Vocational Education and Training and Transitions into the Labor Market

Abstract

Stage 6 of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) 6 is devoted to the transition of young people from school to work. Stage 6 focuses in particular on the transition from school to vocational education and training and then to work (for tertiary education, see Chap. 16). In all Western societies, vocational education and training (VET) systems face a number of challenges, including the need to adapt to increasing skill requirements across the economy and to handle the danger of producing an "underclass" of low-skilled youth. This chapter presents the life-course approach for investigating school-leavers' pathways from school into the labor market within NEPS. Several factors shape young people's school-to-work transitions: their motivation and competence endowment, their decisions to apply for specific educational programs, the constraints they face regarding the opportunities for VET programs and the gatekeepers' recruitment behavior, the information and support youths may or may not receive from social networks, and the learning environments they encounter in firms and schools. We outline the basic theories that guide our research concerning these influences and discuss how we take them into account within NEPS Stage 6. Thus, we provide an overview of the study's research potential in the area of VET. For now, it is mainly the Scientific Use Files of Starting Cohort 4 (SC4) that provide ample opportunities for innovative interdisciplinary analyses-including analyses of students from special education schools. As the starting cohorts age, Starting Cohort 3 (SC3) has now also entered NEPS Stage 6 and its data on VET transitions will soon be available as well.

Challenges in School‐To‐Work Transition in Germany and Austria: Perspectives on Individual, Institutional, and Structural Inequalities

“…Market conditions are important because the number of young people facing problems in the transition increase when the markets are tight, either at the regional level or in times of economic crises (e.g., Hillmert et al, 2017), such as the Great Recession (e.g., Schoon & Bynner, 2019) or the Covid-19 crisis (e.g., Bacher & Tamesberger, 2021). Moreover, selection procedures are important, as access to the academic or vocational tracks depends on the achieved school qualification, either because the requirements are formally regulated or as gatekeepers use qualifications as signals in selection processes (e.g., Ludwig-Mayerhofer et al, 2019). In addition, opportunities in the STWT depend on the strength of familial resources and motives that vary across social class as well as by migration background and barriers, such as those related to health and disability, and gender differences (e.g., Achatz et al, 2022;Allait, 2019;Cousins, 1998).…”

‘Be prepared and give it a go!’ Transitions into further education for learners with additional learning needs

“…A successful transition experience can serve to facilitate retention and encourage increased motivation and engagement with study as learners are able to access the new environment, meet practitioners and make informed choices (Welsh Government, 2018; Holtom & Lloyd‐Jones, 2012; DfES, 2007). Continued education and training remain key in the maintenance and development of a skilled workforce, career progression and social integration (The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, 2018; Maurice‐Takerei, 2017; Ludwig‐Mayerhofer et al, 2019). While the purpose of the study was to ascertain the effectiveness of transition processes from both learner and practitioner perspectives, approaches that encourage the use of learner voice can also be viewed as promoting increased social equality, engagement and commitment to the setting (Browne & Millar, 2019).…”

Surveying Lifelong Learning in the German National Educational Panel Study

“…In a similar manner, older school children in grade 9 (at about age 15) were sampled to observe educational pathways through to the end of secondary school and beyond. For this purpose, about 16,500 students from about 650 schools from different school tracks were representatively selected in 2010 (Ludwig‐Mayerhofer et al ). In addition to sampling regular schools, a sample of respondents from special needs schools was also drawn (Skopek, Pink and Bela, ).…”