Van mbo naar arbeidsmarkt. De rol van de beroepspraktijkvorming via de bol en bbl

From vocational education to the labour-market: the impact of schoolbased or work-based practical training In vocational education (mbo), job-specific skills are (partly) taught in practice at a training company, known as vocational practical training (Beroepspraktijkvorming, BPV). The mbo system offers two learning pathways, which differ in terms of the scope of BPV. In the work-based learning pathway (bbl), the scope of BPV is much larger than in the school-based learning pathway (bol). Mbo graduates who have been trained via bbl are also more likely to stay at the training company after completing their studies. This article examines to what extent a successful transition from education to the labor market is related to BPV through bol or bbl and the opportunity to work at the training company after graduation. The study focuses on mbo graduates from the 2014/2015 academic year. Information is available on their labor market position one year and five years after graduation. We find that bbl graduates are in a better labor market position shortly after graduation than bol graduates. Five years after graduation, their position is still better, but the gap has decreased. We found no evidence that the better position of bbl graduates is due to them receiving more offers from their training companies to stay on after graduation. However, the relationship between an offer from the training company and early career outcomes differs between graduates of bbl and bol. For bbl graduates, an offer from the training company, especially if accepted, is associated with a better short-term labor market position. For bol graduates, an offer is associated with a better labor market position in the longer term.