In this article, we examine the social dimension of inequality in educational participation. We look at the social transmission and gender-specific channelling of education and further training in the context of employment and family. Based on quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data collected from a multi-level empirical life-course study (Hamburg Biographical and Life-Course Panel: 1980-2006) conducted with a sample of the 1979 cohort of secondary school graduates in Hamburg, Germany, we discuss the education and further training practices in their lives--with special emphasis on social class of origin and gender. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 12 notes.)