Job-related training and benefits for individuals: A review of evidence and explanations
English
Information is gathered from other international organizations that promote skills development and the transition from education and training to work. The Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (IAG-TVET) was established in 2009 to share research findings, coordinate joint research endeavours, and improve collaboration among organizations working at the international and national levels.
Financing of training
Initial education and training and lifelong learning benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole. Economic principles dictate that the costs for services with public and private benefits should be shared between public and private funding, or else too little training will be provided or taken up. Effective mechanisms for financing skills development vary according to countries’ economic and political circumstances and the degree and level of social dialogue established.
Lifelong learning
There is a critical need for a greater overall investment in education and training, particularly in developing countries. Education and training investments should be closely linked to economic and employment growth strategies and programmes. Responsibility should be shared between the government (primary responsibility), enterprises, the social partners, and the individual. To make lifelong learning for all a reality, countries will need to make major reforms of their vocational and education and training systems. School-to-work schemes for young people should integrate education with workplace learning. Training systems need to become more flexible and responsive to rapidly changing skill requirements. Reforms should also focus on how learning can be facilitated, not just on training for specific occupational categories.
Research papers
Working papers, reports, and other publications from international organizations, academic institutions and bilateral agencies. Research findings to stimulate informed debate on skills, employment and productivity issues.
Training is not equally distributed among employees. Older, low skilled workers, and to some extent female workers typically receive less training than other groups of employees. However, we do not find any clear-cut evidence that returns to training varies with gender, educational or skills levels, which suggests that inequalities do not arise because of differences in returns to training, but are more a consequence of inequalities of the distribution of training investments.
The findings of this review further suggest that the returns to training are higher in the case that it is financed by the employer and that the returns to training are substantially higher for those leaving for a new employer. Employer-financed training appears, however, to lower the probability of an individual leaving for a new job elsewhere. The analysis of the distribution of returns to training reveals that although individuals benefit from these investments, the employer reaps most of the returns to training which suggests that the productivity effects are substantially larger than wage effects.