It’s the routine, stupid! (Or is it?)

Abstract This study investigates the relationship between workplace tasks and participation in work-related continuing training in Germany between 1986 and 1989. This was a period of significant social change commonly associated with “deindustrialization”. Based on a task-based approach and the assumption of routine-biased technological change it is assumed that the routine nature of work tasks correlates with their susceptibility to automation and, consequently, with the risk of substitution. To protect from this risk, employers and employees may have different motivations for an employee’s participation in vocational training programs. Using data from the Socio-Economic Panel and the Qualification and Career Survey, the results of logistic regression models reveal that routine tasks were not a consistent predictor of vocational training participation. Instead, employees in predominantly manual occupations were consistently less likely to participate in such training, regardless of whether it was employer- or employee-driven. These findings highlight the complexity of vocational training participation during a time of rapid economic and technological change, suggesting that occupational characteristics beyond classical factors such as education and other individual and company related characteristics may have had an impact. In particular, the manual nature of work may have played an important role in shaping vocational training behavior. This underlines the nuanced barriers faced by certain segments of the workforce in accessing professional development opportunities during periods of rapid economic and technological change.