Vocational Education and Youth Labor Market Integration

Abstract

Abstract The transition from school to work is a crucial change young people experience during emerging adulthood, as the first steps taken into the labor market can influence future labor market careers and life prospects. One of the key responsibilities of education is to prepare students for the labor market, in which the vocational specificity of education systems is regarded as the central component in youth’s preparation for and allocation to the labor market. Despite many empirical studies examining the underlying mechanisms of the vocational impact of education on youth labor market integration, a review on this vast literature is lacking. Hence, in this chapter the authors provide a literature review on the role of vocational specificity in youth labor market integration, which operates through the individual level, study program level, and education system level. Moreover, a coherent system of indicators that measure vocational specificity at the three levels is provided.