This study analyzes the influence of mental and physical health, coping abilities, cooperativeness, and work commitment on the transition from apprenticeship training to a first job. In doing so, we first investigate transitions to regular employment within six months post-graduation. Second, we analyze gapless transitions from training to a first job. Third, we investigate transitions to a decent first job. This study draws on a unique dataset of 1,061 individuals from Germany that combines rich survey and register data. The baseline survey takes place during the last year of training for these individuals and contains information on their schooling, health, personality disorders and work attitudes. The register data measure the training environment and labor market outcomes. The results from linear probability models reveal that only physical health is associated with finding a first job within six months. Physical and mental health are associated with gapless transitions. Overall health, coping abilities and work commitment are important in terms of finding decent employment. However, when conditioning on individual and training firm characteristics, these associations are weakened and become statistically insignificant. Thus, the constructs under study might drive school graduates into certain training firms and occupations leading to decent first jobs. Fourth, our results indicate that the effect of overall health on gapless transitions is largest for individuals with higher levels of education, while the overall health effect is almost zero for those who are least educated. Thus, this study provides evidence of a cumulative disadvantage of the least educated in the school-to-work transition.

School‐to‐work transition research has persistently provided empirical evidence for the theoretical predictions of human capital, signaling, and credentialing, thereby emphasizing the importance of school performance and degree attainment for labor market entries. However, hitherto, research in this tradition has paid less attention to noncognitive and socioemotional factors. We address this gap by analyzing the influence of mental and physical health, coping abilities, cooperativeness, and work commitment on the transition from apprenticeship training to first job. For this purpose, this study draws on a unique dataset of 1,061 individuals from Germany, combining rich survey (i.e., information concerning baseline health, personality disorders, and work attitudes) and register (i.e., labor market information) data. The results of linear probability models reveal that only physical health is associated with finding a first job within six months. Physical and mental health are associated with a smooth transition into the labor market, i.e., a situation in which an individual transitions into regular employment without any job search gaps. Overall health and coping abilities are important to finding decent employment. However, after taking important preselection variables (i.e., educational outcomes and training firm characteristics) into account, these associations are weakened and become statistically nonsignificant. Overall, this study provides evidence that health and personality disorders have the potential to induce inequality at an important life course stage.