So Similar and Yet So Different: A Comparative Analysis of a Firm's Cost and Benefits of Apprenticeship Training in Austria and Switzerland

Luca Moretti, Martin Mayerl, Samuel Mühlemann (), Peter Schlögl () and Stefan Wolter
Additional contact information
Martin Mayerl: Austrian Institute for Research on Vocational Training (ÖIBF)
Samuel Mühlemann: University of Munich
Peter Schlögl: University of Klagenfurt
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Samuel Muehlemann

No 11081, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The authors compare a firm's costs and benefits of providing apprenticeship training in Austria and Switzerland, using two original micro data sets. While both countries share a number of similarities, including an extensive vocational education and training (VET) system, and a common border, there are some important institutional differences. On average, a Swiss firm generates a net profit of 3400 Euro per apprentice and per year of training, while an Austrian firm incurs net costs of 4200 Euro. Applying matching models, we find that this difference is largely driven by a higher relative apprentice pay in Austria, which in turn is associated with collective bargaining agreements and competition with alternative school-based VET pathways. However, Austrian firms can still generate a return on their training investment, partly due to wage subsidies, but mostly by retaining a high share of apprentices as skilled workers, and thereby save on future hiring costs.

Keywords: initial VET; cost-benefit analysis; apprenticeship training; hiring costs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J31 J44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41 pages
Date: 2017-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published - published as 'So similar and yet so different: A firm's net costs and post-training benefits from apprenticeship training in Austria and Switzerland' in: Evidence Based HRM, 2019, 7 (2), 229-246.

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Working Paper: So Similar and yet so Different: A Comparative Analysis of a Firm's Cost and Benefits of Apprenticeship Training in Austria and Switzerland (2017)
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