Leiden, Netherlands, 7 October 2026 – Workers entering the labour market after completing updated vocational training earn higher wages and are less likely to leave the occupation they trained for, new research from the SkiLMeeT project finds.
The study, Skills Mismatches and Worker Mobility, by Anna Salomons, Cäcilia vom Baur and Ulrich Zierahn-Weilage, examines the effects of curriculum updates in Germany’s dual vocational training system. The researchers combine 756 curricula covering 492 training occupations between 1971 and 2021 with administrative worker records, measures of occupations’ exposure to technological change, and surveys capturing how well workers’ training matches job requirements.
People trained under updated curricula earn up to 4.1% higher than those trained under the previous curriculum. The gains are particularly strong in occupations undergoing technological change: among jobs with high exposure to new digital technologies, wage increases reach more than 6% for some cohorts trained several years after a curriculum update.
Curriculum updates also help graduates stay in the occupation they trained for. Those completing updated programmes are up to 4.7 percentage points less likely to leave that occupation – a sizeable effect given that around 37% of vocational graduates do so within the first five years of entering the labour market.
“Updating vocational training can make a real difference to workers at the beginning of their careers. When training better reflects what jobs actually require, workers are more likely to stay in the occupation they trained for, while updated skills can also translate into higher wages – particularly as technology changes the skills employers need,” said Ulrich Zierahn-Weilage, co-author of the study.
The benefits of curriculum updates are strongest where change is most needed. Workers see higher wages when training is updated to address existing skills mismatches or to respond to new technologies. By contrast, updates bring little wage benefit where training already matches workplace needs and technological change is limited.
The findings suggest that vocational training systems should monitor changes in occupational skill demand and update curricula where gaps emerge. Technology exposure can provide an additional early warning signal: even where an existing skills mismatch is still limited, rapidly changing technologies may create demand for new competencies that training programmes do not yet provide.
You can read the paper here.
Anna Salomons, Cäcilia vom Baur and Ulrich Zierahn-Weilage (2026), Skills Mismatches and Worker Mobility, SkiLMeeT Deliverable D5.5. Grant Agreement No. 101132581.
