Opportunities to improve skills and opportunities to teach or train others may be associated with job satisfaction, work engagement and organizational commitment. The analysis reported in this paper used a subsample of 823 employees within two Japanese and three American worksites. We tested not only the direct relationships of each type of…

Despite the fact that firms invest in training, there is considerable evidence to show that training programmes often fail to achieve the intended result of improving worker and organization performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the medium- to long-term effects of training programmes on firms by means of an integrated research model…

Despite the ambition of an employer-led vocational education and training system, a lack of employer engagement in workplace training continues to be reported in England. There seems to be a mismatch between national policy level expectations of how employers should be engaging in workplace training and the practicalities of employer engagement at…

We explore the relationship between training and innovation using key insights from the resource-based approach, organizational learning and labour studies. By using data from 304 large enterprises in Italy, the study highlights a twofold role of training in favouring technological and organizational changes. First, training plays a role in…

Over the past four decades, governments in the least developed countries (LDCs--a categorization adopted by the United Nations) have been attempting to improve the skills and knowledge of their public servants by providing local and international training programs. Despite these training activities, however, many LDCs continue to experience acute…

Although employer-supported training may be beneficial to all stakeholders, some workers have difficulty accessing it, and a surprising number of workers decline some or all of it when it is offered. We present a conceptual model that uses four categories to define workers according to whether or not they are excluded from, participate in and/or…

Training and development activities in Bangladesh have yet to be systematic and able to fulfil the needs of the economy and industry. The national educational and training system failed to provide adequate knowledge and skills to the workforce. However, private sector organizations are undertaking different initiatives to cope with the industry…

The overall objective of this paper is to determine, through a qualitative case study of the Dutch sectoral training system, factors associated with successful employer engagement. As well as examining the key features of the Dutch approach to vocational education and training (VET), the article makes a number of specific arguments: (1) employer…

Sectoral levelling funds are an arrangement aimed at alleviating a well-known theoretical problem of underinvestment in worker training because of free-rider behaviour of firms. In the Netherlands, collective agreements require firms to participate in such funds in a number of sectors. Using a comprehensive dataset of Dutch firms, we attempt to…

In this paper, we analyse the transition to the labor market of participants in vocational training in Madeira in Portugal. The analysis is in two stages. First, we investigate how the employment status at different dates (1 month, 1 year, and 2 years after the completion of the training program) depends on relevant variables, such as age, gender,…

This article argues that discourse analysis can be utilized in conjunction with other forms of analysis to develop a more critical teaching and research agenda for Human Resource Development (HRD); in particular this article suggests that the introduction of a discourse analysis perspective can support and facilitate the development of critically…

Interviews with 26 Greek companies involved in electronic activity revealed few major differences in recruiting information/communications technology (ICT) specialists and extensive use of outsourcing, especially by small firms. Those with recruiting difficulties thought ICT education was inadequate. Informal learning was important, but lack of…

Responses from 97 of 500 British employers identified minimum and preferred qualifications for new employees. A substantial number specified no minimum level. Most do not value National Vocational Qualifications and favor academic qualifications for higher-status occupations. Those who specified minimum qualifications were more likely to train…

Review of national systems identified four models of skill development: (1) market, dominated by capital; (2) corporatist, with more direct government involvement; (3) developmental state, in which government played the leading role; and (4) neo-market, in which highly centralized economic systems resulted in structural weaknesses and…

Surveys of British businesses over 12 years identified awareness, understanding, and implementation of National Vocational Qualifications/Scottish Vocational Qualifications. Despite high awareness, understanding was impaired by lack of information. The system has had limited impact on economic competitiveness and its value and significance to the…