Job opportunities and school-to-work transitions in occupational labour markets. Are occupational change and unskilled employment after vocational education interrelated?

Helen Buchs,Laura Alexandra Helbling

doi:10.1186/s40461-016-0044-x

Abstract

This study links TREE panel data surveying school-to-work transitions in Switzerland with unique job advertising data from the Swiss Job Market Monitor that mirrors individual job opportunities. We investigate: (i) whether occupational change and unskilled entry level employment are two related transition outcomes among graduates from initial vocational education and training (IVET) in the occupational labour market of Switzerland. Our analysis further focuses on (ii) the impact of a low number of occupation-specific job opportunities on the risk of such a combined horizontal and vertical job-education mismatch, and (iii) the extent to which overall labour demand facilitates occupational changes to skilled employment. We make use of bivariate probit analysis to investigate occupational change and unskilled entry employment among IVET graduates as interrelated transition outcomes. The empirical results suggest that occupational change and unskilled entry employment are two interrelated transition outcomes among IVET graduates in Switzerland. The results further support our hypothesis that a low number of occupation-specific job vacancies at labour market entry increase the risk of simultaneously experiencing both forms of job-education mismatches for IVET graduates. High overall labour demand enables occupational changes to skilled employment. We conclude that for an integration of IVET graduates into occupationally and educationally matching positions it is crucial that the IVET programmes offered match labour demand on an occupational basis.

Highlights

This study links TREE panel data surveying school-to-work transitions in Switzerland with unique job advertising data from the Swiss Job Market Monitor that mirrors individual job opportunities
We conclude that for an integration of initial vocational education and training (IVET) graduates into occupationally and educationally matching positions it is crucial that the IVET programmes offered match labour demand on an occupational basis
Based on descriptive results, we find significant differences in the ratio of unskilled young people employed in first jobs across IVET graduates who changed their occupational field of training and those who engaged in a first job within it

Summary

Introduction

This study links TREE panel data surveying school-to-work transitions in Switzerland with unique job advertising data from the Swiss Job Market Monitor that mirrors individual job opportunities. Facing low occupation-specific demand, IVET (initial vocational education and training) graduates may have to switch occupations or accept unskilled employment (meaning employment not requiring an IVET diploma or other educational qualifications) to avoid possible unemployment In doing so, they may, lose some of the skills they have acquired during training. Lacking the corresponding occupation-specific certificate that allows access to skilled employment in the new occupation, young people that switch occupations immediately after IVET graduation may have to accept unskilled jobs that do not require any certifying education This may happen especially when overall demand is low as employers in a situation of plentiful choice might not be disposed to hiring candidates with non-matching occupational credentials. In occupational labour markets occupational change and unskilled entry employment are likely to be related transition outcomes

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