Print version Recommend this page Press release
33/ 2004
Bonn, 23.09.2004
Designations play a decisive role in young people's choice of occupation
Occupational designations are meant to provide an initial picture of what an occupation entails. Young people however have their own way of interpreting such designations when they have to choose an occupation. They not only use the name of an occupation as an indicator for the work associated with the particular occupation, they also - and most importantly - examine it for the image the designation would convey to their friends. The impression that the designation for a (skilled) occupation makes when mentioned is important to young people. When young people feel that the designation would be detrimental to their own image during training - but also later when they have entered the working world - they will not consider it, even when training places are still available. This is the conclusion Germany's Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training ("BIBB") reached following an evaluation of the initial findings of a study on the subject Occupational Designations and Their Influence on Young People's Choice of Occupation which it conducted in conjunction with the University of Bonn.
Past attempts to determine how and why an individual chooses a particular occupation have paid little attention to occupational designations to date. However, as the findings which BIBB and the University of Bonn have now released show, designations serve at least three important functions:
- Information and signal function: Young people read occupational designations as "road signs" for what will await them in a particular occupation. This often presents a problem for traditional occupations because their designations are interpreted incorrectly. Adolescents associate designations such as miller, chimney sweep and baker with the fairy tales of their childhood and not with the reality of modern-day occupations. As a consequence, young people consider these occupations to be old-fashioned and avoid them.
- Selection function: Young people try to keep the stress involved in deciding on an occupation and finding a training place to a minimum. Consequently, they tend to keep the number of occupations they take into consideration to a manageable level. And they use occupational designations as a criterion. Those that do not sound interesting are dropped from the list. Thus, the first impression that an occupational designation makes is decisive. When that impression is negative, there is little chance that the individual will pay any further attention to that particular occupation. As a result, young people can occasionally underestimate the range of occupations that would be suitable for them.
- Self-promotion function: Young people examine occupational designations to determine whether they would be a suitable "calling card" for their personality. Therefore, they are attracted to designations that suggest an intelligent, successful and respected person. One positive example of this is the occupation "designer for digital and print media". On the other hand, from a young person's standpoint, designations like "industrial cleaner" or "recycling and waste management technician" are not image-enhancing.
Occupational designations also play a major role in the differences between the sexes in their choice of occupation and are one reason why both boys and girls shy away from certain occupations. Terms like processor, fitter, mechanic or builder that are used in many occupational designations in the industrial or technical field will attract boys but hardly ever girls. Girls respond much more positively to designations that indicate occupations that require dexterity or creative skills, such as precision optician, fine purse maker or pastry cook. Boys on the other hand are negatively inclined when an occupation in the social services field indicates a subordinate position. Becoming a doctor's receptionist/consulting-room assistant or nurse is problematic for them simply due to image reasons.
The findings of the BIBB study have just been published in the German book Berufsbezeichnungen und ihr Einfluss auf die Berufswahl von Jugendlichen. Theoretische Überlegungen und empirische Ergebnisse (Occupational designations and their influence young people's choice of occupation) by Andreas Krewerth, Tanja Tschöpe, Joachim Gerd Ulrich and Alexander Witzki (ed.). This publication can be ordered for € 18.90 from W. Bertelsmann Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Postfach 10 06 33, 33506 Bielefeld, Germany. Tel. + 49 521 - 9110 111, Fax: + 49 521 - 9110 119, E-mail: service@wbv.de .
