Early Careers and Individuals' Resources: Configurational Pathways to Stable Employment for Middle-Skilled Workers

Patricia Palffy, Luc Sandfort, Martin Schneider and Uschi Backes-Gellner

No 221, Economics of Education Working Paper Series from University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW)

Abstract: A successful transition of young people into employment is essential for both individuals' future careers and tackling the shortage of skilled workers that firms are facing globally. While a large empirical literature has studied single determinants of a successful transition into the labor market, less is known about how different determinants interrelate and whether different determinants can complement each other or compensate for one another. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and employing fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, we theoretically develop and empirically test a configurational approach to examine the determinants of a successful labor market entry of young middle-skilled workers. To test our configurational approach, we use an innovative longitudinal dataset combining comprehensive individual survey data of adolescents in an upper-secondary education and training program with administrative employment records up to six years post-graduation. We find that it is not single resources but several combinations of human, personal, and social capital, along with energy resources that determine a successful labor market entry of young people. Most importantly, the results reveal that firms can offset individual disadvantages, such as lacking personal or parental resources, by providing contextual resources during training, such as fostering positive apprentice-supervisor relationships.

Keywords: conservation of resources theory; qualitative comparative analysis; stable employment; careers; labor market transitions; grit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2024-06
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iso:educat:0221

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