by left: Simone Grellmann, Christian Ebner, Benjamin Edelstein, Marcel Helbig, Rita Nikolai, Christian Brzinsky-Fay
[Photo: David Ausserhofer]

The datasets like the “Integrated Employment Biography (IEBS)”from the Institute for Employment Research provide detailed information on employees liable for National Insurance contributions, recipients of social benefits, jobseekers, unemployed people and participants to employment and training measures.

Furthermore, the analysis of transition paths is complemented by an education panel that is currently being set up. For this panel data is collected in order to investigate young people’s path of education and employment. This enables us to assess not only the relevance of certified degrees for education and employment, but also of non-certified competences.

Apart from transition processes on the individual level, our group aims to consider macro-structural determinants and contexts. More precisely, we examine how socio-cultural aspects, socio-economical factors, party-political forces or industrial relations affect and steer transitions into the labour market within and comparatively across countries. And we try to contextualize and reconcile institutionalized decision making, social law making or the funding of labour market policies. Methodologically, we use cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, applying both qualitative and quantitative methods.

The group consists of five members:

> Dr. Rita Nikolai, head of the project, investigates how qualification structures and employment opportunities vary across countries. For this purpose she studies the way socio-economic, socio-cultural and political-institutional factors contribute to the level of qualification within and across the OECD-30. Her study will be backed and supported by single country studies.

For his doctoral dissertation > Christian Ebner compares the transition from vocational training to employment in German speaking countries. Germany, Switzerland and Austria are unique in a sense that vocational training is implemented through a dual system, combining both in-plant training and vocational training. Therefore, apprentices in these countries have already partly entered the professional life. His research elaborates on differences across these countries with respect to the take-over of apprentices, starting salary and career mobility, as well as the potential origin of these differences.

> Christian Brzinsky-Fay’s project „Institutions and policies in the school-to-work transition“investigates and contrasts the situation in Germany, the UK and Denmark. His research is primarily exploring how interacting institutions and policies shape transitions. Therefore, he tries to join collective decision making on the macro level (policies) with individual consequences on the micro level (transition patterns). The differing institutional set ups of the countries allow to consider and examine various effects on policies and institutions.

The fourth project of > Marcel Helbig focuses on low level education and employment. It will assess, whether training measures for illiterate persons, such as vocational preparation courses ease or hinder job market entries. In addition an international comparison may work out differences and similarities to elaborate solutions to improve employment opportunities of the lowly qualified.
Benjamin Edelstein and Simone Grellmann support the team as research assistant.

To conclude with, the group co-operates closely with the > research unit “Vocational Training and Employment” of Prof. Dr. Heike Solga, as well as visiting fellows.