IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ilrrev/v53y2000i2p219-239.html

School-to-Work Programs in the United States: A Multi-Firm Case Study of Training, Benefits, and Costs

Author

Listed:
  • Laurie J. Bassi
  • Jens Ludwig

Abstract

This paper provides one of the first detailed analyses of the training and finances of school-to-work (STW) programs in the United States. The data are from case studies of seven STW programs sponsored by firms of diverse size, type, and location. In almost every case, the firm paid at least some of the costs of general training. Most firms recoup some of these costs through rents captured by hiring former apprentices, but only in two cases do benefits seem likely to outweigh costs. The findings suggest that certain imperfections in American labor markets—for example, compensation below marginal product for some workers, and a gap between productivity and wages that increases with workers' skill levels—motivate firms to invest in general skills, but these labor market imperfections may not be great enough to allow firms to sustain STW programs over the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Laurie J. Bassi & Jens Ludwig, 2000. "School-to-Work Programs in the United States: A Multi-Firm Case Study of Training, Benefits, and Costs," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 53(2), pages 219-239, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:53:y:2000:i:2:p:219-239
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390005300203
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001979390005300203
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/001979390005300203?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daron Acemoglu & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1999. "The Structure of Wages and Investment in General Training," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(3), pages 539-572, June.
    2. Acemoglu, Daron & Pischke, Jorn-Steffen, 1999. "Beyond Becker: Training in Imperfect Labour Markets," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(453), pages 112-142, February.
    3. Lisa M. Lynch, 1994. "Training and the Private Sector: International Comparisons," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number lync94-1, March.
    4. Thomas J. Kane & Dietmar Harhoff, 1997. "Is the German apprenticeship system a panacea for the U.S. labor market?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 10(2), pages 171-196.
    5. Robert H. Topel, 1997. "Factor Proportions and Relative Wages: The Supply-Side Determinants of Wage Inequality," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 55-74, Spring.
    6. John M. Barron & Mark C. Berger & Dan A. Black, 1999. "Do Workers Pay for On-The-Job Training?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(2), pages 235-252.
    7. Daron Acemoglu & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 1998. "Why Do Firms Train? Theory and Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(1), pages 79-119.
    8. Lynch, Lisa M. (ed.), 1994. "Training and the Private Sector," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226498102.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ramadhani Marijani & Jesper Katomero & Asha Hayeshi & Justine Kajerero, 2023. "The Impact of Field-Based Practical Training on Job Performance in Tanzania: Perspectives From Students and Work Supervisors," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Francis C. Anyim & Cyril Oseloka Ikemefuna & A. Oluseyi Shadare, 2011. "Internal Versus External Staffing in Nigeria: Cost-Benefit Implications," Journal of Management and Strategy, Journal of Management and Strategy, Sciedu Press, vol. 2(4), pages 35-42, December.
    3. Clark, Damon & Fahr, René, 2001. "The Promise of Workplace Training for Non-College-Bound Youth: Theory and Evidence from German Apprenticeship," IZA Discussion Papers 378, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Harry Holzer, 2012. "Good workers for good jobs: improving education and workforce systems in the US," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-19, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohrenweiser, Jens & Zwick, Thomas, 2009. "Why do firms train apprentices? The net cost puzzle reconsidered," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 631-637, December.
    2. Christian Dustmann & Uta Schoenberg, 2007. "Apprenticeship Training and Commitment to Training Provision," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0032, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    3. Michael Gerfin, 2003. "Work-Related Training and Wages: An empirical analysis for male workers in Switzerland," Diskussionsschriften dp0316, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    4. Paul Ryan, 2001. "The School-to-Work Transition: A Cross-National Perspective," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 34-92, March.
    5. Anke S. Kessler & Christoph Lülfesmann, 2006. "The Theory of Human Capital Revisited: on the Interaction of General and Specific Investments," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(514), pages 903-923, October.
    6. Miriam Rinawi & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2020. "Firms’ method of pay and the retention of apprentices," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(1), pages 269-291.
    7. Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2001. "Continuous training in Germany," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(3), pages 523-548.
    8. Mohrenweiser, Jens & Zwick, Thomas & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2013. "Poaching and firm-sponsored training: First clean evidence," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-037, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. Giorgio Brunello & Maria De Paola, 2004. "Market Failures and the Under-Provision of Training," CESifo Working Paper Series 1286, CESifo.
    10. Michael Gerfin & Robert E. Leu & Reto Nyffeler, 2003. "Berufliche Weiterbildung in der Schweiz," Diskussionsschriften dp0318, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    11. Andrew Sharpe & James Gibson, 2005. "The Apprenticeship System in Canada: Trends and Issues," CSLS Research Reports 2005-04, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
    12. Christian Dustmann & Uta Schönberg, 2009. "Training and Union Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 363-376, May.
    13. Rita Asplund, 2005. "The Provision and Effects of Company Training: A Brief Review of the Literature," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 31, pages 47-73.
    14. Malcomson, James M. & Maw, James W. & McCormick, Barry, 2003. "General training by firms, apprentice contracts, and public policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 197-227, April.
    15. Yanick Labrie & Claude Montmarquette, 2005. "La formation qualifiante et transférable en milieu de travail," CIRANO Project Reports 2005rp-04, CIRANO.
    16. Malcomson, James M. & Maw, James W. & McCormick, Barry, 2003. "General training by firms, apprentice contracts, and public policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 197-227, April.
    17. John S Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn & Annika Pfister, 2020. "Product market competition and employer provided training in Germany," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 29(2), pages 533-556.
    18. Samuel Muehlemann & Juerg Schweri & Rainer Winkelmann & Stefan C. Wolter, 2007. "An Empirical Analysis of the Decision to Train Apprentices," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 21(3), pages 419-441, September.
    19. Wagner, Robert & Wolf, Maximilian, 2013. "What drives the intention of Bavarian crafts apprentices to change employer or occupation? : an empirical study in the crafts sector," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 46(1), pages 43-60.
    20. Bassanini, Andrea & Booth, Alison L. & Brunello, Giorgio & De Paola, Maria & Leuven, Edwin, 2005. "Workplace Training in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 1640, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:53:y:2000:i:2:p:219-239. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.