Digitization and on-the-job training: employees who perform tasks that can be substituted by modern technology participate less in further training

Abstract

"The labor market consequences of digitization become more and more evident, and the resulting changes of sectors, occupations, and the demand for skills constitute substantial challenges for employers and employees. To cope with these challenges and to maintain their productivity on the labor market, employees need more on-the-job training and lifelong learning -particularly, those who perform skills that are substitutes to modern technologies. However, recent evidence from the National Education Panel Study (NEPS) shows that particularly employees who perform routine tasks (i.e., tasks that are prone to be replaced by modern technologies) participate substantially less in on-the-job training than those who perform non-routine tasks. Moreover, the results reveal that differences in education and other individual labor market characteristics cannot explain the training gap between routine and non-routine workers. In contrast, differences in companies' training policies and the financial support of employers appear to explain a large share of the training gap." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Heß, P., Janssen, S. & Leber, U. (2019): Digitalisierung und berufliche Weiterbildung: Beschäftigte, deren Tätigkeiten durch Technologien ersetzbar sind, bilden sich seltener weiter. (IAB-Kurzbericht 16/2019), Nürnberg, 8 p.