Dropouts in Swiss vocational education and the effect of training companies' trainee selection methods

• Published in: Journal of vocational education & training 2016-10, Vol.68 (4), p.399-415
• Main Authors: Forsblom, Lara, Negrini, Lucio, Gurtner, Jean-Luc, Schumann, Stephan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abbruch; Administrator Attitudes; Apprenticeships; Ausbildung; Ausbildungsbetrieb; Ausbildungsplatzbewerber; Auswahlverfahren; Auszubildender; Betriebliche Berufsausbildung; Bewerbungsgespräch; Case Studies; Companies; Cooks; Corporations; Dropouts; Dropping out; Employment Interviews; Foreign Countries; Hospitality Occupations; Interviews; Job Training; Koch; Maler; Personalauswahl; premature apprenticeship contract terminations; Probezeit; Qualitative Research; Questionnaires; Recruitment; Schweiz; Selection Criteria; Statistical Analysis; trainee selection methods; Trainees; Trainers; Ursache; Vocational Education
• ISSN: 1363-6820; 1747-5090
• DOI: 10.1080/13636820.2016.1222596

In the Swiss vocational education system, which is often called a 'Dual System', trainees enter into an apprenticeship contract with a training company. On average, 25% of those contracts are terminated prematurely (PCT). This article examines the relationship between training companies' selection methods and PCTs. The investigation is based on a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design and on qualitative interviews. Trainers and operations managers (N = 335) of Swiss training companies for cooks and painters were surveyed. Half of the companies have been affected by a PCT in the past and the other half have not. The findings indicate that a certain amount of the explained variance between companies with and without reported PCTs can be explained by the companies' selection process. Companies that were affected by a PCT use a job interview and a company visit significantly less often in their selection process than companies without a PCT.