Transition from school-based training in VET

摘要

Purpose–This paper assesses the drop-out rate among disadvantaged students within vocational educationand training. The purpose of this paper is to examine the probability of dropping out after school-basedtraining for child welfare clients–a particularly disadvantaged group of youth. Child welfare clients’drop-outrate is compared with students from a representative sample of their peers.Design/methodology/approach–Average marginal effects were calculated from multinomial logisticregression models. Data were from public registries (n¼10,535).Findings–The results show that differences in observed characteristics cannot explain differences indrop-out rates between child welfare clients and the majority peers. It is argued that this drop-out rate is likelya result of employers favoring apprenticeship applicants who are similar to them or that child welfare clientslack 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 thetransition that follows school-based training.Originality/value–The paper adds to the very scarce literature on transition from school-based learning toapprenticeships.