Does educational content respond to technological advances, enabling workers to acquire new expertise? We study how digital technology transforms skill acquisition and impacts workers' careers. We construct a novel database of legally binding vocational training curricula in Germany over 5...

What are the economic returns to education in Australia? Using data from the 2018- 2022 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, and taking account of existing estimates of ability bias and social returns to schooling, I estimate the economic return to various...

We study how new digital technology reshapes vocational training and skill acquisition and its impact on workers’ careers. We construct a novel database of legally binding training curricula and changes therein, spanning the near universe of vocational training in Germany over five decades,...

What are the economic returns to education in Australia? Using data from the 2018-2022 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, and taking account of existing estimates of ability bias and social returns to schooling, I estimate the economic return to various...

New digital and artificial intelligence technologies are fast reshaping skill requirements in the EU labour market, fostering skill mismatches. There are marked concerns about the potentially adverse consequences of automation and AI on employment, as well as the lagging competitiveness of EU...

We explore how unexpected temporary increases in the demand for low-skill service jobs in the tourism industry impact educational choices in Italy. We identify exogenous variation in the demand for service jobs using positive shocks to the tourism industry caused by terrorist attacks in foreign...

We find a substantial and long-lasting positive effect of the introduction of regional minimum wages on training incidence and intensity. We apply a stacked difference-in-differences estimation to identify the dynamic effect of high minimum wages introduced in several Swiss cantons between 2018...

Irregular migration from West Africa to Europe across the Sahara and Mediterranean is extremely risky for migrants and a key policy concern. A cluster-randomized experiment with 3,641 young men from 391 settlements in The Gambia is used to test three approaches to reducing risky migration:...

The study aims to analyze the modalities of vocational training in rural areas in order to identify systematic contents that are relevant to define the perception of the general role of continuing vocational training in the economic and social development of rural areas, the functions of...

Based on a randomized controlled trial conducted on extremely poor youths in Nepal, we report the impact of a vocational training program that offered long-duration training combined with incentives for trainers tied to trainees' success. Furthermore, to mimic the practices in the field, a...

Firm training is key to meeting changing skill demands, yet little is known about the role of workers' beliefs in shaping training participation. In a survey of 3,701 workers in Germany, we document that they expect substantial returns to firm training - both in terms of earnings and...

The objective of this policy note is to provide an overview of the status of digital skills in Nigeria from a comparative perspective and understand how prepared educational institutions are to help develop the digital skills of the population. First, the note summarizes the status of access to...

Identifying sensitive periods in which the returns to investments into skills are especially high is challenging, but crucial for an effective and efficient timing of parental or public investments aimed at fostering children's skills. We can detect sensitive periods with a novel design by...

We analyze the impact of AI-augmented training on worker productivity in a financial services company. The company introduced an AI tool that provides performance feedback on call center agents to guide their training. To estimate causal effects, we exploit the staggered roll out of the AI-tool....

In response to the growing importance of vocational education for youth employability, this study examines students' perceptions of dual vocational education and training (dVET) in Bulgaria, focusing on the following determinants of student loyalty (SL) and word-of-mouth communication (WOM) in...

This paper investigates how kinship and professional networks shaped labour market outcomes in early modern Genoa. Using a newly constructed dataset of over 8,000 apprenticeship contracts (1450-1530), I examine the extent to which kinship ties with masters or guild members influenced both entry...

Safety training in high-risk industries often lacks user-centric design, leading to ineffective learning outcomes. This study presents a novel framework to optimize Virtual Reality (VR) safety training by integrating two decision-making methods to align user needs with technical design. The...

Context: This study uses a social space approach to investigate Virtual Reality (VR)-based workplace learning in the context of apprenticeship training in the electronics industry in Switzerland. It was one part of a project which developed a prototype VR environment that enables apprentices to...

Context: Unlike education policy for general education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) policy often focuses on societal needs, ignoring the attitudes and subsequent behaviors of learners. As a result, the impact of TVET policies is not what was expected and sometimes even...

Purpose: In the evolving landscape of the 21st century, characterized by dynamic global challenges such as health crises, climate change, and rapid technological advancements, the imperative of lifelong learning has become more pronounced than ever. Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) plays a pivotal...

Purpose: This study examined how vocational education and training (VET) students' satisfaction of basic psychological needs in VET learning environments, namely autonomy, competence, and relatedness, is related to their burnout and intention to leave VET. Self- Determination Theory was employed...

Context: As part of vocational education and training, learning factories are a new, hands-on learning setting in which students can create products with realistic digital manufacturing equipment while still in vocational school. Given their novelty, learning factories have not yet been studied...

This policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training (VET) policy developments in Portugal between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Slovenia between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Spain between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Sweden between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training (VET) policy developments in Greece between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Ireland between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, and a selection of the latest VET-related statistics. At the time of...

This publication, based on contributions from members of the Cedefop community of apprenticeship experts, sheds light on how selected incentives for learners and employers participating in apprenticeships across Europe are designed, introduced and received by their target groups. The evidence...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Lithuania between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Austria between 2020 and the end of 2024 (2). It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training (VET) policy developments in Flanders, Belgium, between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics as well...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training (VET) policy developments for the French speaking part of Belgium, between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest...

This short description provides an overview of vocational education and training (VET) in Denmark, highlighting its structure, distinctive features, key developments and challenges. Denmark's VET system is characterised by a strong dual approach, combining school-based education with work-based...

This policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Croatia between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the national...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Cyprus between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

This policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training (VET) policy developments in [country] between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics as well as the...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training policy developments in Germany between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics as well as the...

This policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training (VET) policy developments in Hungary between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...