In the modern welfare state, the structure and the perception of social risks are changing. New social risks require new forms of dealing with them. This paper focuses on the transition of young people from school to vocational education, which represents a new social risk: In modern societies, a sustainable integration into the labor market demands an increasing level of qualification and, especially in Germany, an officially recognised certificate of training. Thus, approaches of preventive social policy are intended to prepare and to guide this transition by addressing the needs and the situation of young people early on and by cross-linking the contributions of schools and of youth welfare as well as labor market institutions: Crosssectoral collaboration is a key element of preventive policy. The paper presents a programme of early intervention that addresses all pupils from the age of 13 on in order to strengthen their vocational orientation. This type of early intervention has the potential to prevent problems but also to identify pupils who need further help. As a consequence, the paper argues that early intervention does not replace further measures aiming at special target groups; preventive social policy should rather connect general approaches and special support for those who need it. This support can be coordinated by “Youth Employment Agencies” which integrate the activities of institutions from different policy fields such as labour market policy, youth welfare and school. These agencies are being established in an increasing number of regions since 2012 in order to create one-stop-shops for young people. The initiation and sustainable stabilisation of institutional cooperation in terms of joint action plans and a coordinated case management implies a challenge for the implementation of preventive social policies.