Vocational Education 4.0

The digital transformation is a key technological trend that will change the world of labor in the future. Our research shows that people with a vocational education run the risk of losing their jobs later in life when demand for their occupation-specific skills fades over time due to technical and structural change. This creates a trade-off between early employment advantages and later employment risks for educational programs that train for work in a specific job which is particularly pronounced in apprenticeship countries.

Ausbilder und Lehrling

On the one hand, educational programs that train for work in a specific job can facilitate the transition from school to work. On the other hand, they can reduce employment opportunities at older age because of lower adaptability to changing environments. In several studies, we find that individuals with a job-specific vocational education have better employment chances at the beginning of the career than those who receive a general education. But if demand for their occupation-specific skills fades over time due to technical and structural change, they are at a higher risk of losing their jobs later in life.

“The advantage of job-specific vocational education in the school-to-work transition can turn into a disadvantage over the life-cycle compared to general education programs due to continuous technological and structural change.”

Prof. Dr. Ludger Wößmann, Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education

All References
- - Article in Journal
    
    Informationsbereitstellung zur Automatisierbarkeit von Berufen erhöht Weiterbildungsbereitschaft
    
    Vera Freundl, Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Wedel, Katharina Werner
    
    ifo Institut, München, 2024
    
    ifo Schnelldienst, 2024, 77, Nr. 03, 39-43
  - Article in Journal
    
    Berufseinstieg als Wachstumsfaktor – wie wir Kompetenzen für die Zukunft aufbauen können
    
    Michael Kalinowski, Harald Pfeifer, Sven Resnjanskij, Jens Ruhose, Katharina Wedel, Simon Wiederhold, Ludger Wößmann, Andreas Schleicher, Andrea Nahles, Judith Saurer, Silke Anger, Adrian Lerche, Malte Sandner, Samuel Mühlemann
    
    ifo Institut, München, 2023
    
    ifo Schnelldienst, 2023, 76, Nr. 12, 03-27
  - Contribution in Refereed Journal
    
    Facing the Life-Cycle Trade-off between Vocational and General Education in Apprenticeship Systems: An Economics-of-Education Perspective
    
    Ludger Wößmann
    
    2019
    
    Journal for Educational Research Online 11(1), 31-46
    
    Information
  - Project
    
    Acquisition and Utilisation of Adult Skills – A Network for Analysing, Developing and Disseminating PIAAC
    
    Leibniz Association
    
    2015 - 2018
  - Contribution in Refereed Journal
    
    Vocational vs. General Education and Employment over the Life-Cycle: New Evidence from PIAAC
    
    Franziska Hampf, Ludger Wößmann
    
    2017
    
    CESifo Economic Studies 63(3), 255–269
    
    Working paper version available as: CESifo Working Paper 6116 (PDF)
  - Guest article — 28 June 2017
    
    Apprenticeship programs in a changing economic world
    
    The nagging problem of significant numbers of youth leaving school unprepared for career employment has revitalized interest in vocational education, particularly apprenticeships. Support for vocational education comes from people across the political spectrum, from both labor and business groups, and from the popular media. The clearest manifestation in policy is President Trump’s executive order that calls for immediate expansion of existing apprenticeship programs while simultaneously disparaging the effectiveness of current education and training programs.
  - Guest article — 27 February 2017
    
    Wenn das Gleis zur Sackgasse wird
    
    Presseartikel von Ludger Wößmann, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 20.02.2017, S. 16.
  - Contribution in Refereed Journal
    
    General Education, Vocational Education, and Labor-Market Outcomes over the Life-Cycle
    
    Ludger Wößmann, Eric A. Hanushek, Guido Schwerdt, Lei Zhang
    
    2017
    
    Journal of Human Resources 52 (1), 48-87
    
    Working paper version available as: NBER Working Paper 17504 | Latest version available: Download, Information

Contact

Prof. Dr. Ludger Wößmann

Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education

Tel: +49(0)89/9224-1699
Fax: +49(0)89/907795-1699
Mail: woessmann@ifo.de