What about us? A vignette study explaining training preferences by contract type and skill specificity

Abstract

To enhance their employability, workers rely on the development of human capital through work‐related training. While several studies investigate actual levels of training participation, far less is known about the preferences of workers. This study uses a vignette experiment to shed a light on this matter. Based on human capital theory, signaling theory, and insights from the new employment relationship, it is hypothesized that preferences for training depend on the kind of skills at which the training aims (organization‐specific, sector‐specific, or general) in combination with the type of employment contract (open‐ended versus temporary). These hypotheses are tested using 2,946 responses of 982 workers from the Netherlands (3 vignettes per respondent). The results show that contracts and training type have a combined effect: workers with open‐ended contracts have a stronger preference for organization‐specific skills than temporary workers and temporary workers have stronger preference for general skills than workers open‐ended contracts. At the same time, workers with open‐ended contracts also prefer training aimed at general skills over organization‐specific training. Finally, it is concluded that workers with temporary contracts receive less training in practice than they prefer.