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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.

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 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.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a recent training programme for graduates, implemented in Italy and entitled Work Experience Laureati and Laureate, i.e. Work Experience for Graduates. The aim of the programme was to increase the career prospects of unemployed graduates in the region of Umbria. Design/methodology/approach The authors rely on administrative data and matching methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in terms of employability of participants. Findings The results show that participants are more likely to be employed and to sign an apprenticeship contract within the region boundaries. The authors also find substantial differences in employability and type of contract by gender, with men having a higher probability of finding a job (permanent contract and apprenticeship). The authors show that this may be explained by the different choices in terms of field of study, with males being more prone to enrol in scientific areas and females in the humanities. Research limitations/implications It is an intervention implemented in one Italian region. Originality/value This is one of the few studies that analyses the effectiveness of active labour market policies targeting unemployed graduates, especially in the Italian context. The authors rely on different administrative data sources that allow them to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.

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.

Objectives The efficacy and safety of a sedation regimen combining dexmedetomidine and midazolam during endoscopic submucosal dissection for upper gastrointestinal tumors remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this sedation regimen, where non‐anesthesiologists performed sedation. Methods Sixty‐eight patients who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection for upper gastrointestinal tumors, sedated by non‐anesthesiologists, were retrospectively evaluated. The sedation was performed by non‐anesthesiologists as part of on‐the‐job training (OJT) under anesthesiologists' supervision. Each non‐anesthesiologist received OJT at least thrice. Proficiency levels were assessed during the third OJT session. The target sedation depth was a Richmond Agitation‐Sedation Scale of −2 to −4, with 2 L/min of oxygen delivered via a nasal cannula at sedation initiation. The treatment completion rates, which measured efficacy and safety, were assessed by the frequencies of respiratory depression, hypotension, and bradycardia. Results The study included 14, 52, and two patients with superficial esophageal cancer, early gastric cancer, and gastric adenoma, respectively. The median treatment time was 68 and 84 min for superficial esophageal cancer, early gastric cancer, and adenoma, respectively. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was completed in all patients. No severe sedation‐related adverse events were reported; however, peripheral arterial oxygen saturation <90%, hypotension, and bradycardia occurred in 1 (1.5%), 30 (44.1%), and 30 patients (44.1%), respectively. All 22 non‐anesthesiologists who underwent the proficiency evaluation passed the test. Conclusions A sedation regimen combining dexmedetomidine and midazolam can be feasibly administered by non‐anesthesiologists. Further studies are needed to verify the effectiveness of OJT.

The paper looks at and compares two methods of on-the-job training: formal training and learning by doing. The former involves an intensive training period prior to the employee directly taking on the position for which he or she was hired for, while the latter, the employee begins immediately and is expected to learn on his or her own through experience over time. The former method allows less room for shirking but involves a period of investment in the form of the value of output or service that is effectively foregone as a result of the more resource-intensive training regime. Perhaps surprisingly, even if the formal training program does not significantly improve upon the probability of future success in production or service provision, formal training can provide higher net benefits to the training firm than learning by doing because the savings from the reduction in shirking can be greater than the cost of foregone output.

PurposeIndian government initiated several skill development policies and different types of vocational education and training (VET). Yet the participation in skill education is low because of poor labour market outcomes. This paper aims to calculate returns to skill education to understand the type of training that will have better labour market outcomes.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper nationally representative data from the periodic labour force survey (PLFS), collected by the national sample survey office for 2017–2018, are used to estimate the returns to formal and non-formal VET obtained (after different levels of general education) with the help of Heckman's two-stage method.FindingsNearly 8% of the working-age population has received some form of VET (mostly non-formal), generating poor returns. For the overall population, formal on-job training (OJT) and full-time VET influence wage positively and significantly. Full-time VET obtained after secondary and below levels of education generates positive returns, whereas part-time VET is profitable only to those without formal education. At the graduate level, technical education obtained along with VET is associated with better wages.Originality/valueIn India where a considerable proportion of the workforce is employed in the informal sector, different types of skill training like full-time, part-time and OJT influence labour market outcomes. This finding has policy implication for countries with large informal sector and calls for further research in such countries.

PurposeThis paper investigates the relationship between labour hoarding practices and training investments during severe economic downturns focusing on the case of Italy during the Great Recession.Design/methodology/approachData come from the 2010 Italian wave of Continuing Vocational Training Survey (CVTS). Econometric estimates plug a proxy of labour hoarding into the probability function that firms provide either off-the-job or on-the-job training. A bivariate selectivity probit model is also used for robustness sake.FindingsResults show that labour hoarding should not be considered as an enhancer of training investments when considered as a standing-alone practice in presence of severe and deep economic downturn. However, labour hoarding does not penalize off-the-job training investments if it occurs in an innovative firm or in a firm that perceive specific skill requirements in the workforce during the recessionary period.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the debate on the role of labour hoarding during severe recessions by showing that it cannot be functional to re-oriented firms’ investments aimed at upskilling their workforce. It is only compatible with new training courses that accompany the workforce across a technological transition. Policy implications deals with the suitability of job retention schemes or state-financed furlough during recessions, as occurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Using administrative database containing work history and programme participation for the entire national workforce, the paper evaluates Slovenia’s four main active labour market programmes: institutional training, on-the-job training, wage subsidies and public works. The studied outcomes range from post-unemployment employment probability and job quality to cumulative effects on employment and earnings over the longer run, and also include programmes’ cost-effectiveness. We identify programme effects by comparing outcomes of treatment and control groups using propensity score matching. The results show that the programmes perform rather well judged both by their impact on labour market outcomes and by their cost-effectiveness: except for public works, all programmes are found to have a net benefit in terms of government expenditures. Our results are robust to time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity in the treatment and control groups, as we corroborate the baseline propensity score matching results with a difference-in-difference estimator.