oa Bereidheid van werkgevers te investeren in opleidingen voor oudere werknemers

Employers’ willingness to invest in older workers’ training

Employers’ willingness to invest in older workers’ training can be regarded as a rational decision. Moreover, we investigate the extent to which employers’ willingness to invest is affected by two other actors: governments and the worker. Additionally, we test the hypothesis that employers’ willingness to invest in training is less affected by the age of workers in firms where the aggregate educational level is higher. In this research, we make use of a vignette study (N = 914) that we conducted among 457 Dutch firms in 2012 (response rate = 12%). The data are enriched with background characteristics of the firm. Our results indicate that employers make rational decisions. Higher direct and indirect costs, as well as the workers’ higher age, deter employers from investing in training. Furthermore, it appears that employer investment in training decreases less with the increasing age of the worker in firms where the overall educational level is higher. Workers’ motivation encourages employers to provide training. We could not support our hypothesis that government subsidies affect employers’ investments. Our results generally support the idea that employers take rational decisions, but they also suggest that there are possibilities for workers to influence employers’ decisions.