This study examines the effects of firm-based (or dual) vocational education and training (VET) on labour market and educational outcomes. Using Swiss administrative data, I compare graduates of dual and school-based VET, all of whom have studied the same curriculum and received the same diploma. In addition to municipality fixed effects models, I use distance to the nearest full-time VET school as an instrumental variable to identify the causal effect. The results show that dual VET is far more effective for securing first employment, especially for men and for occupations with loose labour market conditions. For causal channels, dual VET not only provides the possibility of remaining in the training firm upon graduation but is also more effective among those who do not remain. However, as school-based VET graduates are more likely to progress to higher education, the overall results show that each form of VET has a comparative advantage. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd
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