This article focuses on the question of what strategies general education graduates can use to improve their chances of entering an attractive vocational education and training (VET) programme in Germany. We look, in particular, at grades in the school-leaving certificate and the additional acquisition of a higher qualification at a vocational school. By using a vignette study, we focus on the selection by companies that offer training. Our results show that excellent grades in the school-leaving certificate of graduates with only an intermediate school-leaving qualification or an entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences improve their chances of entering a VET programme in comparison to more highly qualified competitors with very poor grades. One far more effective way is to upgrade their qualification at a vocational school in combination with professional knowledge relevant to the field of the desired VET programme. In particular, this protects graduates with an intermediate school-leaving qualification from a devaluation of their qualification when applying for a VET programme with a high proportion of applicants who have a university entrance qualification. However, there is a negative effect on their chances if they upgrade their qualification in a vocational field that is not relevant to the desired VET programme. This indicates the importance of career counselling at schools. © 2025 The Author(s). International Journal of Training and Development published by Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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