The Effect of Workplace vs School-Based Vocational Education on Youth Unemployment : Evidence from France

This article analyzes the impact of increasing workplace-based versus school-based vocational education to promote the employment of low-skilled young people. We combine a field experiment in France with the estimation of a job search and matching model which takes into account the productivity difference of the young people in these two pathways and the choice of employers. We find a positive impact of increased workplace education on youth employment limited by the fact that it stems almost entirely from retention in the training firm without having a significant impact on youth seeking employment in other firms after graduation