Persistence in the determination of work-related training participation: evidence from the BHPS, 1991-1997

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the role of workers’ training history in determining current training incidence. The analysis is conducted on an unbalanced sample comprising information on approximately 5000 employees from the first seven waves of the BHPS. Training participation is modelled as a dynamic random effects probit model where the effects of unobserved heterogeneity and initial conditions are accounted for in a fashion consistent with methods proposed by Chamberlain (1984) and Wooldridge (2005) respectively. The results suggest that prior training experience is a significant determinant of a worker's participation in a current training episode comparable with other formal educational qualifications.