Transition from school-based training in VET
Abstract
Purpose
This paper assesses the drop-out rate among disadvantaged students within vocational education and training. The purpose of this paper is to examine the probability of dropping out after school-based training for child welfare clients – a particularly disadvantaged group of youth. Child welfare clients’ drop-out rate is compared with students from a representative sample of their peers.
Design/methodology/approach
Average marginal effects were calculated from multinomial logistic regression models. Data were from public registries (n=10,535).
Findings
The results show that differences in observed characteristics cannot explain differences in drop-out rates between child welfare clients and the majority peers. It is argued that this drop-out rate is likely a result of employers favoring apprenticeship applicants who are similar to them or that child welfare clients lack networks, which previous research has identified as crucial in finding an apprenticeship.
Practical implications
The results suggest a need for action targeting disadvantaged youths in the transition that follows school-based training.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the very scarce literature on transition from school-based learning to apprenticeships.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway under Grant (212293) and the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs. This work is part of the project titled Qualification and Social Inclusion in Upper Secondary VET: Longitudinal Studies of Gendered Education and Marginalized Groups (Safety-VET). The author thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewer of this journal for their constructive comments.
Citation
Dæhlen, M. (2017), "Transition from school-based training in VET", Education + Training, Vol. 59 No. 1, pp. 47-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-10-2015-0096
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited