The Declining Volume of Workers’ Training in Britain

Abstract

The conventional focus on the training participation rate, rather than training volume, in official statistics and research has obscured a radical transformation in workers' training in Britain. To obtain a picture of the trend in training volume, we synthesize a narrative through a new analysis of multiple surveys. The duration of training fell sharply with the result that the training volume per worker declined by about a half between 1997 and 2012. This fall is hard to reconcile with optimistic rhetoric surrounding the knowledge economy. Potential explanations are discussed. We conclude with recommendations to improve the collection of training statistics.

Rethinking country effects: robotics, AI and work futures in Norway and the UK

“…3 Norway has been praised for its high-quality vocational education and training (VET) system, developed through a social partnership approach (Payne 2006). By contrast, the UK suffers from long-standing weaknesses in VET and has experienced a dramatic decline in the volume of employer training over the last 25 years (Green et al, 2015).…”

“…A National Retraining Partnership was established in 2018 by the government, with representatives from the TUC and CBI (Confederation of British Industry), to focus on adult learning in response to changes in the economy, 'including as a result of automation' (HM Government 2017). Details are sketchy but it will be operating in the context of lack of union voice in training at government or organisational level, substantial reductions in state funding since 2010, and two decades of declining employer training (Green et al, 2015).…”

Conceiving, designing and trailing a short‐form measure of job quality: a proof‐of‐concept study

“…This includes the role workers play in conceiving of the tasks to be done, what level of discretion they are able to exercise in carrying them out and what range of tasks their jobs involve (Braverman, 1974;Fox, 1974;Thompson and Smith, 2010). Similarly, more recent interest has focused on the security of work, the quality of training offered, the levels of work effort, the opportunities workers have to put their qualifications and skills to good use and the ability they have to combine work and family life Green et al, 2016b;Green, 2013 andGregory, 2016). Interest in job quality extends beyond economists and sociologists and includes others such as work psychologists.…”

Occupational propensity for training in a late industrial society: evidence from Russia

“…The participation rate in continuing adult education and training is generally considered very high worldwide (Arulampalam et al ., ; Bosch & Charest, ; O'Connell, ; Sala & Silva, ) and the returns of training are positive and substantial (Booth & Bryan, ; Brunello et al ., ; Dearden et al ., ). However, there are signs of falling training volumes among non‐manual occupations in some of the advanced industrial societies, representing a trend away from the knowledge economy (Green et al ., ). Further evidence comes from Russia.…”

“…Although it has reached the mature stage of industrial development, researchers are still sceptical of the idea that Russia can be characterized as a fully fledged knowledge economy (Anikin, ). The training participation rate in Russia is unexpectedly low and training is mainly received within a few occupations (Anikin, ; Sabirianova, ; Travkin & Sharunina, ), which contributes to a considerable critique of the knowledge economy theory (Green et al ., ; Livingstone, ).…”