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I am a post-doctoral researcher and sociologist specialising in education and social inequality. I work at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Bonn and am currently a visiting researcher at Trinity College Dublin.
My work examines how adult education intersects with processes of inequality, social mobility, and broader societal transformations. While I have previously studied how technological transformations reshape work and learning, my current research focuses on inequalities in access to and returns from adult education. At its core, it asks:
Does further training in adulthood act as an equaliser reducing inequality, or as an amplifier reinforcing existing divides?
In doing so, I critically explore the policy narrative that presents adult education as a second chance and a corrective mechanism for earlier educational disadvantages.
Further Training & Social Inequality
Further Training & Social Inequality
My current research analyses how further training and lifelong learning shape labour markets and contribute to patterns of inequality.
Current questions include:
How do gendered differences in the returns to training affect the gender pay gap?
Do migrant and native workers, men and women, have equal access to firms that provide training, and how do intersectional differences emerge within these organisations?
To what extent does further training stabilise the careers of both academic and vocational workers?
Are employees in shortage occupations more likely to participate in training?
Do individuals who misjudge their own cognitive abilities – for example by overestimating them – participate less frequently in further training?
How is the use of digital technologies at work related to participation in workplace learning?
Technological Transformation & the Future of Work
Technological Transformation & the Future of Work
In previous projects I studied how new technologies reshape work and task structures. Drawing on task-based and socio-technical approaches, I analysed how organisations respond to automation and what these changes imply for employees.
Research questions included:
How do different technologies influence the distribution and organisation of work tasks?
Under what conditions are tasks substituted, complemented, or reinstated?
How useful are conventional task classifications such as routine versus non-routine?
About me
About me
I grew up in a family of miners. To fund my studies, I worked underground in a salt mine for a year — an experience that has shaped my understanding of work and inequality.
As a first-generation student, I am passionate about overcoming barriers to education. I regard widening access as a matter of fairness, as well as being essential for strengthening social participation and equal opportunities in society.
To balance out my working day, I am an avid triathlete with the PSV Bonn. I am drawn to the patience and endurance needed to achieve long-term goals through swimming, cycling and running.
Recent talks
At the Equality Forum 2025 of the Hans Böckler Foundation (Starting at 2:14:00)
Recent interviews
Discussion on Deutschlandfunk radio
Want to know more about me or my research?
Want to know more about me or my research?
📬 Feel free to get in touch with me!
Fotos: © Gerngross + Glowinski
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