ABSTRACT
Education lays the foundations not only for entry to the labour market in any kind of capacity but for the type of occupation entered. The early transition experiences paved the way for the kind of labour market participation in which the cohort members were engaged at 26. At age 26, almost all the cohort members had made their move from education to the labour market. Since experience of Youth Training Scheme would have preceded the period(s) of unemployment, this suggests that far from aiding entry to the labour market, such programmes actually reduced the recipients’ prospects. The launch of the 1970 cohort on to the labour market of the 1990s appeared, on the whole, to have been a success, with full-time jobs in knowledge-based occupations for the majority - women as well as men. Parenthood affects the occupational patterns of women more than men, because of their exit from the labour market, or entry into part-time employment.
