The school-to-work-transition as a challenge of vocational education research. Theoretical and empirical approaches to the labour market value of vocational qualifications

The transition from vocational full-time schools to labour market is one of the big challenges of vocational education research an for German vocational training policy. Most of the school leavers don't find any job opportunity and choose an additional vocational education in the "dual system". The little labour market value of these vocational qualifications enforces the ongoing training market crisis.In order to cope with this "image problem" by promoting equivalence of full-time VET in relation to the dual apprenticeship system, the reasons for the smaller labour market value have to be outlined. The paper deals with several theories form different social sciences to explore a multiple explanation approach. From the methodological point of view the system theory serves as a framework