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Expert Network on Economics and Sociology of Education and Training (ENESET)

The labour market returns to classroom-based vocational education

Completing secondary education is no longer a guarantee for securing employment. This report shows that classroom-based VET, offering job-specific skills, shows positive labour market returns, especially for multi-year postsecondary programmes.

  • General publications

Details

Publication date
11 June 2021
Author
European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE)
Geographical scope
  • European Union
  • United States
Level of education focus
  • Vocational education and training (VET)
Thematic areas covered
  • Education-to-work transitions, education and labour market
  • Educational effectiveness and efficiency

Description

The COVID-19 pandemic worsened existing inequalities, hitting less-educated individuals hardest and reinforcing the importance of education for labour market success. 

This report focuses on classroom-based vocational education and training (VET), excluding apprenticeships. VET, which provides occupation-specific skills, varies by country and level, with integrated models in the US and whole-school models in most EU countries. Postsecondary VET in the EU often takes place in specialized institutions, while the US uses community colleges. 

The report reviews global evidence, mainly from the US, on the labour market returns to classroom-based VET. Most studies find positive, sometimes significant, employment and wage outcomes, particularly for multi-year postsecondary programmes.

Author

Christopher Jepsen

Cite as

Jepsen, C. (2021). ‘The labour market returns to classroom-based vocational education’, EENEE Ad hoc report no. 02/2021.

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Files

  • 11 JUNE 2021
The labour market returns to classroom-based vocational education