Pros and Cons of Vocational Education over the Life-Cycle

Over the life-cycle, there are pros and cons of vocational compared to general education. The basic idea is that, on the one hand, educational programs that train for work in a specific job can facilitate the transition from school to work. On the other hand, they can reduce employment opportunities at older age because of lower adaptability to changing environments.

In line with this argument, in different studies we find evidence that vocational education facilitates entry into the labor market, but that this comes at the cost of later adaptability. At the beginning of the career, individuals with a job-specific vocational education have better employment chances than those who receive a general education. But if demand for their occupation-specific skills fades over time due to technical and structural change, they are at a higher risk of losing their jobs later in life. This trade-off between early employment advantages and later employment risks is particularly pronounced in apprenticeship countries that provide the highest intensity of industry-based vocational education.

Here you can find a short non-technical overview on this topic.

Research papers:

General Education, Vocational Education, and Labor-Market Outcomes over the Life-Cycle (with E.A. Hanushek, G. Schwerdt, and L. Zhang). Journal of Human Resources 52 (1): 48-87, 2017

Vocational vs. General Education and Employment over the Life Cycle: New Evidence from PIAAC (with F. Hampf). CESifo Economic Studies 63 (3): 255-269, 2017

Non-technical contributions:

Facing the Life-Cycle Trade-off between Vocational and General Education in Apprenticeship Systems: An Economics-of-Education Perspective. Journal for Educational Research Online 11 (1): 31-46, 2019

Apprenticeship Programs in a Changing Economic World (with E.A. Hanushek). Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, 28.6.2017

Vocational Education Facilitates Entry into the Labour Market but Hurts Employment at Older Ages (with E.A. Hanushek and L. Zhang). VOX, 21.11.2011

Short contribution:

How Vocational and General Education Affect the Labor-Market Life-Cycle. EENEE Policy Brief 1/2019

Material available only in German

Newspaper articles:

In two newspaper articles, I briefly describe the early results for the 1990s and the recent results based on the data of the "adult PISA" PIAAC:

Wenn das Gleis zur Sackgasse wird. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 20.2.2017, p. 16

Besser rein, früher raus. Wirtschaftswoche, No. 51, 19.12.2011, p. 42

Non-technical contributions:

Berufsbildung in Zeiten des Wandels. In: Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (ed.), Berufsbildung von morgen – Innovationen erleben, Bonn: BIBB, 46-51, 2018

Das Pro und Contra der dualen Berufsausbildung über den Erwerbslebenszyklus in einer sich wandelnden Welt (with E.A. Hanushek and L. Zhang). ifo Schnelldienst 65 (1): 40-42, 2012