Employee representatives’ influence on continuing vocational training: The impact of institutional context

Abstract

What factors determine the involvement of employee representatives in continuing vocational training? This article uses data from the European Company Survey 2009 to examine firm-level and country-level characteristics in 27 European Union (EU) countries. Multilevel logistic regressions indicate that employee representatives increase the probability of companies providing training needs assessments and time off for training. This association is stronger for disadvantaged groups of employees (low-skilled or temporary employees) if the representatives receive support from encompassing collective agreements, strong trade unions or regular training.