Enrolling in a consecutive federal vocational baccalaureate program: effects of successful career choice, needs–supplies discorrespondences and cognitive overload among VET graduates

Abstract In Switzerland, federal vocational education and training (VET) diploma holders may choose to obtain a federal vocational baccalaureate by completing a consecutive federal vocational baccalaureate (FVB2) program. This multiwave study investigated the probability of FVB2 program enrollment within the first 4.5 years after the completion of compulsory school among federal VET graduates. Based on the theory of work adjustment (TWA), we conceptualized FVB2 program enrollment as a form of career adjustment in upper-secondary education. The theory lists perceived discorrespondences between individual needs and environmental supplies as the main predictor of career adjustment. As forms of discorrespondences, we analyzed the predictive effects of lack of achievement-related variety and educational status aspiration at the end of first year in company-based VET. Complementing TWA, we also included qualitative workload as a form of perceived cognitive overload, and to link career adjustment with career choice in lower-secondary education, we investigated the predictive effect of successful career choice in the form of anticipated person–environment fit (i.e., similarity between an individual’s characteristics and the characteristics of the chosen upper-secondary environment). Controlling for the effects of school tracking and educational status aspiration in lower-secondary education, structural equation modeling was applied ( N = 914). Lack of achievement-related variety and educational status aspiration in VET had positive effects on FVB2 program enrollment, and qualitative workload had a negative effect. Anticipated person–environment fit had a statistically significant negative indirect effect on the probability of FVB2 program enrollment, simply mediated by lack of achievement-related variety. The indirect effects via educational status aspiration in VET and qualitative workload were not statistically significant. Findings shed light on the processes behind one of vocational learners’ key paths to university of applied sciences.