Participation In Further Training Research Articles

Strengthening the labour force participation of low-qualified individuals in Europe

This article addresses the labour market challenges faced by adults with low formal qualifications. While low-level formal qualifications are usually associated with a lower skill level, it is crucial to recognise the large heterogeneity of skills within the group of low-qualified individuals in all countries. Although better skills enhance the job opportunities of low-qualified workers, their lack of formal qualifications limits their job prospects, even if they are as skilled as more highly qualified workers. Their placement in low-skilled jobs has implications for their participation in further training. Limited access to adult training is primarily caused by employment in these low-skilled jobs rather than by differences in cognitive skills or motivation to learn. Policies should, therefore, focus on strategies that improve training opportunities in the workplace, and employers should consider modifying hiring methods to place greater weight on actual skills in addition to formal qualifications. Both approaches would, economically speaking, enable the utilisation of the existing skill potential of low-qualified adults and, socially, enhance the employment prospects of this group.

Affective commitment through further training: the roles of firm provision and employee participation

This study investigates the relation of further training and employees’ affective commitment by disentangling the relevance of a firm’s general support for further training and the individual’s actual participation. Using linked employer-employee data, we consider both the firm’s and the individual’s perspective and control for several HR instruments additionally to the usual demographics and job characteristics. We also distinguish between subgroups of employees regarding age and schooling. Results show that employees’ participation in further training and a firm’s support for further training are both positively related to affective commitment. Furthermore, our results hint for differences in employees’ expectations regarding the amount of the firm’s support for further training. Whereas there is no meaningful relation of the general firm’s support for further training to commitment of university graduates, participation in further training measures and the individuals’ perceived support for personnel development is particularly relevant for this group of employees.

Determinants of the Participation in Further Training

Using the data of the Linked Personnel Panel 2014/15, we analyze the individual participation in further training with probit regression models. Our study corroborates the differences with respect to education and age revealed in related studies. Expected positive effects of a management position and autonomy of decision are also confirmed. Digitalization is seen as a relevant component within this context. Further analyses should focus on autonomy of decision and digitalization because these issues are novel topics. Whereas the average participation in further training of men and women does not differ considerably, there are relevant but not very strong gender differences.

Grasping Digitalization in the Working World

Digitalization and automation have increased substantially in recent years and are reshaping the working world. These fundamental changes alter employee training needs and training programs. They create new employment opportunities, may cause excessive demands or raise fears of job loss. The extent of the societal transitions induced by the ongoing digitalization call for high-quality research data. In this paper, we introduce a new multi-dimensional survey module on digitalization and its consequences for the working world, which has recently been implemented in the adult cohorts of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). We show how well and for which employee groups the newly developed survey questions capture experiences with digital technologies at the workplace. We test for the applicability of the instrument with regard to gender, age, education, and job tasks and show that it predicts employee’s actual participation in further training. Moreover, we show the potential that results from the combination of the new survey module with further key strengths of the NEPS data such as its life-course or competence measures.

Economic change and continuous vocational training in the work history: a longitudinal multilevel analysis of the employees\u2019 participation in further training and the effects on their occupational careers in Germany, 1970\u20132008

Human capital theory and the life-course perspective are used to investigate how economic modernisation, as well as developments in the labour market after the West German “economic miracle”, impacted employers’ supply of further education and training on the job, and employees’ increased participation in these arrangements. Additionally—controlling for the aforementioned structural change and economic cycles—it is analysed whether participation in further training minimises employees’ risk of dismissal and heightens their commitment to a company. The hypotheses are tested using longitudinal data and time series—allowing the analysis of employees’ participation in further education and training on the job, and the careers of West Germans born between 1956 and 1978 for the 1972–2008 periods—by procedures of event history analysis and episode splitting in a dynamic multi-level design. Systematic period and cohort effects of structural change in the economy and labour markets on companies’ supply of, and employees’ participation in, continued vocational training on the job have been revealed. Participation in further training reduces employees’ risk of dismissal, as well as their mobility between companies. Participants’ adaptation to structural change via job-related further training is correlated with increased employment security, professional flexibility, and commitment to the employer.

Further Training and Affective Commitment

We investigate the relation of further training and employees' affective commitment. In doing so, we distinguish between a support effect and a participation effect: On the one hand we analyze how a firm's general support for further training is associated with the affective commitment of their employees and on the other hand how individual participation in further training relates to affective commitment. Using the Linked Personnel Panel (LPP), which is a longitudinally linked employer-employee data set, we are able to control for several human resource management instruments additionally to the usual demographics and job characteristics. Moreover, the two-level structure of the data allows us to analyze the support effect from a firm's perspective and an individually perceived perspective. Results show that employees' participation in further training is positively related to affective commitment, but that a general perceived firm's support for personnel development mediates the positive relation of participation in further training and individual affective commitment. Furthermore, we find that the relation of perceived firm's interest in personnel development and affective commitment is increasing with years of schooling and decreasing with age.

Knowledge and beliefs of politics teachers at German Gymnasien: Findings of a study

Abstract Political didactics is a field that has long resisted examination of teaching efficacy. Of particular importance are questions concerning what teaching personnel know and where their content-based expert knowledge comes from, what is to be taught and how teachers deal with problems in understanding content. Teachers’ professional knowledge can be divided into ‘content knowledge’ (CK), ‘pedagogical content knowledge’ (PCK) and pedagogical knowledge. Beliefs regarding teaching and learning processes, pupils have active or passive, receptive or constructive roles ascribed to them. These roles are generally distinguished as the basic positions of constructivist and transmission-based concepts of teaching and learning. This study collected the results for German gymnasium teachers (N=196). 38.6 per cent of respondents were female, on average the age of respondents stands at 43.5 years old (SD=11.4). The assumptions about the structure of subject-specific professional knowledge are checked by comparing a one-dimensional IRT model with various multidimensional ones. The model comparison shows a statistically significant model improvement for the two-dimensional model distinguishing between CK and PCK. PCK can be divided into normative political didactic discourses in one dimension and lessonbased items in a second dimension. Investigation of the structural assumptions shows that politics teachers’ beliefs on teaching and learning can be integrated into overlapping belief syndromes. Cognitive constructivist orientations go hand in hand with greater subject interest, while transmission-based orientations tend to be related to less interest in politics. There is a slightly significant small negative correlation between a constructivist orientation and lesson-based knowledge (LBK). Those who have been teaching for a long time attain lower scores in the subject-specific didactic part of the test. Participation in further training only has an impact on normative and not on LBK.

Prerequisites for high-quality official control in Finnish slaughterhouses

To ensure the safety of meat, official control, including meat and food safety inspections in slaughterhouses, should be of high quality. The prerequisites for high-quality official control were examined by sending a questionnaire to meat inspection personnel, slaughterhouse representatives, and officials who guide and organize the official control of slaughterhouses at the central level in Finland. The questionnaire inquired about the sufficiency of meat inspection personnel resources and its effects on official control. The post-mortem inspection skills of the official auxiliaries (OAs) and steps taken by the official veterinarians (OV) to evaluate OAs’ performance in post-mortem inspection were explored. Furthermore, OAs’ independence from the slaughterhouses in meat inspection, and further training and guidance provided to meat inspection personnel were surveyed. Our results showed that in most slaughterhouses at least occasional shortage of OVs was experienced, and it decreased especially the time dedicated to food safety inspections, meat inspection personnel’s participation in further training, and guidance given to OAs by OVs. All but one chief OV considered the skills of the regular OAs in post-mortem inspection to be totally sufficient, whereas over a third of the chief OVs did not find the post-mortem inspection skills of the OA substitutes totally sufficient. In red meat slaughterhouses, the frequency of the observation of the post-mortem inspection performed by the OAs was variable, and one-third of the red meat OAs considered that their performance in post-mortem inspection was not sufficiently evaluated by the OVs. Although most of the meat inspection personnel agreed that OAs understand working independently from the slaughterhouse in meat inspection, a substantial number of poultry OAs in particular stated that the independency was not entirely clear to them. A majority of the chief OVs considered that the officials guiding meat and food safety inspections at the central level are unaware of the practical problems involved in OVs’ work. Our results highlight the importance of practical experience for the officials guiding the official control in slaughterhouses and increased feedback between OVs and OAs in slaughterhouses. An adequate number of OVs should be guaranteed in all slaughterhouses. The practices to evaluate the red meat OAs’ performance in post-mortem inspection should be standardized and the maintenance of the post-mortem inspection skills of OA substitutes improved.

Reducing Employment Insecurity

The perception of job insecurity is known to be a stressful condition for employees. Less is known about employment insecurity and the ways employees and their families deal with it. This study investigates whether participation in further training is a strategy that employees adopt to reduce perceived employment insecurity. As participation in further training is often costly and time-consuming, we assume that the family context is of importance for the decision to take part in further training. To take account of possible self-selection, we apply a propensity score matching procedure on longitudinal data from the Swiss Household Panel (2004-2013). Three main findings can be emphasized: first, participation in further training is not a strategy adopted particularly by employees who perceive high employment insecurity as they are less likely to train than their secure counterparts. Second, even though further training is not a strategy that is actively adopted, employees who train subsequently report lower levels of perceived employment insecurity. Third, the family context indeed influences the likelihood to train: partnered employees are more likely to train and preschool-aged children act as a constraint on women’s but enhance men’s participation in further training. Yet, in the context of high perceived employment insecurity, children generally reduce their parents’ likelihood to train as the parents may turn to other strategies that reduce perceived employment insecurity.

Determinants of participation in further training among workers with disabilities

Purpose: To analyse the determinants of the participation in further training for workers without and with disabilities in Germany. In particular, we are interested in testing the hypothesis that people with disabilities are less likely to receive further training. Method: Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel which covers the period 1989 to 2008, we estimate panel data regression models that allow us to identify the factors affecting the likelihood to participate in further training for people without and with disabilities. Results: The results confirm that workers with disabilities are less likely to participate in further training as compared to workers without disabilities (especially among males). In addition, variables such as age, years of education, occupation and firm size have a significant effect on the likelihood to get involved in further training for the disabled sample. We also found that people with disabilities have experienced more intensely the changes and variations in the participation rates over the period analysed compared to people without disabilities. Conclusions: From a public policy perspective, these findings show the importance of designing and implementing specific training programs for people with disabilities, which can contribute to maintaining and increasing their integration in the German labour market.Implications for RehabilitationTraining and vocational rehabilitation can in many cases be critical to achieve or secure employment.A person becoming disabled may, even after completion of the medical rehabilitation process, not be able to continue to work in the previous occupation.Rehabilitation specialists must be more involved within the design, provision and implementation of further training. They can also help to identify adaptive equipment and specific training tools that contribute to increasing the participation in further training among the disabled population.However, the odds of participating in further training among workers with disabilities is around 17% lower than that registered for their non-disabled counterparts.

Disability, Training and Job Satisfaction

This study analyses the effects of participating in further training on the levels of job satisfaction reported by workers without and with disabilities in Germany. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel which covers the period 1989–2008, we estimate a “Probit Adapted OLS (POLS)” model which allows us to identify the determinants of job satisfaction for people without and with disabilities. The results show that the participation in further training increases the levels of job satisfaction reported by all workers, although this increase is significantly lower among workers with disabilities. In addition, no significant differences in terms of job satisfaction were found according to the number of courses attended by disability status. However, significant differences were found between participants without and with disabilities if the duration of training was more than 1 month. From a public policy perspective, these findings show the need to redesign and implement innovative training programs for people with disabilities which contribute to increasing their levels of job satisfaction within the German labour market.

Children of substance abusing parents: A national survey on policy and practice in Swedish schools

This study aims at examining policy and practice within the Swedish school setting pertaining to children of substance abusing parents/caregivers. A cross-sectional survey, involving a representative sample of randomized schools (n=443) throughout Sweden was conducted using a self-completed questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was performed including bivariate analysis combined with logistic regression modeling to examine possible correlates between variables. The response rate was 66%, and participants reported that 37% had been trained in issues related to children of substance abusing parents, 33% of the schools had a policy document, and 73% of the schools had identified students with this complex of problems. Whether or not schools identify these students depends upon the occurrence of schools being "compulsory" or "upper secondary", "public" or "independent", the "school size", and respondents' participation in further training, which in turn is associated with the presence of a policy document. It appears as if a policy document does not directly predict whether schools identify students having substance abusing parents. However, it does influence whether respondents have participated in further training, which subsequently predicts the identification of students having substance abusing parents. Implications for policy and practice within the school setting are discussed.

Determinanten betrieblicher Weiterbildung - ein ganzheitlicher Ansatz zur Erklärung des betrieblichen Weiterbildungsverhaltens und eine empirische Analyse für Westdeutschland

Der Beitrag erklärt das unterschiedliche Weiterbildungsverhalten von Betrieben mit einem ganzheitlichen, auf der Transaktionskostentheorie basierenden Ansatz. Danach ist der betriebliche Kontext, d. h. Investitionen in Sachkapital und immaterielle Werte, die Art der Arbeitsbeziehungen und die Struktur der Belegschaft entscheidend für Weiterbildungsinvestitionen. Die empirische Analyse erfolgt mit Daten des IABBetriebspanels. Sowohl die Probit-Schätzungen der Weiterbildungsbeteiligung als auch die Tobit-Schätzungen der Weiterbildungsintensität bestätigen die theoretisch abgeleiteten Ergebnisse. Dagegen sind bei OLS-Schätzungen der Weiterbildungsintensität (von weiterbildungsaktiven Betrieben) nur wenige Variablen signifikant. Dies spricht dafür, dass die Entscheidungen über die Weiterbildungsbeteiligung und -intensität gemeinsam erfolgen, so dass ein einstufiges Verfahren der geeignete Schätzansatz ist.

Participation in Further Education over the Life Course: A Longitudinal Study of Three Birth Cohorts in the Federal Republic of Germany

In this paper we address the issue of who is most likely to participate in further training, for what reasons and at what stage of the life course. Special emphasis is given to the impact of labour-market policies to encourage further education and a person's individual or cohort possibilities to participate in further education. We apply a Cox proportional hazard model to data from the West German Life History Study, separately for women and men, within and outside the firm. Younger cohorts show not only higher proportions of participation in further education and training at early stages of the life course, they also continue to participate in higher numbers during later stages of the life course. General labour-force participation reduces and tenure with the same firm increases the propensity to participate in further education and training. Contrary to expectations, in Germany labour-market segmentation has been enhanced rather than reduced by further education and training policies, since in the firm-specific labour-market segment, i.e. skilled jobs in large firms, and in the public sector both women and men had a higher probability of participation. Particularly favourable conditions for participation in further education outside the firm prevailed during the first years of the labour promotion act (Arbeitsforderungsgesetz) between 1969 and 1974, but women did not benefit to the same extent as men. Training policies are, therefore, in need of continuous assessment based on a goal-achievement evaluation to avoid any unintended effects of such policies.