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Classroom versus workbench: Labour market effects of firm-based learning

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  • Samuel Luethi

Abstract

This study assesses the labour market effects of firm-based (or dual) vocational education and training (VET), i.e. when training takes place in a firm rather than in a school. Using Swiss administrative data, I compare the school-to-work transition between graduates of dual and school-based VET, both of whom have the same curriculum and diploma. To identify the causal effect, I rely on an instrumental variable strategy, using the distance to the nearest full-time VET school as instrument. The empirical analysis shows that dual VET is more effective in securing first employment, especially in occupations with loose labour market conditions as well as for men. However, dual VET graduates are less likely to progress to higher education, suggesting that both forms of VET have a comparative advantage. As for causal channels, heterogeneous results indicate that dual VET is particularly effective in developing noncognitive skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Luethi, 2024. "Classroom versus workbench: Labour market effects of firm-based learning," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0227, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    • Handle: RePEc:iso:educat:0227
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    File URL: http://repec.business.uzh.ch/RePEc/iso/leadinghouse/0227_lhwpaper.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Achyuta Adhvaryu & Namrata Kala & Anant Nyshadham, 2023. "Returns to On-the-Job Soft Skills Training," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(8), pages 2165-2208.
    2. Josef Fersterer & Jörn‐Steffen Pischke & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer, 2008. "Returns to Apprenticeship Training in Austria: Evidence from Failed Firms," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(4), pages 733-753, December.
    3. Glenda Quintini & Sébastien Martin, 2006. "Starting Well or Losing their Way?: The Position of Youth in the Labour Market in OECD Countries," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 39, OECD Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation

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