Can a standardized aptitude test predict training success of apprentices? Evidence from a case study in Switzerland

Michael Siegenthaler

No 54, Economics of Education Working Paper Series from University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW)

Abstract: Due to a widely spread distrust in the signalling value of school grades, Swiss employers require external, standardized aptitude test results when recruiting new apprentices. However, the predictive quality of such test results has never been thoroughly researched. Therefore, this case study analyses whether external aptitude tests can improve the quality of predicting success in apprenticeship training. I find that such information is a) not correlated with school grades at the end of compulsory schooling but b) does not add information that would explain either the success in VET schooling (school grades in the first and second year of apprenticeship training), the probability of unexcused vocational school absences or the likelihood of a premature ending of the apprenticeship contract.

Keywords: Apprenticeship; hiring; aptitude test; predictive validity; screening (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J24 M51 M53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2011-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iso:educat:0054

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