Determinants and Effects of Worker-Initiated Training: Learning about Required Job Skills at the Workplace

Hiromi Hara

No e106, Working Papers from Tokyo Center for Economic Research

Abstract: There are two main channels for a worker to accumulate human capital; firm-provided training and worker-initiated training (jiko-keihatu). This study focuses on worker-initiated training---a learning activity to improve one's job skills outside of work hours at one's own expense---and examines the motivation underpinning it and its effects on wage growth, skill development, and job opportunities using a unique survey of Japanese workers. While the results indicate that there is no statistically significant immediate increase in wages from worker-initiated training, thus perhaps causing workers to be hesitant to engage in it, it is also shown that worker-initiated training improves job skills and enhances job opportunities, which suggests that it could lead to a wage increase in the future. In addition, those who receive guidance from their supervisors about required skills at the workplace, and thus some insight into desirable work-related skills, are more likely to engage in worker-initiated training than those who have not received such guidance. Moreover, those who within the past three years participated in firm-provided training, the other opportunity for a worker to learn about required skills at the workplace, are also more likely to participate in worker-initiated training. These results suggest that the introduction of a system to better inform workers about required job skills and the possible long-term effects of worker-initiated training could be effective in promoting it.

Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2016-04
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.tcer.or.jp/wp/pdf/e106.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tcr:wpaper:e106

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Tokyo Center for Economic Research Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().