Details
- Publication date
- 1 October 2012
- Authors
- Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture | European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE)
- Geographical scope
- European Union
- Level of education focus
- Adult education
- Higher education
- School education
- Vocational education and training (VET)
- Thematic areas covered
- Education-to-work transitions, education and labour market
- Educational effectiveness and efficiency
- Governance of education
- Investment in education, economic impact of education
- Lifelong learning
- Monitoring and quality assurance
- Quality and inclusive education for all
- Skills development
- Teachers and trainers
- Whole-school and whole-system approaches and partnerships in education
Description
This report analyzes how different national education and training systems help young people transition into the labour market. It categorizes countries by their institutional models (liberal vs. coordinated market economies) and assesses how these influence policy effectiveness.
Countries with robust apprenticeship systems - like Germany or Switzerland - have lower youth unemployment and rely less on Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs). In contrast, systems without strong vocational training lean more on short-term interventions like wage subsidies or job search assistance.
The report reviews extensive evaluation evidence, showing that work-based programmes are generally more effective than classroom-only ones. Success depends on national context, institutional support, and long-term commitments to vocational education.
The authors call for tailored approaches based on a country’s labour market structure and youth needs.
Authors
Marc Piopiunik & Paul Ryan
Cite as
Piopiunik, M., Ryan, P. (2012), Improving the transition between education/training and the labour market: What can we learn from various national approaches?, EENEE report.
