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The effects of workplace learning in higher education on employment and match quality: is there an early-career trade-off?

Author

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  • Dieter Verhaest

    (KU Leuven
    KU Leuven
    Ghent University)

  • Stijn Baert

    (Ghent University
    University of Antwerp
    Université catholique de Louvain
    IZA)

Abstract

We investigate whether the choice for a higher education program with a substantial workplace learning component entails an early-career trade-off between on the one hand higher employment chances and better initial matches (when opting for a program with workplace learning) and on the other hand a lower risk of bad match persistence (when opting for a program without workplace learning). To this end, we rely on longitudinal data of Belgian graduates that track their careers up until the age of 29. We model the program choice, the transition to a good match and the preceding transition to a bad match simultaneously. To account for non-random selection into programs and into bad matches, the Timing of Events method is combined with an exclusion restriction. After accounting for observed and unobserved heterogeneity, we do not find evidence for a trade-off. This result contributes to the debate about the efficiency of vocationalizing tertiary education programs through the implementation of workplace learning.

Suggested Citation

  • Dieter Verhaest & Stijn Baert, 2018. "The effects of workplace learning in higher education on employment and match quality: is there an early-career trade-off?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 1229-1270, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:55:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s00181-017-1308-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-017-1308-4
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    2. Berge, Wiljan van den, 2018. "Bad start, bad match? The early career effects of graduating in a recession for vocational and academic graduates," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 75-96.
    3. Neyt, Brecht & Verhaest, Dieter & Baert, Stijn, 2020. "The impact of dual apprenticeship programmes on early labour market outcomes: A dynamic approach," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Baert, By Stijn & Neyt, Brecht & Siedler, Thomas & Tobback, Ilse & Verhaest, Dieter, 2021. "Student internships and employment opportunities after graduation: A field experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Tyler Burch & Greg Murphy & Neil Tocher, 2019. "Entrepreneurship Education Enrollment Intentions: The Effect Of Attitudes, Norms And Personality," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(03), pages 1-20, September.
    6. Ilse Tobback & Dieter Verhaest & Stijn Baert, 2024. "Internships, Hiring Outcomes and Underlying Mechanisms: A Stated Preferences Experiment," De Economist, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 25-48, March.

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