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Why do more educated workers experience lower unemployment rates and lower employment volatility? Empirically, these workers have similar job finding rates but much lower and less volatile separation rates than their less educated peers. We argue that on-the-job training, being complementary to formal education, is the reason for this pattern. Using a search and matching model with endogenous separations, we show that investments in match-specific human capital reduce incentives to separate but leave the job finding rate essentially unaffected. The model generates unemployment dynamics quantitatively consistent with the data. Finally, we provide novel empirical evidence supporting the mechanism studied in the article.

Over the past decade, virtual reality (VR) has re-emerged as a popular technology trend. This is mainly due to the recent investments from technology companies that are improving VR systems while increasing consumer access and interest. Amongst many applications of VR, one area that is particularly promising is for pedagogy. The immersive, experiential learning offered by VR provides new training and learning opportunities driven by the latest versions of affordable, highly immersive and easy to use head mounted display (HMD) systems. VR has been tested as a tool for training across diverse settings with varying levels of success in the past. However, there is a lack of recent review studies that investigates the effectiveness, advantages, limitations, and feasibility of using VR HMDs in training. This review aims to investigate the extent to which VR applications are useful in training, specifically for professional skill and safety training contexts. In this paper, we present the results from a systematic review of the effectiveness of VR-based simulation training from the past 30 years. As a secondary aim, the methodological trends of application and practical challenges of implementing VR in training curriculum were also assessed. The results suggest that there is generally high acceptance amongst trainees for VR-based training regardless of the technology limitations, usability challenges and cybersickness. There is evidence that VR is useful for training cognitive skills, such as spatial memory, learning and remembering procedures and psychomotor skills. VR is also found to be a good alternative where on the job training is either impossible or unsafe to implement. However, many training effectiveness studies reviewed lack experimental robustness due to limited study participants and questionable assessment methods. These results map out the current known strengths and weaknesses of VR HMDs and provide insight into required future research areas as the new era of VR HMD’s evolve.

This paper uses firm-level panel data of on-the-job training to estimate its impact on productivity and wages. To this end, we apply and extend the control function approach for estimating production functions, which allows us to correct for the endogeneity of input factors and training. We find that the productivity premium of a trained worker is substantially higher compared to the wage premium. Our results are consistent with recent theories that explain work-related training by imperfect competition in the labor market.

Organizations in the United States alone spend billions on training each year. These training and development activities allow organizations to adapt, compete, excel, innovate, produce, be safe, improve service, and reach goals. Training has successfully been used to reduce errors in such high-risk settings as emergency rooms, aviation, and the military. However, training is also important in more conventional organizations. These organizations understand that training helps them to remain competitive by continually educating their workforce. They understand that investing in their employees yields greater results. However, training is not as intuitive as it may seem. There is a science of training that shows that there is a right way and a wrong way to design, deliver, and implement a training program. The research on training clearly shows two things: (a) training works, and (b) the way training is designed, delivered, and implemented matters. This article aims to explain why training is important and how to use training appropriately. Using the training literature as a guide, we explain what training is, why it is important, and provide recommendations for implementing a training program in an organization. In particular, we argue that training is a systematic process, and we explain what matters before, during, and after training. Steps to take at each of these three time periods are listed and described and are summarized in a checklist for ease of use. We conclude with a discussion of implications for both leaders and policymakers and an exploration of issues that may come up when deciding to implement a training program. Furthermore, we include key questions that executives and policymakers should ask about the design, delivery, or implementation of a training program. Finally, we consider future research that is important in this area, including some still unanswered questions and room for development in this evolving field.

The previous literature has extensively examined the effect of firm-level bribery on firm performance but not through on-the-job training. This paper investigates the impact of paying bribes on the firm’s investment decisions in on-the-job training and offers mediating implications of corruption on firm performance. We empirically examine the relationship between bribery and on-the-job training using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys consisting of a sample of 94 developing countries with 20,601 firms. The findings show that bribery and on-the-job training intensity affects real annual sales growth rates negatively and positively, respectively. Furthermore, firms exposed to more bribery reduce their on-the-job training intensity. The results are robust to the different classifications of the firm’s size, different subsamples, and controls for the endogeneity of the on-the-job training and bribery.Plain English SummaryCan bribery be an obstacle for the firm’s investment in on-the-job training and, therefore, its performance? When firms are exposed to higher costs due to bribery, they may be forced to shift their resources from efficient uses. For instance, training is one way of using the resources efficiently as it will increase labor productivity, and, therefore, decrease average production costs. Analyzing a large firm-level data, we find that if firms are exposed to more bribery, they tend to offer lower training to their employees, and their performance worsens. Thus, the main policy implication of this paper is that governments should provide some types of subsidies for the provision of on-the-job training. Improving firm performance through training would also improve the country’s prosperity, which in turn could eliminate corruption. Henceforth, the vicious cycle between bribery, education, and development could be broken down.

We design a labor market experiment to compare demand-and supply-side policies to tackle youth unemployment, a key issue in low-income countries. The experiment tracks 1700 workers and 1500 firms over four years to compare the effect of offering workers either vocational training (VT) or firm-provided training (FT) for six months in a common setting where youth unemployment is above 60%. Relative to control workers, we find that, averaged over three post-intervention years, FT and VT workers: (i) enjoy large and similar upticks in sector-specific skills, (ii) significantly improve their employment rates, and (iii) experience marked improvements in an index of labor market outcomes. These averages, however, mask differences in dynamics: FT gains materialize quickly but fade over time, while VT gains emerge slowly but are longlasting, leading VT worker employment and earning profiles to rise above those of FT workers. Estimating a job ladder model of worker search reveals the key reason for this: VT workers receive significantly higher rates of job offers when unemployed, thus hastening their movement back into work. This likely stems from the fact that the skills of VT workers are certified and therefore can be demonstrated to potential employers. Tackling youth unemployment by skilling youth using vocational training pre-labor market entry therefore appears to be more effective than incentivizing firms through wage subsidies to hire and train young labor market entrants.

Purpose This paper aims to discuss innovations in the training and development practices of companies and delineate a new approach to training and development in the context of the hybrid workplace using the ADDIE and Kirkpatrick training models. Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses innovations in training and development in modern times and builds on the instructional training design approach or the ADDIE Model and the Kirkpatrick Model of training evaluation. Findings The paper presents new approaches to training and development in the context of the hybrid work model applying the ADDIE Model and the Kirkpatrick Model. These new approaches are both necessitated and also made possible due to the technological advancements of modern times. Originality/value With the rapid transition of companies to the hybrid model of work in recent times, several human resource management practices need to be transformed to suit the requirements of the new work model. Training and development is one function that needs to change in the hybrid work model to ensure its effectiveness. This paper analyses innovations in the training and development practices of companies and discusses new approaches while applying existing training models, the ADDIE and Kirkpatrick Models, to adapt to the changes associated with the hybrid work model.

Introduction Abdominal pain is a leading cause of primary care visits and emergency department admissions. The recent surge in the implementation of point-of-care ultrasound into primary care underscores the necessity for specialized training to enhance the expertise of primary care physicians and foster a positive attitude toward its routine use in clinical activities. Methods This prospective cohort study, conducted between March and August 2023 at Ben Gurion University, introduced an integrative abdominal ultrasound program for 48 participating primary care physicians with no prior formal experience in abdominal ultrasound. Physicians' knowledge, practical skills, and attitudes towards abdominal ultrasound integration were evaluated using a pre/post-course clips-based pathology test, a hands-on exam immediately following the course, and a survey conducted ten weeks later. Results Post-course evaluations showed an improvement in primary care physicians' proficiency with hands-on skills, increasing from 26 to 69% ( p  < 0.001), with increased comfort using abdominal ultrasound (from 0 to 42%, p  < 0.001) and enhanced understanding of its capabilities and limitations (from 0 to 58%, p  < 0.001). Pattern recognition skills, assessed through clips, presented a notable rise from an average of 26% to 69% ( p  < 0.001). Ten weeks following the training, an increase in its utilization was observed; weekly usage rose from zero to 44%, and the proportion not using it declined from 94 to 19% ( p  < 0.001, p  < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions An integrative two-day training program increases the application of abdominal bedside ultrasound in clinical settings, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining practical training with flexible, theoretical learning.

This study estimates the labor market effects of a work-first policy aimed at speeding up the labor market integration of refugees. The policy added new requirements for refugees to actively search for jobs and to participate in on-the-job training immediately upon arrival in the host country, Denmark. The requirements were added to an existing policy that emphasizes human capital investments in language training. The results show that the work-first policy speeded up entry into regular jobs formen, but they find work in precarious jobs with few hours. Long-run effects are uncertain since the policy crowds out language investments but raises enrollment in education. The policy had no or very small effects for women, which is partly explained by a lower treatment intensity for women.

The firm’s stock of human capital is an important determinant of its ability to innovate. As such, any increase in this stock through firm-sponsored training might lead to more innovation. The author tests this hypothesis using detailed data on firms’ human capital investments and innovation performance from the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey, 1999–2006. The regression results, including workplace fixed effects and allowing for time-varying productivity shocks, demonstrate that more training leads to more product and process innovation, with on-the-job training playing a role that is as important as classroom training. Results from an event history analysis show, however, that this impact fades over time.