vocational education, should aim to ensure that young people quickly secure employment, preferably full-time, and avoid unemployment.     

The expansion of higher education,employment and over-education in China

The article considers the current situation in the labour market for higher education graduates in China, showing what kinds of graduates have an advantage when facing potential employers. Secondly, it discusses the tendency of supply and demand between higher education graduates and the labour market from the perspectives of employment probability and over-education. Finally, the article suggests what should happen in the Chinese higher education system if it is to achieve a more effective relationship with the labour market.     

Fully integrating upper-secondary vocational and academic courses: A flexible new way?

The tracking of students in upper-secondary school is often criticised for narrowing the post-secondary pathways of student in the vocational education and training (VET) track, which can stigmatise VET. To tackle this problem, countries have introduced courses that integrate aspects of VET and academic study, which provide the dual purpose of preparing students for work and vocational study and providing university pathways for more academic students in the VET track. In this study we assess the latter purpose by examining the outcomes of university aspirants who take these courses in their final year of school. Using rich survey and administrative data from Australia and propensity score matching we find that these courses are associated with lower academic performance and a lower chance of attaining a university offer. Decomposition results show that poor performance in integrated courses is the main driver, which points to potential tension between the two purposes.     

Equity in higher education and graduate labour market outcomes in Australia

The rate of higher education participation in Australia has increased over the past decade for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study contributes to the knowledge on the outcomes of disadvantaged individuals who complete higher education by looking at the labour market outcomes of university graduates from equity groups. The number of Indigenous graduates and graduates with disabilities was found to be very low, suggesting that more needs to be done to improve higher education completion for these two groups. The labour market outcomes for other equity groups are mixed, with those from low socio-economic status backgrounds and regional and remote Australia performing well in the labour market, while graduates from non-English-speaking backgrounds and female graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields experience substantial disadvantage in the labour market. The findings suggest that selection processes prior to the graduates’ entry into the labour market are important.     

Misalignment between post-secondary education demand and labour market supply: Preliminary insight from young adults on the evolving school to work transition

Most research on labour market outcomes and higher education finds a positive relationship. This qualitative research sought to better understand how higher educational attainment contributes to employment outcomes from a subsample (n = 15) of a larger study (N = 36) on youth labour market attachment among minority, low socioeconomic status young adults. Respondents described: (1) Employment opportunities not being aligned to the educational background of some young adults; and (2) there were no direct links between educational institutions and the labour market in supporting successful employment. These findings suggest a misalignment between educational demand and labour market supply.     

Non-market effects of education on crime: Evidence from Italian regions

This paper studies the non-market effects of education on crime using a panel dataset for the 20 Italian regions over the period 1980–1995. Our empirical results suggest that education reduces crime over and above its effect through labour market opportunities (employment rate and wage rate). Because of the absence of a credible instrumental variable for education for Italy, our empirical strategy is to include in our econometric specification region fixed effect, year fixed effects and region-specific time trends together with an extensive set of socioeconomic and deterrence variables. Our results are robust to model specification, changes in the typology of crimes and finally, to alternative definitions of education.     

The education penalty: schooling,learning and the diminishment of wages,working conditions and worker power

Currently dominant human capital and knowledge economy rhetoric holds that education can raise wages, empower workers and enhance working conditions. Education, however, can also have the opposite impact in the workplace and labour market, an impact that has received only limited attention. In this article we draw together a broad range of literature focusing on youth and entry-level employment in order to analyse the different frames of status, process and promise in which education serves not as a ‘premium’ but as a ‘penalty’, used to diminish worker power and claims to good conditions of employment in the present.     

Competencies,occupational status,and earnings among European university graduates

While the effect of education and experience on labour market outcomes has been widely studied, the literature that analyses the influence of human capital competencies (talents, skills, and capabilities) is still relatively scarce. Using cross-sectional data from the REFLEX Project, we investigate the effect of personal competencies (both cognitive and non-cognitive) on two labour market outcomes among European university graduates: occupational status and earnings. Our estimates suggest that individuals endowed with a higher level of competencies are more likely to occupy managerial and professional positions and, to a lesser extent, technician jobs. Additionally, they also receive higher wages, but the relation is only significant for men. When we distinguish competencies according to their cognitive or non-cognitive nature, we find that only the latter are significant in explaining occupational status. In contrast, cognitive competencies are more related with wages. As regards the role of specific competencies, our findings suggest that leadership is the most relevant competence for the occupational status of males, especially in managerial positions. In contrast, initiative and enterprise abilities seem to be the most relevant skills for women in such positions. Intelligence produces the highest rewards in terms of earnings among the male subsample, while none of the competencies exerts a significant impact on females’ wages.