Career Effects of Occupation-Related Vocational Education: Evidence From the Military's Internal Labor Market
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Authors
Pema, Elda
Mehay, Stephen
Subjects
vocational education
turnover
promotion
internal labor markets
turnover
promotion
internal labor markets
Advisors
Date of Issue
2012-04-23
Date
April 23, 2012
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd.
Language
Abstract
Prior research on the labor market success of secondary vocational education has produced
mixed results, with several studies finding wage gains only for individuals who work in
training-related occupations. We contribute to this debate by focusing on a single occupation
and organization and by comparing the careers of employees with and without
occupation-related training in high school. We use longitudinal data on the careers of military
recruits who completed high school Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC),
a military science program that has features of a vocational training and school-to-work
program. We find that the occupation-specific training received via JROTC reduces early
turnover and improves long-run job stability for those who choose military jobs, suggesting
that an important effect of vocational training is to improve job match quality. We also
find that promotion rates for vocational graduates are similar to their peers, suggesting that
vocational education in general works by improving occupational sorting.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.04.005
Series/Report No
Department
Business & Public Policy (GSBPP)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
14 p.
Citation
Economics of Education Review 31 (2012), 680-693
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.