The social stratification of the German VET system

Germany is widely known for its vocational education and training (VET) system and its dual apprenticeship system in particular. What is often overlooked, however, is the vertical stratification within the German VET system. This is the focus of this study. Our analysis shows that the VET system, like the German school system, is highly stratified, resulting in large differences in labour market opportunities. We elaborate on three dimensions of vertical stratification: VET system vs. higher education, fully qualifying vs. prevocational VET programmes and segmentation of the fully qualifying VET programmes by educational attainment and career prospects. All three stratification dimensions are closely linked to school attainment and thereby to social origin.     

Factors affecting completion of apprenticeship training in England

This paper examines factors that are associated with the probability of completion of apprenticeship programmes by individual learners in England. Data are from the 2008/2009 academic year Individualised Learner Record – the administrative database containing information on all learners in the Further Education system in England. The analysis considers various factors including demographic characteristics of apprentices, aspects of their programme and an indicator of the local labour market context in which they participate in the apprenticeship. The study considers both Apprenticeships (Level 2) and Advanced Apprenticeships (Level 3) and finds a variety of factors that have a significant effect on the likelihood of completion. Gender-related differences are found only within particular frameworks (akin to the subject or sector). Local unemployment rates are found to have a significant effect on the probability of completion with the direction of this relationship differing between the two levels. The findings highlight that the contemporaneous goals of increasing participation in apprenticeship and improving completion rates cannot be easily achieved through the same actions. Despite this, the importance of completion of an apprenticeship cannot be denied for a variety of reasons including the penalties individuals may suffer in the labour market due to non-completion.     

The impact of student academic achievement on graduate salaries: the case of a leading Russian university

This paper analyses the impact of academic achievement on future salaries by looking into the grade point average (GPA)-earnings relationship for graduates of a leading Russian university. The study is based on pooled cross-sectional graduate survey data for 2014–2015. The issue of how student academic achievement impacts future labour market rewards is analysed through academic, demographic and labour market factors. We found that there is a significant positive impact of GPA on salaries of BA graduates (9–12% wage premium for an additional GPA point) and an insignificant or negative impact for MA programmes graduates. The study depicts that this negative effect can be partially explained by employment sector-specific variables. Among the main factors which positively affect earnings of graduates is work experience. Graduates who combined study and work achieve a 30% wage premium. However, there is no evidence that combining study and work affects student academic achievement, even for those who combined studies with full-time job. Despite the higher GPA of female students, male graduates’ earnings are 18% higher. Gender wage differences can be explained by gender distribution by the sector of employment: the over-representation of women in the low-paid education and science sectors and their under-representation in entrepreneurship and corporate sector.     

The impact of digital skills on educational outcomes: evidence from performance tests

Digital skills are increasingly important for labour market outcomes and social participation. Do they also matter for academic performance? This paper investigates the effects of digital literacy on educational outcomes by merging data from the Italian National Assessment in secondary schools with an original data-set on performance tests of Internet skills for tenth-grade students. Our identification strategy relies on a rich set of individual, family, school and classroom control variables that are not commonly available in previous studies. The findings indicate that, overall, Internet skills have a positive impact on academic achievement. This effect is stronger for students with low academic performance or low family background. It is also stronger for students in technical or vocational schools.     

The educational quality of early school leavers and the cross-national variation of their income disadvantage

The average quality of available educational resources varies significantly across Europe. This not only affects school success and failure but also subsequent labour market outcomes. The main research question in this paper is to what extent this compositional variation among early school leavers (ESLrs) in particular can account for the cross-national variation of their income disadvantage relative to higher educated individuals. Findings from 3 consecutive years of cross-sectional data (EU Statistics on Income & Living Conditions [EU-SILC], 2005–2007) show that, controlling for the influence of other important country-level indicators, both educational expenditure and a country's mean PISA achievement test score interact with the effect of early school leaving on gross personal income. The income disadvantage of ESLrs is smaller in countries where the average quality of available educational resources is higher. Furthermore, this also applies to educational resources currently available to ESLrs, with the prevalence of lifelong learning yielding the same moderating effect on the income disadvantage of ESLrs.     

Influences on, and the consequences of, low achievement

The paper examines the influences on, and consequences of, low achievement defined as scores within the lowest achievement quartile. Low achievement is moderately associated with socioeconomic background and Indigenous status and the relationships with gender, ethnicity, region, family type, state and region differ for reading and mathematics. Low achievement substantially reduces the chances of school completion and university entrance. It has much less impact on other forms of post-secondary education and training. There are stronger differences in labour market outcomes between low and higher achievers for young women than for young men. This study suggests the policies promoting the securing of full-time work soon after completing full-time education should reduce the detrimental effects of low achievement on labour market outcomes.     

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.     

The coherence of vocational education and training in Norway and Spain: national traditions and the reshaping of VET governance in hybrid VET systems

Coherence of national education and training systems is increasingly tabled in European policy debates. Leaning on literature about the emergence and consolidation of national education systems, this article explores the rationale for VET reforms in Norway and Spain by scrutinising attempts to strengthen the coherence of their VET systems. Coherence has been sought through the unification of different strands of vocational education; initial, continuing and active labour market policies (what we call ‘horizontal coherence’) and the mainstreaming of VET curricular elements; plus the systematisation of VET practices across educational levels (‘vertical coherence’). While both countries looked for coherence, their motivations, how they operationalised the term and the emphasis of their actions differed substantially. Spain has experienced a move from the three largely unrelated strands into a more unified system; Norway from a fragile VET system to the availability of more VET courses and apprenticeship arrangements at all educational levels.     

Foreign direct investment and youth educational outcomes in Mexican municipalities

Inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) has often been considered to play a prominent role in the development of human capital in the host economy by introducing a foreign wage premium into the labour market. However, extant evidence on IFDI labour market effects is inconclusive, especially in emerging economies. We investigate for the case of Mexico whether foreign wage premia have an effect on educational outcomes of young cohorts that were 15 years old at the time of IFDI arrival in their municipality of residence. Results suggest that increasing foreign wage premium for unskilled jobs, both in manufacturing and services, has negative effects on a cohort's subsequent educational outcomes. The effects of foreign wage premium for skilled workers, however, are not significant but may lead to positive educational outcomes. The long-term implications of losses accruing from low investment in human capital do not only affect individuals but regions as well.     

School variation in youth transitions in Ireland,Scotland and the Netherlands

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the comparative study of youth transitions. National and international studies have analysed the role of individual and institutional (education and labour market) factors in shaping the transition from school to the labour market. Using data drawn from a cross‐national database of secondary school leavers and multilevel modelling, this paper aims to improve upon the existing research through the analysis of the effect of school factors (as well as individual factors) on pupils' post‐school outcomes. Results show that school variations in pupils' post‐school outcomes are mainly accounted for by curriculum type in the Netherlands, individual factors in Scotland and a mix of individual and school factors in Ireland.     

Do grades in higher education matter for labour market rewards? A multilevel analysis of all Norwegian graduates in the period 1990–2006

This paper examines the effects of grades from higher education on labour market outcomes. Economic theory predicts that grades are rewarded in the labour market because employers regard them as an expression of valuable skills or a signal of other sought after attributes. Social closure, however, may give reason to expect no effects. Whether good grades are rewarded in the labour market is thus uncertain. This paper addresses this question by examining whether employers tend to reward good grades in the form of employment and higher income. Previous research has demonstrated that the returns to education vary according to structural–institutional labour market settings. We examined the interaction effects between grades and field-specific characteristics and between grades and sector by analysing data on all graduates in these educational programmes at Norwegian universities and university colleges from 1990 through 2006. The education data are linked with multiple other data sources such as the national tax register and the national employment register. We find that good grades have positive effects on both income and employment and that these effects are influenced by both the type of education and sector.     

The consequences of central examinations on educational quality standards and labour market outcomes

Central examinations—that is, centrally set and marked exams—have often been discussed as an instrument for improving educational outcomes. The aim of our study was to determine whether central exams have an impact not only on educational but also on labour market outcomes. We explain school quality choice through the incentives created by central exams vs. non‐central exams and model the resulting students’ schooling decisions and employers’ wage decisions. We use the German Abitur and the variation among the German federal states with respect to central exams as a quasi‐experimental design for alternative educational quality regimes. As hypothesised from our theoretical analysis, the percentage of Abitur holders increases more quickly in quality regimes without central exams than with central exams. However, as theoretically expected in the case of a pooled labour market, the wage premium decreases not only for Abitur‐holders without central exams but also for all Abitur‐holders. This is due to the quality deterioration in the states without central exams which spills over into a pooled labour market. Thus, graduates from states with central exams and higher educational standards ‘pay’ for the quality deterioration of educational standards in states without central exams.     

More educated and more equal? A comparative analysis of female education and employment in Japan,China and India

This paper attempts to explore the connections between expanding female education and the participation of women in paid employment in Japan, China and India, three of Asia's largest economies. Analysis based on existing data and literature shows that despite the large expansion in educational access in these countries in the last half century, women have lacked egalitarian labour market opportunities. A combination of social discouragement and individual choice largely explains the withdrawal, non-participation or intermittent female presence in the labour force, notwithstanding increased educational access. In taking stock of these issues and debates across these countries, it is argued that the parallel experiences of women in these countries can be traced back to persistent gender norms which, amongst other things, imply the centrality of marriage and non-market unpaid labour for women. The paper argues that there is a need for gender-sensitive public policy in order for increased education to translate to labour market gains for women, leading to sustainable development outcomes.     

Learning to adapt: does returning to education improve labour market outcomes?

The transition into a post-industrial economy changed the nature of the Australian labour market extinguishing jobs in traditional industries and creating jobs in new industries. Workers displaced from the manufacturing sector and women seeking to re-enter the labour market after taking time out for family reasons need to retrain in order to secure full-time employment in new industries. Consequently, returning to education is a relatively common occurrence in Australia as adults adapt to the changing demands of the labour market. Using the first 12 waves of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia data, this paper examines the characteristics of those who return to education and gain new educational qualifications. The effect of upgrading educational qualifications on employment outcomes is also examined. The results show that those with higher levels of education were more likely than those with low levels of education to complete new qualifications after the age of 25 and that employment outcomes vary according to level of qualification completed.     

Invest for the Long Term or Attend to Immediate Needs? Schools and the Employment of Less Educated Youths and Adults

For the past 20 years, researchers worldwide have shared a consensus that tracking leads to failure in school. But educational systems continue to use this practice for many reasons. One argument used to support the practice is that students who enter the vocational track early in their careers tend to enter the labour market more quickly. Data show, however, that when these people are in their 40s, they become the most vulnerable to poverty, especially during periods of economic recession. In addition to moving towards more comprehensive educational systems as the best long-term way to improve the chances of all future adults, our research demonstrates that schools can play a key role in preventing and reversing the risk of unemployment and poverty of low educated youth. The INCLUD-ED project has analysed effective actions in eight European countries (Slovenia, United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Romania, Belgium, Finland, and Spain) that respond to the educational needs of those who have experienced tracking. These effective alternatives are vocational programmes that include an academic-type of curriculum and allow students to move to higher education, as well as adult education programmes in schools which meet families' training needs, improving their opportunities in the labour market.     

Skill Acquisition through Indigenous Apprenticeship: A case study of the Yoruba blacksmith in Nigeria

This paper is primarily concerned with indigenous apprenticeship in the Yorubaland of Nigeria with particular reference to training in blacksmithing. First, it provides a background which considers the nature of apprenticeship and shows how it is different from schooling. Then it discusses the necessary and vital ground work that should be done before a candidate is admitted to apprenticeship. The article describes the various stages in the apprentice's training, their rationale and their implications. Finally, the implications of this indigenous approach to manpower development for schooling and out-of-school educational programmes are considered.     

Does a Management Degree Do the Business for Women in the Graduate Labour Market?

The increasing dominance of an economic ideology of higher education, that its principal role is to contribute to national competitiveness, has increased focus on the employability of graduates and their transition into the labour market. Drawing on a major study of the early career paths of 1995 graduates from 38 UK higher education institutions, this paper looks specifically at graduates from business and management programmes. Such graduates would apparently be attractive to employers seeking to recruit degree holders with specific transferable skills who might be expected to ‘hit the ground running’ once in organisations. The paper seeks to address the question of what effect holding a business degree has on the employment outcomes in comparison with other degree disciplines and whether or not there is any gender effect upon relative success in the labour market.     

Universal patterns or the tale of two systems? Mathematics achievement and educational expectations in post-socialist Europe

Although communist ideology claimed to destroy former class stratification based on labour market capitalist relationships, de facto during socialism one social class hierarchy was substituted for another that was equally unequal. The economic transition during the 1990s increased stratification by wealth, which affected educational inequality. This study examines the relationships among parental education, gender, educational expectations and mathematics achievement of youths in five post-socialist Eastern European countries, comparing them with three Western countries. We employed the 8th-grade data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1995 and 2007. The findings point to the universal associations between parental education and student outcomes, whereas gender comparisons present interesting East-West differences. The theoretical and policy implications of these findings are discussed.