The research examines careers information, educational and career aspirations, and post-school educational choices that are relevant to the transition to vocational training, university or the labour market. Transitioning to and from training programmes as well as from the general education system are taken into account. The IAB also analyses the context and effects of training and education. Another focus of research is the importance of training and development in times of technological change and environmental transformation. The effects of institutional changes and measures taken by the Federal Employment Agency play a key role in this context. These measures include careers advice for schoolchildren and initiatives to boost training activities.
Research is based on an unparalleled range of data sets, including administrative data, survey data, such as from the National Education Panel Study and the IAB Establishment Panel, and proprietary data, for example from the study on careers information for schoolchildren. Moreover, linked data products – such as the Skilled Trades Panel – enable more in-depth analysis of training activities that are relevant to the labour market.
The projects planned for 2025 will firstly concentrate on individuals’ educational choices when transitioning from school to the labour market. This will involve questions relating to careers information and the selection of young people for vocational training. Particular attention will be paid to certain groups of people, such as schoolchildren in need of support and young people from households receiving benefits under SGB II. There are also plans to analyse the impact of support instruments, for example AsAflex (assisted training) and BerEb (support with starting work). The BeYou survey and the BA-BIBB-IAB applicant study will take a closer look at the transition to vocational training.
Areas of interest include the factors influencing educational choices and the longer-term consequences of these choices. Changes in the income levels of people studying for a degree apprenticeship or for a doctorate will be examined, as will the impact on the labour market of people abandoning their training. The reasons why companies do not get involved in vocational training will be explored, as will the effects of the minimum wage for apprentices on companies’ approach to vocational training.
In 2025, research into CPD will focus on the obstacles to undertaking such activities. This will involve analysing not only individuals’ expectations regarding costs and earnings from CPD but also the impact of financial incentives on peoples’ willingness to participate in CPD. Finally, there will be projects focusing on the role of CPD in developing and adapting skills of relevance to the labour market in times of environmental and technological transformation.
Activities
- Publications on the topic: Education and the Labour Market
- Projects on the topic: Education and the Labour Market
Departments
- Research Department Active Labour Market Policies and Integration
- Research Group Occupations in the Transformation
- Research Department Establishments and Employment
- Research Department Education, Training, and Employment Over the Life Course
- Regional Research Network
- Junior Research Group Occupations and Employment Trajectories
- Working Group Occupations
- Working Group Further Training
