Sources of Training and Their Impact on Wages

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth from 1986 to 1990, the author investigates the wage impact of various sources of training—among them, company training programs, apprenticeships, business schools, vocational and technical institutes, correspondence courses, and seminars outside the workplace. Time spent in training (of whatever kind) apparently did not affect 1990 wage levels. The incidence of two kinds of training, however—company training and seminars outside work—was positively related to wage levels as well as to wage change between 1986 and 1990; that is, workers who undertook such training enjoyed higher wages than those who did not. Time spent in vocational schools was also positively associated with wage change, though not with 1990 wage levels. The other forms of training had no apparent impact on either wage levels or wage change.