Gender disparities in wages are still fairly large. On average, women earn less than men from the beginning of their careers. This article investigates whether young men and women with vocational education and training receive different returns for occupation-specific and general skills, a topic that has hitherto received little attention. Theoretically, we draw on a culturalist approach, as well as on the varieties of capitalism approach. The analyses are based on a combination of detailed occupation-level data on the specificity of training occupations and individuallevel data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey on the incomes of upper-secondary vocational diploma holders. The results of multilevel regression models show that men's and women's incomes are affected by a complex interplay between gender and skill endowment. Occupation-specific vocational skills only secure a high income early in the careers of men who trained in male-typed or genderneutral occupations. Women profit from a high proportion of general knowledge in their training. Furthermore, we find evidence for a general devaluation of female-typed skills. In sum, the findings suggest that employers' discriminatory remuneration practices, a general devaluation of female-typed skills and young people's rational skill investment decisions contribute jointly to the gender gap in income.

No abstract

Due to a higher demand for tertiary education, continued educational achievement has become important for the career development of young people with vocational education and training (VET). In this article, therefore, we examine whether the labour market segment of the training firm influences VET diploma holders’ likelihood of entering tertiary education. In Switzerland, companies from a wide range of industries and with different institutional characteristics assume a large part of the responsibility for training. Thus, the training firm’s position in the labour market impacts apprentices’ education and training. Drawing upon segmentation theories, we argue that structural differences between training firms in different labour market segments result in varying opportunities and incentives for higher education. Our analyses are based on a longitudinal national survey of healthcare apprentices who were trained in the primary healthcare segment (hospitals) or in the secondary healthcare segment (nursing homes). Propensity score matching results show that VET diploma holders who were trained in the primary segment were more likely to enter tertiary education than those who were trained in the secondary segment. This finding implies that the structural conditions in the training firm matter for young workers’ careers by affecting further educational achievement.

This article addresses inequalities in short‐ and medium‐term career outcomes of workers with different vocational education and training (VET) programmes during the early career. In particular, we examine how the degree of vocational specificity of VET programmes affects occupational status mobility throughout individuals’ early careers, a topic that has hitherto received little attention. We adopt a life course perspective and combine an individual‐level theoretical approach (human capital and signalling theory) with an institutional approach. The former focuses on individuals’ skill acquisition during VET and across the early career. The latter emphasises that individuals’ allocation to a training programme influences the amount and types of skills they acquire. The multinomial logistic regression analyses are based on a combination of detailed curricula‐based occupation‐level data on the specificity of training programmes and individual‐level data from the Transitions From Education to Employment (TREE) longitudinal dataset. The results show, firstly, that labour market allocation at the beginning of a career has consequences for later labour market outcomes. Second, practical occupation‐specific education and training facilitate status stability at labour market entry, while general skills and knowledge are decisive for long‐term upward mobility.

No abstract