What does Occupation-Related Vocational Education do? Evidence from an Internal Labor Market
Abstract
Extensive research on the impact of high school vocational education on postschool
earnings has produced mixed results. Some studies find wage gains only for
individuals who work in an occupation that is directly related to the vocational training
received in high school. We shed light on this debate by focusing on a single occupation
and by comparing the careers of individuals with and without occupation-related training
in high school. We use a rich longitudinal data set that captures the careers of cohorts of
military recruits who complete high school military science classes via the JROTC
program. JROTC shares characteristics with both vocational training and school-tocareer
programs. We find that the occupation-specific training received via JROTC
reduces short run turnover and improves longer run job stability for those who choose
military jobs, suggesting that one important effect of vocational training is to improve the
quality of the job match. We also find that vocational trainees promote at higher rates
after four years in the job; however, this is due to the head start provided by the
vocational education background rather than their faster advancement in the hierarchy.
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