Individual Barriers to Firm Training Participation: Evidence from a Large-Scale Experiment among Employees

We randomly assign all respondents to a control group or a treatment group. The treatment group receives general information about the positive returns to firm training and a short text highlighting that acquiring new skills is possible at any age.

Respondents in the control group receive no information.

Participants will answer our survey questions via an online platform.
Participants will participate in the experiment via an online platform.
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups (control group and treatment group).

For the treatment group, the experiment is structured as follows:
Stage 1 [Belief elicitation]:
“How much do you agree with the following statements?
- Participation in firm training increases my salary in the long term.
- Participation in firm training improves my career opportunities in the long term.
- I can improve in my professional tasks through practice.
- The skills you bring with you are more important than any effort.
- I would find it easy to learn new things as part of further training.
- The fact that I am no longer used to learning prevents me from taking part in further training.”

Participants indicate their agreement on a 5-point Likert scale (I strongly agree, I tend to agree, neither, I tend to disagree, I strongly disagree) for each statement separately.

We construct two indices, one for beliefs about financial-returns and one for learning barriers summarizing the responses to the individual statements. Items 1 and 2 are intended to measure beliefs about financial-returns, items 3-6 beliefs about learning barriers.

Stage 2 [Information provision]:
Treatment group:
“Participation in further training ensures that employees' skills keep pace with technological change. Studies of the German labor market have shown that firm training protects against job loss and often leads to higher wages in the long term.

After a long break from learning, learning new skills through firm training can seem challenging. However, numerous studies show that you can improve or relearn your skills through regular practice well into old age.”

Stage 3 [Outcome questions]: After the information provision, members of the treatment and control group will be asked about their likelihood of participating in firm training 1) without any costs and 2) when they have to forgo part of their wage (see outcome questions below):

“Imagine your employer offers you the opportunity to take part in 80 hours of firm training (equivalent to about 2 weeks full-time) that takes place during working hours.
How likely is it that you will accept the offer...
... if the costs of firm training are covered fully by the employer: ... %
... if you have to bear part of the costs of firm training amounting to 20% of your current net monthly salary yourself: ... %”

For the control group, Stage 1 [Belief elicitation] and Stage 3 [Outcome question] will be identical, but they will not receive any information (Stage 2).

2024-04-15

2024-05-31

Our primary outcome is respondents’ likelihood of participation in firm training.

The outcome question on the likelihood of participation in firm training:
“How likely is it that you will accept the offer...
... if the costs of firm training are covered fully by the employer: ... %
... if you have to bear part of the costs of firm training amounting to 20% of your current net monthly salary yourself: ... %”

To answer this question, respondents can indicate a number from 0 to 100.
We construct a summary index out of both outcomes.

We further give respondents the possibility to acquire information about firm training opportunities. We will use this information acquisition as an additional outcome measuring planned training participation.

We further plan to investigate treatment effect heterogeneity with respect to
(i) respondents’ prior beliefs
(ii) respondents’ own educational attainment/skill level
(iii) respondents’ age

Additionally, we will perform an exploratory analysis on further heterogeneities by respondents’ type of job (e.g., job characteristics, exposure to structural change), prior firm training participation, and further respondent characteristics.

The question on whether respondents would like to receive further information about firm training is worded as follows:
“Are you interested in firm training?
The Federal Employment Agency offers an online portal where you can search for the right firm training for you in order to make specific suggestions to your employer. The courses offered there are often co-financed by the employer.
Would you like to receive a link to the online portal at the end of the survey? Yes/No”

We conduct the experiment in a sample of 3,000 employees in Germany aged 25 to 55 years. The survey is conducted in cooperation with Talk Online Panel. The recruitment and polling is managed by Talk Online Panel, who collect the data via an online platform. That is, our participants answer the survey questions autonomously on their own digital devices. Randomization is carried out by Qualtrics, the survey provider at the individual level, using a computer.

Our experiment is structured as follows:
Respondents will be randomly assigned (between subject) to treatment (probability = 1/2) or the control group (probability = 1/2).

Sequence of events in the treatment group:
1. Belief elicitation
2. Information provision
3. Outcome

Sequence of events in the control group is the same apart from step 2.

Randomization is carried out by the randomizer of the survey platform, using a computer.

At the individual level

No

3,000

3,000, 1/2 (approximately 1,500) will be assigned to each of the two experimental groups.

1,500 control group, 1,500 treatment group

None