Coaching Disadvantaged Young People: Evidence from Firm Level Data

In Germany, apprenticeship training firms currently face a shrinking number of qualified school-leavers because of smaller birth cohorts and an increasing proportion of school leavers aiming for higher education. This paper investigates whether a programme that supports firms to train disadvantaged youth can reduce recruiting difficulties in apprentice training firms. Based on unique firm-level data from the metal and electronic industry in Ba-den-Württemberg from 2010 to 2013, we apply instrumental variable and difference-in-difference estimations and find no significant short-term causal impact of the programme.

Mohrenweiser, Jens and Friedhelm Pfeiffer (2014), Coaching Disadvantaged Young People: Evidence from Firm Level Data, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 14-054, Mannheim.