Better Qualifications, Better Pay?

Education is considered as an investment, but does more education necessarily mean more pay in the Danish labour market? Does the salary-return on education differ depending on sector and gender? This is the topic of this study. On the basis of register data for 2011, the size of the salary-return for a number of vocational education programmes is described, firstly for the entire labour market, and then at sector level. Finally any gender differences in this connection are identified. The study has been commissioned and financed by the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions. The study shows that the salary-return increases with increasing length of education in the labour market as a whole, at sector level, and for both men and women. However, the salary-return is usually larger in the private sector than in the public sector and overall larger for men than for women.