The Effect of Workplace vs School-Based Vocational Education on Youth Unemployment: Evidence from France

The Benefits of Early Work Experience for School Dropouts: Evidence from a Field Experiment

“…Moreover, we concentrate on the marginal effect of having no experience versus some (i.e., one year), which is distinct from Eriksson and Rooth (2014) where all applicants have at least one year of experience. Contrary to the findings of Cahuc et al (2019), our study uncovers that job-related experience has a substantial impact on callback rates, even without certification. This effect diminishes with local labor market tightness, but remains both economically and statistically significant across a range of specifications.…”

“…However, our study demonstrates that the effect of job-related work experience is largely consistent across the two occupations and different specifications that we tested. Additionally, our results complement those of Cahuc et al (2019), who focused on two different occupations (gardeners and receptionists) during another period (2016) and found some evidence supporting the value of formal work experience for school dropouts. We yet recognize that future research and dedicated experiments are necessary to understand why recruiters may assign different levels of importance to previous work experience across various occupations.…”

“…We only mentioned in their cover letters that dropouts with job-related work experience did it through a subsidized contract (EAV). We note that Cahuc et al (2019) found no stigma effect in signaling professional experience via the EAV contract, in comparison with a similar experience via a classical temporary non-subsidized contract for young people. Finally, we pre-submitted our fictitious applications in cook and mason positions to actual workers and caseworkers who confirmed their credibility.…”

“…Conversely, Nunley et al (2016) found that internship experience increased the interview rate by 14% for recent college graduates in the United States. Cahuc et al (2019) analyzed the effect of formal job experience compared to part-time volunteering activities on recruiter callbacks for school dropouts aged 24 in France and found that only jobrelated experience with training leading to a national diploma had a positive effect on callback rates. This effect was primarily observed in areas with lower local unemployment rates.…”

Does Dual Vocational Education and Training Pay Off?

“…However, graduates in dual VET come from districts or municipalities with a 3% higher real per capita income. 11 As indicated, our IV is given by the difference between the travel times to the nearest schools offering dual and school-based tracks in the individual's field of study.…”