On-the-Job Training in Scotland: Its Contribution to Social Exclusion
Recent results from the Scottish Household Survey show that at any one time over 18 per cent of Scottish employees are engaged in some form of on-the-job training. The majority of this training is unaccredited and is not recorded in any official education statistics. Overall rates for men and women are similar. After initially high rates of training for the youngest employees, rates for men decline steadily whereas those for women remain stable into middle age, perhaps as a result of retraining for returners. The employees who receive most on-the-job training are full-time, in managerial or professional occupations and already have some formal qualification. The self-employed, the part-time, the unskilled and the unqualified miss out. Training on-the-job could have a role in promoting social inclusion for the least-advantaged employees. But more research is needed to learn what training is being delivered and what policy levers could be pulled to influence who receives it.