Regional Learning Dynamics and Systems of Education and Training: A European Comparison

Abstract

This paper investigates regional differences in the relation between styles of employee learning within public and private sector establishments and the characteristics of regional education and training systems. The paper starts by developing a measure of creativity at work for a sample of 81 regions across 18 European nations. Using multi-level regression, the paper shows how differences in the level of development of a region’s tertiary education system, and differences in the provision of formal and informal types of lifelong learning, impact on the development of creative forms of learning at work. The results show not only that well-developed regional systems of lifelong learning have a positive impact on the likelihood that employees on average will be involved in creative forms of work organisation, but also that systems of lifelong learning increase the relative chances that employees with only a secondary-level education will have access to creative work environments. This implies that lifelong learning policies can serve an important remedial purpose by helping to reduce inequalities in access to high-quality work environments for employees with different levels of initial education.