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Education, Off-the-Job Vocational Training, and Early Employment Outcomes: Evidence from Italy

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  • Giorgia Casalone

    (Department of Economics and Business, University of Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Vercelli, Italy)

  • Eliana Baici

    (Department for Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Piemonte Orientale, 13100 Vercelli, Italy)

Abstract

Education and training are primary sources of individual human capital. We explored the relationship between education and off-the-job vocational training and the impact of training programmes on youth employment in Italy. We focused on three outcomes: employment probability, use of formal/informal job search channels, and skill matching. We identified programme effects by comparing the outcomes of treatment and control groups using propensity score matching with a robustness check to assess the potential bias due to unobservable characteristics. Individuals with vocational high school degrees are more likely to participate in vocational training programmes, but in southern regions, individuals with technical or generalist high school degrees also attend vocational training programmes. Vocational training programmes have positive effects on youth employment outcomes, reduce the use of informal job search channels, and improve skill matching, especially in the centre-northern regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgia Casalone & Eliana Baici, 2023. "Education, Off-the-Job Vocational Training, and Early Employment Outcomes: Evidence from Italy," Merits, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jmerit:v:3:y:2023:i:2:p:22-404:d:1153034
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