Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)

The importance and effectiveness of training programmes for the transition from general schooling to vocational training

Beicht, Ursula

The German vocational training system has seen the difficulties involved in making the transition from general schooling to vocational training increase dramatically in the last 15 years. Today, many school leavers - particularly those who have completed lower secondary school at the most - initially end up in a training programme that provides only basic vocational education. There has been little information to date about how large the share of youths is who attend one or more such transition measures before they start vocational training that leads to full vocational qualification or about the total amount of time youths spend in such measures. There is particularly a lack of information about the effectiveness of these programmes: How many youths use these programmes to earn a school leaving certificate or a higher-level certificate than the one they already hold? Where do these youths land after completing a transition measure? Do they start vocational training that leads to full vocational qualification and how long does it take until they start this training? The following report examines these questions using data from the Transition Study conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB).