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Apprenticeship Training – What for? Investment in Human Capital or Substitute for Cheap Labour?

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Author Info
Jens Mohrenweiser () (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich)
Uschi Backes-Gellner () (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich)

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Abstract

Apprenticeship training in Germany is generally considered to be an investment of companies into the human capital of their apprentices. This view is mainly based on the German cost benefit studies which testify training firms high net costs for their apprenticeships, but these results have not been reconfirmed by other types of data or methods. We show that motiva-tions for apprenticeship training are not homogeneous: some firms follow an investment strategy and others follow a substitution strategy. We derive an empirical method to identify different training strategies which can be used with publicly available company data. Accord-ing to our classification, we find that in Germany 18.5 percent of all companies follow a sub-stitution strategy and 43.75 percent to follow an investment strategy; the rest is mixed or un-determined. In a second step we estimate the determinants for a substitution strategy. We find sizeable differences between sectors with different skill requirements and between firms’ cov-erage of industrial relations.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU) in its series Economics of Education Working Paper Series with number 0017.

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Length: 22 pages
Date of creation: May 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iso:educat:0017

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Related research
Keywords: Apprenticeship Training; Human Capital Investments; Substitution Effects;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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  1. Kathrin Goeggel & Thomas Zwick, 2009. "Good Occupation – Bad Occupation? The Quality of Apprenticeship Training," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0045, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU). [Downloadable!]
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  2. Mohrenweiser, Jens & Zwick, Thomas, 2008. "Why Do Firms Train Apprentices? The Net Cost Puzzle Reconsidered," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-019, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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