Dropouts in Swiss vocational education and the effect of training companies’ trainee selection methods

Forsblom, Lara and Negrini, Lucio and Gurtner, Jean-Luc and Schumann, Stephan (2016) Dropouts in Swiss vocational education and the effect of training companies’ trainee selection methods. Journal of Vocational Education & Training. pp. 1-17. ISSN 1363-6820

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Abstract

In the Swiss vocational education system, which is often called a 'Dual System', trainees enter into an apprenticeship contract with a training company. On average, 25% of those contracts are terminated prematurely (PCT). This article examines the relationship between training companies’ selection methods and PCTs. The investigation is based on a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design and on qualitative interviews. Trainers and operations managers (N = 335) of Swiss training companies for cooks and painters were surveyed. Half of the companies have been affected by a PCT in the past and the other half have not. The findings indicate that a certain amount of the explained variance between companies with and without reported PCTs can be explained by the companies’ selection process. Companies that were affected by a PCT use a job interview and a company visit significantly less often in their selection process than companies without a PCT.

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