This study seeks to investigate the association between distinct tracks of secondary education—namely, vocational school (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan, SMK) and general school (Sekolah Menengah Atas, SMA)—and two key labor market outcomes: the duration required for graduates to attain their initial employment and their resilience in the face of pandemic, as measured by changes in average monthly income. While the former sheds light on the outcome under typical circumstances, the latter offers valuable insights into the outcome during periods of crisis. Focused on Indonesia, this research employs Heckman two-step model alongside ordinary least square (OLS) for the first outcome and ordered probit regression for the second. The research draws upon data extracted from the 2021 National Labor Force Survey (Survey Angkatan Kerja Nasional, SAKERNAS). Our results suggest that SMK provides an advantage in securing initial employment compared to SMA, with SMK graduates entering the workforce earlier than their counterparts. Moreover, in terms of resilience during the pandemic, as evidenced by changes in income, SMK graduates exhibit greater resilience, with a higher likelihood of maintaining or even increasing their income compared to SMA graduates. These findings offer valuable implications for both theoretical understanding and practical considerations.

本研究旨在调查中等教育的不同轨道（即职业学校（Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan，SMK）和普通学校（Sekolah Menengah Atas，SMA））与两个关键的劳动力市场结果之间的关联：毕业生获得学位所需的时间以平均月收入的变化来衡量，他们的初始就业情况以及面对大流行病的恢复力。前者揭示了典型情况下的结果，而后者则为危机时期的结果提供了宝贵的见解。这项研究以印度尼西亚为重点，采用赫克曼两步模型和普通最小二乘法（OLS）作为第一个结果，并使用有序概率回归作为第二个结果。该研究借鉴了 2021 年全国劳动力调查（Survey Angkatan Kerja Nasional，SAKERNAS）中提取的数据。我们的结果表明，与 SMA 相比，SMK 在确保初次就业方面具有优势，SMK 毕业生比同行更早进入劳动力市场。此外，就疫情期间的韧性而言，从收入变化可以看出，SMK毕业生表现出更强的韧性，与SMA毕业生相比，维持甚至增加收入的可能性更高。这些发现对于理论理解和实践考虑都提供了宝贵的启示。