The Mexican Model of Dual Training (MMDT) is a modality of technical and vocational education that combines work-based and school-based training at upper secondary school, with the aim to improve youth skills development and employability opportunities. The article explores how COVID-19, and specifically the lockdown period undergone by Mexico during 2020, affected the transitions of apprentices that completed the MMDT that year. In particular, the article explores whether and to what extent apprentices' aspirations and expectations were readjusted during their transition in times of COVID-19 lockdown. Also, we examine how the MMDT's capacity to provide equal opportunities for all apprentices changed in a context of full disruption of the economic and social life. To explore these themes, we rely on a longitudinal research design consisting of two waves of in-depth interviews with a sample of 52 apprentices in two states of Mexico (Coahuila and State of Mexico). The first wave of interviews took place in 2019 and the second wave in 2020, after apprentices completed the MMDT. Our results suggest it is possible to distinguish at least three distinct transition paths. We find thus a first group of apprentices who readjusted their aspirations by settling for a second-best option to access higher education and/or the labour market; a second group of apprentices with certain economic stability who could afford to stick to their original expectations; and a third group that relied on a delay strategy, by waiting for (education or labour) opportunities to improve and putting their plans on hold. We conclude that apprentices' socioeconomic status operated as a key mediating factor that modulated the opportunities and strategies available to these youngsters in their attempt to adapt and adjust their plans according to the circumstances. These findings shed light on the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the equalizing potential of the MMDT. © 2022 Grupo de Investigacion FORCE. All rights reserved.
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