Incentivizing training participation of employees: Evidence on training vouchers
Investments made after labor market entry account for a quarter of skills and competences learned over a person’s lifetime that are relevant for the labor market. During adulthood, non-formal (on-the-job) training constitutes an important part of lifelong learning of employees. Within Europe there are large differences with respect to participation rates in training. Many countries try to incentivize adult education and especially work-related or on-the-job training. One policy measure are training vouchers. In 2008, the training voucher program Bildungsprämie was introduced in Germany. Similar to other voucher programs, the overall assessment of the Bildungsprämie voucher is rather mixed. If the aim is to specifically focus on training participation of low-educated employees, another element might be removing information deficits on the general importance of training and, more importantly, on the training market and on specific training courses and skills that might be relevant in the individual situation of the employee.
Tamm, M. (2018), Incentivizing training participation of employees: Evidence on training vouchers. Investing in Europe’s future: the role of education and skills. Luxemburg: European Investment Bank, 46-51.
DOI: 10.2867/80445