Less-educated Young Adults Face Challenging Transitions from School to Work

Abstract

This expert report summarizes recent social science research literature on school-to-work transitions, emphasizing the opportunity, experience and performance gaps between the highly skilled and low skilled. Questions addressed in this report include: which youth have a higher risk of failing to transition successfully from school to vocational training, and what are the pathways that lead to a higher probability of low education attainment? Which solutions to these difficulties have been proposed? Which factors may contribute to low qualified youth’s successful entry into work? To answer such questions, the report reviews current international research results and shows how these studies can be used in evaluating the situations faced by at-risk youth. Where possible, the findings for Germany are embedded within a broader international comparison to illustrate a variety of approaches to the study of transitions from the world of schooling and training to the world of work, including training schemes and programs designed to serve at-risk youth.