Abstract:

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between labour market outcomes and vocational qualifications disaggregated by subject area of study. Using individuals holding vocational qualifications in any subject at the level below as their highest level of achievement in the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) as the counterfactual group, we find that gaining vocational qualifications in most subject areas are associated with positive earnings differentials across all qualification aims, for both men and women. For qualifications in ‘Engineering’, ‘Construction’ and ‘Business and Law’, the magnitude of the association is particularly strong, especially for women. In contrast, qualifications in ‘Arts and Media’ are frequently associated with negative earnings differentials for men across all qualification aims.