The School-to-Work Transition: A Cross-National Perspective

Abstract

School-to-work patterns and issues are discussed for seven economies (France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The emphasis is placed on differences across countries in the current labor market position of young people and recent trends therein, along with the institutions that regulate youth education, training, and employment. The power of public policies--including labor market deregulation, labor market programs, vocationalization of education, and apprenticeship--to improve youth outcomes is discussed, drawing on national evaluation literatures. Evidence of extensive policy failure points up the need to develop nationally appropriate institutions to improve school-to-work transitions.

Bridge or Trap? Temporary Workers' Transitions to Unemployment and to the Standard Employment Contract

“…vi While recent legislation in the UK, the 2002 Fixed-Term Employees Regulations, prevents employers from hiring the same worker on successive contracts over a four-year period, this legislation is not pertinent to the time period analysed. vii While this remains true for the period in question, the transition has become less co-ordinated in recent years (Ryan, 2001). viii We estimated plots of pseudoresiduals for each type of model.…”

The effects of vocational education on adult skills, employment and wages: What can we learn from PIAAC?

“…Many have argued that VET provides useful skills to prepare these individuals for labour market entry and improve their chances of a successful pro-fessional career. In an influential paper, Ryan (2001), summarises the cross-country evidence, indicating that vocational programmes, and in particular apprenticeships, increase the chances of an early working life.…”

The ‘new firm paradigm’ and the provision of training: The impact of ICT, workplace organization and human capital

“…Moreover, the interplay of these forces seems to accentuate the shift towards higher skills, although only a few studies find clear evidence for such 1 For an international comparison of several systems of vocational skill formation in European countries, see e.g. Steedman (2001Steedman ( , 2005, or Ryan (2001) who emphasizes the labor market experience of graduates from different types of vocational training.…”