From education to the labour market: how do graduates experience this transition?

ROA publishes the annual results of the most recent school leaver surveys of vocational education leavers and the higher vocational education monitor (2025).

These surveys offer a unique insight into the transition from education to the labour market. Around 1.5 years after graduating, graduates describe how they experience this transition.

We look not only at objective characteristics, such as unemployment and pay, but also at how well the transition is perceived:

  • Does the work match the course they studied?
  • How well does the level of the work match their level of education?
  • Did the course feel like good preparation for the labour market?
  • Would graduates choose the same course again?

These insights are valuable because they cannot be derived from administrative data. In addition, the surveys provide insight into early school leaving, the reasons why students leave without a qualification, and their intentions to continue their education in the future.

This creates a more complete picture of the choices, experiences and prospects of young people on their journey from education to work.

Download the Fact Sheets

Höfelmann, L., & Huijgen, T. (2026). Schoolverlaters tussen onderwijs en arbeidsmarkt 2025. (pp. 15). Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market. ROA Fact Sheets No. 003 https://doi.org/10.26481/umarof.2026003

Höfelmann, L., & Huijgen, T. (2026). Uitval zonder diploma: Aanleiding, Kansen en Toekomstintenties 2025. (pp. 9). Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market. ROA Fact Sheets No. 004 https://doi.org/10.26481/umarof.2026004

Data

The underlying data can be found under the ‘Key figures from school leavers’ surveys’ tab in ROA’s Labour Market Information System: https://roastatistics.shinyapps.io/AIStot2030/

 

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