The influence of social contacts on educational success and the transition to the first job

Authors: Tobias Roth; Markus Weißmann

Project description:

heoretical arguments and a wealth of empirical findings indicate that social contacts play an important role in job search, job stability and career success. At the same time, however, there have only been a small number of empirical studies to date, both in Germany and internationally, that examine the influence of social relationships on the transition from the education system to the labour market in more detail. In Germany, vocational training is of central importance for entering the labour market and a later successful labour market career. Around 700,000 people start vocational training every year. However, around 25 per cent of training contracts are terminated prematurely and some graduates also have problems finding a first job that is suitable for them following their vocational training. Against this background, the project uses longitudinal data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) to analyse the influence of social contacts on training success and success in finding a job at the end of training. Together with existing findings on the influence of social contacts on the success of an apprenticeship search, this allows to examine the role of social networks during the entire transition phase from lower secondary level to the labour market. Social capital approaches serve as the theoretical basis for the project.

Publications:

Weißmann, Markus, and Tobias Roth. 2023. "Pre-existing company contacts and premature termination of apprenticeship training in Germany." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 87 (October 2023): 100839. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2023.100839.

Weißmann, Markus. 2025. “Reasons for and consequences of ethnic differences in parental support during the transition to apprenticeship training in Germany.” European Societies 2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/euso_a_00008