Brain drain from vocational to academic education at upper-secondary level? An empirical analysis for Switzerland

Abstract

Despite the ongoing debate about how much academic versus vocational upper-secondary education is favorable for a country and large differences across countries of those two types of education exist, the interplay of vocational and academic education on upper-secondary level and its consequences for the entire education system remain under-researched. Although difficult to analyze directly, we first construct a measure to capture companies’ reactions to changes in academic education rates and second analyze whether academic education rates are associated with success rates in vocational education over time and with control variables. To measure companies’ reactions, we use a cantonal average requirements profile consisting of the academic requirements profile of an occupation and the number of apprenticeships started in this occupation per year and canton. Although results of the first part of the analysis are ambiguous, combined with the second part, they suggest a non-reaction of companies (i.e., they keep offering the same occupations but have to fill their positions with lower-ability candidates). Results of the second part show that more opportunities for academic education appear to draw highly-able students away from vocational education, with negative consequences for the success rates in vocational education. Our findings have important implications for countries with vocational and academic tracks in their education systems, but also for those who plan to introduce or strengthen (dual) vocational education. © 2020, The Author(s).

Keywords

Author Keywords

Vocational education brain drain Switzerland academic education Academic requirements profile in VET Interplay Upper-secondary education

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

Department of Business Administration, Universität Zürich, Zurich, ZH, Switzerland

Funding & Acknowledgements

Grant: 1315000868

Funding text 1: This study is funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) through its Leading House on the Economics of Education, Firm Behaviour and Training Policies (Grant No. 1315000868). This paper was written while Katharina Jaik was a visiting researcher at the University of Bern. Acknowledgements; Funding text 2: I am very grateful to my colleagues Maria Zumbuehl (formerly University of Bern) and Christian Eggenberger (University of Zurich) for their helpful comments and stimulating discussions. I would also like to thank the supervisors of my dissertation Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner (University of Zurich) and Prof. Stefan C. Wolter (University of Bern) who made this research project possible and gave useful comments. In addition, I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers who gave very valuable comments that helped a lot in improving the paper and making it more precise.

Universität Bern, UB

Funding text 1: This study is funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) through its Leading House on the Economics of Education, Firm Behaviour and Training Policies (Grant No. 1315000868). This paper was written while Katharina Jaik was a visiting researcher at the University of Bern. Acknowledgements; Funding text 2: I am very grateful to my colleagues Maria Zumbuehl (formerly University of Bern) and Christian Eggenberger (University of Zurich) for their helpful comments and stimulating discussions. I would also like to thank the supervisors of my dissertation Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner (University of Zurich) and Prof. Stefan C. Wolter (University of Bern) who made this research project possible and gave useful comments. In addition, I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers who gave very valuable comments that helped a lot in improving the paper and making it more precise.

Singapore Eye Research Institute, SERI

Funding text 1: This study is funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) through its Leading House on the Economics of Education, Firm Behaviour and Training Policies (Grant No. 1315000868). This paper was written while Katharina Jaik was a visiting researcher at the University of Bern. Acknowledgements; Funding text 2: I am very grateful to my colleagues Maria Zumbuehl (formerly University of Bern) and Christian Eggenberger (University of Zurich) for their helpful comments and stimulating discussions. I would also like to thank the supervisors of my dissertation Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner (University of Zurich) and Prof. Stefan C. Wolter (University of Bern) who made this research project possible and gave useful comments. In addition, I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers who gave very valuable comments that helped a lot in improving the paper and making it more precise.

Universität Zürich, UZH

Funding text 1: This study is funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) through its Leading House on the Economics of Education, Firm Behaviour and Training Policies (Grant No. 1315000868). This paper was written while Katharina Jaik was a visiting researcher at the University of Bern. Acknowledgements; Funding text 2: I am very grateful to my colleagues Maria Zumbuehl (formerly University of Bern) and Christian Eggenberger (University of Zurich) for their helpful comments and stimulating discussions. I would also like to thank the supervisors of my dissertation Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner (University of Zurich) and Prof. Stefan C. Wolter (University of Bern) who made this research project possible and gave useful comments. In addition, I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers who gave very valuable comments that helped a lot in improving the paper and making it more precise.

Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation, SBFI

Funding text 1: This study is funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) through its Leading House on the Economics of Education, Firm Behaviour and Training Policies (Grant No. 1315000868). This paper was written while Katharina Jaik was a visiting researcher at the University of Bern. Acknowledgements; Funding text 2: I am very grateful to my colleagues Maria Zumbuehl (formerly University of Bern) and Christian Eggenberger (University of Zurich) for their helpful comments and stimulating discussions. I would also like to thank the supervisors of my dissertation Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner (University of Zurich) and Prof. Stefan C. Wolter (University of Bern) who made this research project possible and gave useful comments. In addition, I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers who gave very valuable comments that helped a lot in improving the paper and making it more precise.

References 10 References

1 Backes-Gellner, Uschi, The consequences of central examinations on educational quality standards and labour market outcomes, Oxford Review of Education, 34, 5, pp. 569-588, (2008)

2 Deregulierung Und Finanzierung Des Bildungswesens, (1998)

3 Altersjahr, (2018)

4 Combining School and Workplace Learning Environments, (2018)

5 de Azcãrraga, JoséA Adolfo, Extensions, expansions, lie algebra cohomology and enlarged superspaces, Classical and Quantum Gravity, 21, 10, pp. S1375-S1384, (2004)

6 Medienmitteilung Vom 18 05 2015 Chancen Optimal Nutzen Bildungspolitische Ziele Fur Den Bildungsraum Schweiz, (2015)

7 Goux, Dominique, Adjusting Your Dreams? High School Plans and Dropout Behaviour, Economic Journal, 127, 602, pp. 1025-1046, (2017)

8 Hampf, Franziska, Vocational vs. general education and employment over the life cycle: New evidence from PIAAC, CESifo Economic Studies, 63, 3, pp. 255-269, (2017)

9 Hanushek, Eric A., General education, vocational education, and labor-market outcomes over the lifecycle, Journal of Human Resources, 52, 1, pp. 48-87, (2017)

10 Hanushek, Eric A., The Economics of International Differences in Educational Achievement, Handbook of the Economics of Education, 3, pp. 89-200, (2011)

Brain drain from vocational to academic education at upper-secondary level? An empirical analysis for Switzerland

How to Cite