What economic returns are associated with a double professional qualification which consists of a pre-academic vocational qualification followed, at a later date, by higher education? Although, for decades, significant numbers of students in Germany have been completing vocational education and training (VET) prior to their higher education studies, there are hardly any current, and in some cases only poorly reliable, findings on this question. The research project “Returns to higher education for vocationally qualified graduates of higher education" is dedicated to answering this question. It examines whether there are systematic differences in the economic returns of higher education graduates with and without pre-academic vocational education and training and, if there are, how these can be explained. The focus lies on the following five topics and questions:
- How can the diversity of qualification profiles of vocationally qualified graduates of higher education be adequately represented?
- Which mechanisms underlie potentially different educational returns of higher education graduates with and without pre-academic vocational education and training?
- How can the multi-dimensionality of returns to education be adequately taken into account?
- What characterizes the current return potential of hybrid qualification profiles (diagnosis of the present), and which possible changes can be determined over time?
- Are there life-course-specific dynamics in the economic returns of higher education graduates with and without pre-academic vocational education and training?
Project analyses will be based on data from the graduate panel of the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW).
Funded by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (2020-819-5).
