Learning and Working: Double Statuses in Youth Transitions within the European Union

Abstract

The transition from school to work is a phase of life in which young people are introduced to the world of labour. This transition process is often far from smooth and it can be characterized as a turbulent and precarious period (OECD 1998; Kerckhoff 2000). First of all, the transition from school to work refers to a process in which young people face periods of unemployment quite often and end up frequently in jobs that do not match their education very well. Secondly, the transition from school to work can not be considered as a single event from full-time initial education to stable full-time employment (see Scherer 2001). Instead, the labour market entry of young people should be described as a complex and prolonged allocation process, of which it is hard to define at what point it really starts and when it exactly ends (OECD 1996, 2000). Often, there is some kind of gradual labour market entry, where young people combine their studies with work. This is partly the result of pupils participating in apprenticeship programmes, but also because of students having (part-time) jobs. Moreover, the recent attention for lifelong learning as a continuous investment in human capital during the working career has blurred the transition process. In this paper we aim to provide insight in the extent, structure, and recent development of combinations of learning and working among young people within the European Union. Three types of ‘double statuses’ are distinguished: young people who combine learning and working in the dual system, full-time students who have jobs, and employed individuals who invest in training to advance their working career. The analysis of these double status positions offers the opportunity to look in detail at how the pathways from school to work are organized in different institutional contexts of Europe. This should lead to a better understanding of the trajectories of young people from initial education to a stable position in the labour force. In addition, we look at some labour market outcomes of young people that are in a double status position. The aim is to shed some more light on the issue whether or not a double status position serves as a stepping stone towards stable employment. For that reason, we investigate to what extent double status positions go together with specific job characteristics that differ from the employment situation of those who are regular employed and whether there are institutional differences in this respect. The paper is structured as follows. In the second section we derive some hypotheses on differences in the occurrence of double status positions among young people in the European Union. The third describes the data and variables to be used in measuring double statuses. The fourth presents the occurrence of double status positions among young people in different institutional contexts of Europe. The fifth looks at three characteristics of the jobs held by young people who combine learning and working: the permanency of the job, the distinction between full-time and part-time work, and the occupational status attained. The sixth discusses the main conclusions of the paper.labour market entry;