Workplace Training Unpacked: Labor Market Competition and Investment in General Skills

Presenter

Mattia Albanese (Rome Economics Doctorate)

Coauthors

Manfredi Aliberti

Abstract

Skills acquired on the job, whether general or industry-specific, significantly influence workers' labor market outcomes. Workers with general skills tend to have higher re-employment prospects and greater resilience to economic shocks. Using novel data from a recent policy intervention in the Italian labor market, we develop a new measure that captures the tasks taught in firm-provided training for individual workers. This measure enables us to examine the relationship between labor market competition and firms' decisions to invest in general versus industry-specific skills. Our findings indicate that, as theory predicts, workers in more competitive labor markets receive less general training.