Finding the right job: School-to-work transitions of vocational students in the Netherlands

Abstract

Each year, around 95.000 people graduate from school-based upper secondary vocational education in the Netherlands. Each of these young graduates has to take important life decisions: do I stay in school and continue training for a higher level degree, or do I start working life? How do I find a good job, and, by the way, what is a good job? Do I take this job offer, perhaps from my internship employer, or do I search for other opportunities? The studies in this thesis are concerned with these questions and with the impact of resources available to the graduate in this crucial phase of their life. The first study included in this thesis investigates the impact an in-school mentor can have on the school-to-work transition by stimulating and supporting early job search activities. The second study investigates differences between students with a western family background and students with a non-western family background with respect to labour market expectations. The third study investigates the contribution of financial resources – side-jobs and pocket money - to the school-to-work transition. This thesis is part of the School2Work project, a multi-disciplinary research project that consists of three parts, each focussing on different aspects of the school-to-work transition. Very generally speaking, part onelooks at the role of personal characteristics and social networks in career planning and job search, part two (this thesis) at resources and job search behaviour, and part three at career planning and organisational behaviour in the workplace.