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Publication

Essays on the effectiveness of work-based learning and vocational education

Book - Dissertation

The school-to-work transition gained a lot of attention in the last few years. The high youth unemployment rate is one of many reasons for this increase. Facilitating the transition is approached through many different channels, among them educational reforms. Various countries solidify the work-based learning and vocational education systems to ease the transition from school to work. Work-based learning and vocational education are associated with various short term benefits, such as a higher starting wage and a shorter job search at the start of the career (compared to generally educated individuals), but various researchers also suggest that there might be a trade-off. The benefits at the start of the career might be countered by a sum of disadvantages later in life. In addition, general competences and theoretic knowledge taught at school is, as indicated by many researchers, also very important (most certainly given the recent technological changes). We investigate the short and long term effects of work-based learning and vocational education. We analyze the influence of work-based learning (compared to classroom learning) on the development of key competences. In addition we investigate which competences, taught during the formal education, subserve the further development of competences and skills during employment. We investigate this by means of the LiSO data, Cedefop data and stated preferences experiments. Based on multiple (quasi-)experimental methods, we try to identify a causal relationship between work-based learning and vocational education and the labor market outcomes.
Publication year:2020
Accessibility:Closed