Long-term Trends in the Transition to the Labour Market in Germany

Steffen Hillmert

Abstract


Successful transitions from school to work are decisive for success later in life. The situation of young people at this stage is therefore an issue not only for scientific research, but also for public discussion. A high level of institutionalised coordination has traditionally been a core element of the German institutional system, not least with regard to education, training and employment, and this has been associated with comparatively smooth transition patterns. Discussion in recent years has, however, increasingly focused on the problems occurring at these transitions. When assessing this situation, it is not only important to know how many people finally make successful transitions, but also how extended and complex transitions are. Against this background, this paper asks whether and to what extent there has been a de-structuring of the transition to the labour market in Germany – and, linked with it, of the transition to adulthood – as it has been proposed by theories of individualisation. Possible indicators of such a de-structuring would be a de-standardisation of transition patterns, a decreasing social differentiation and a declining significance of school-to-work transitions for other domains of life.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Allmendinger, Jutta (1989): Educational systems and labor market outcomes. In: European Sociological Review 5, 231-250.

Beck, Ulrich (1992): Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. New Delhi.

Becker, Rolf / Hadjar, Andreas (eds.) (2006): Die Bildungsexpansion: erwartete und unerwartete Folgen. Wiesbaden.

Blossfeld, Hans - Peter / Klijzing, Erik / Mills, Melinda / Kurz, Karin Kurz (eds.) (2005): Globalization, uncertainty and youth in society: The losers in a globalizing world. London.

Brose, Nicole (2008): Entscheidung unter Unsicherheit: Familiengründung und-erweiterung im Erwerbsverlauf. In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 27-48.

Brückner, Erika/ Mayer, Karl Ulrich (1998): Collecting life history data: experiences from the German life history study. In: Janet, Z. Giele / Glen, H. Elder Jr. (eds.): Methods of life course research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, 152-181.

Brzinsky-Fay, Christian (2007): Lost in transition? Labour market entry sequences of school leavers in Europe. In: European Sociological Review. No. 23, 409-422.

Buchholz, Sandra (2008): Die Flexibilisierung des Erwerbsverlaufs: Eine Analyse von Einstiegs-und Ausstiegsprozessen in Ost-und Westdeutschland. Wiesbaden.

Carroll, Glenn R. / Mayer, Karl Ulrich (1986): Job - shift patterns in the FRG: The effects of social class, industrial sector and organizational size. In: American Sociological Review. No. 51, 324-341.

DiPrete, Thomas A. / de Graaf, Paul / Luijkx, Ruud / Tåhlin, Michael / Blossfeld, Hans - Peter (1997): Collectivist versus Individualist Mobility Regimes? Structural Change and Job Mobility in Four Countries. In: American Journal of Sociology. No. 103, 318-358.

Easterlin, Richard A. (1980): Birth and Fortune: The impact of numbers on personal welfare. New York: Basic Books.

Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1990): The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Cambridge, MA.

Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1999): Social foundations of postindustrial economies. Oxford.

Hall, Peter A. / Soskice, David (eds.) (2001): Varieties of capitalism: the institutional foundations of comparative advantage. Oxford.

Hillmert, Steffen (2002): Labour market integration and institutions: an Anglo - German comparison. In: Work, Employment & Society. No. 19, 675-701.

Hillmert, Steffen (2005): From old to new structures: A long-term comparison of the transition to adulthood in West and East Germany. In: Macmillan, Ross (ed.): The structure of the life course: Standardized? Individualized? Differentiated? In: Advances in Life Course Research 9. Amsterdam, 151-173.

Hillmert, Steffen (2008): When traditions change and virtues become obstacles: Skill formation in Britain and Germany. In: Mayer, Karl Ulrich/ Solga, Heike (eds.): Skill formation: Interdisciplinary and cross-national perspectives. Cambridge, 50-81.

Hillmert, Steffen / Jacob, Marita (2003): Bildungsprozesse zwischen Diskontinuität und Karriere: das Phänomen der Mehrfachausbildungen. In: Zeitschrift für Soziologie 32, 325-345.

Hillmert, Steffen / Mayer, Karl Ulrich (eds.) (2004): Geboren 1964 und 1971 – Neuere Untersuchungen zu Ausbildungs-und Berufschancen in Westdeutschland. Wiesbaden.

Kerckhoff, Alan C. (2003): From student to worker. In: Mortimer, Jeylan T./ Shanahan, Michael J. (eds.): Handbook of the life course. New York, 52 - 87.

Konsortium Bildungsberichterstattung (ed.) (2006): Bildung in Deutschland. Ein indikatorengestützter Bericht mit einer Analyse zu Bildung und Migration. Bielefeld.

Mayer, Karl Ulrich (1997): Notes on a comparative political economy of life courses. In: Comparative Social Research 16, 203 - 226.

Mayer, Karl Ulrich / Brückner, Hannah (2005): De-standardization of the life course: What it might mean? And if it means anything, whether it actually took place? In: Macmillan, Ross (ed.): The structure of the life course: Standardized? Individualized? Differentiated? Advances in Life Course Research 9. Amsterdam, 27-53.

Mayer, Karl Ulrich / Müller, Walter (1986): The state and the structure of the life course. In: Aage, B. Sørensen / Franz, E. Weinert/ Lonnie, R. Sherrod (eds.): Human development and the life course: multidisciplinary perspectives. Hillsdale, NJ , 218-245.

McGinnity, Frances / Mertens, Antje (2004): Befristete Verträge und Berufseinstieg. In: Hillmert / Mayer, 115-131.

Modell, John / Furstenberg, Frank F. / Hershberg, Theodore (1976): Social change and transitions to adulthood in historical perspective. In: Journal of Family History. No. 1, 7-32.

Müller, Walter (1998): Erwartete und unerwartete Folgen der Bildungsexpansion. In: Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Sonderheft 38: Die Diagnosefähigkeit der Soziologie, 81-112.

Müller, Walter / Gangl, Markus (eds.) (2003): Transitions from education to work in Europe: the integration of youth into EU labour markets. Oxford.

Raffe, David (2008): The concept of transition system. In: Journal of Education and Work 21, 277-296.

Ryder, Norman B. (1965): The cohort as a concept in the study of social change. In: American Sociological Review 30, 843-861.

Scherer, Stefani (2005): Patterns of labor market entry – Long wait or career instability? An empirical comparison of Italy, Great Britain and West Germany. In: European Sociological Review 21, 427-440.

Schimpl-Neimanns, Bernhard (2000): Soziale Herkunft und Bildungsbeteiligung. Empirische Analysen zu herkunftsspezifischen Bildungsungleichheiten zwischen 1950 und 1999. In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie. No. 52, 636-669.

Shavit, Yossi / Müller, Walter (eds.) (1998): From school to work. A comparative study of educational qualifications and occupational destinations. Oxford.

Solga, Heike (2005): Ohne Abschluss in die Bildungsgesellschaft: die Erwerbschancen gering qualifizierter Personen aus soziologischer und ökonomischer Perspektive. Opladen.

Tölke, Angelika / Diewald, Martin (2003): Insecurities in Employment and Occupational Careers and their Impact on the Transition to Fatherhood in Western Germany. In: Demographic Research 9, 42-68.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24357/igjr.2.2.504

Copyright (c) 2016 Intergenerational Justice Review



Tübingen Open Journals – Privacy Protection