Forms of Knowledge in the Dual Vocational Training Regulations and Their Effect on Employment Trajectories

A person’s vocational qualification is crucial for their position in the labour market (Woessmann, 2018). However, dual training occupations differ significantly in their characteristics. And because these occupational characteristics also affect employment trajectories, such as unemployment risk and occupational mobility, over the long term, it is essential to study these differences.

Little is known about how the content of training regulations influences careers, mainly due to a lack of data. In Germany, training regulations regulate the content of the training as well as the content of the subsequent examinations and are therefore strictly followed. Training regulations also offer valuable insights, as they consist of different types of knowledge, including specialized knowledge, manual skills, and process-oriented knowledge. It is to be expected that the advancing technological changes will affect the forms of knowledge taught to varying degrees. In addition, the returns on the labour market in Germany are also influenced differently by the forms of knowledge.

To analyse the effects of occupational characteristics on employment trajectories, we developed a systematic coding scheme for German dual training regulations. We categorized knowledge into three forms: process-oriented knowledge, specialized knowledge, and manual skills. Using this framework, we systematically categorized the regulations of the training occupations and combined this data with the NEPS SC4 dataset (Blossfeld & Roßbach, 2019), allowing us to consider individual selection effects and career trajectories.

Our hypothesis state that differences in labour market outcomes are linked to the type of knowledge taught in each occupation. The results will reveal how inequalities within the dual system manifest. This analysis will help inform decisions about updating training regulations and guide individuals in making more informed, long-term career choices. In addition, our novel knowledge categories for the respective dual training occupations can be used for occupational research (via the kldB).