Until 1975 around half of all graduates from Dutch basic vocational schools finished a 3-year program, the other half finished a 4-year program. In 1975 all 3-year programs were extended to four years. This was accompanied by an increase of the compulsory school leaving age with one year. The authors evaluate the long-term wage effects of this extra year of basic vocational education using a difference-in-differences approach. The control group consists of graduates from basic vocational programs that did not change in length. The authors found no beneficial effect from the change. This result suggests that the target group of this policy gains equally from an extra year in vocational school as from an extra year of work experience.