Sectors where training is an integral part of human resource practices show higher productivity gains. Such economic benefits are not only a result of higher worker skills, but also of higher job satisfaction, which leads to a higher individual commitment to the workplace. This is one of the conclusions of our most recent research paper, “Sectoral perspectives on the benefits of vocational education and training”
The case studies collected in the paper also show that public investment in training for high value-added firms, and the integration of vocational education and training in sectoral and regional growth strategies, can boost the entire industry. “Smart growth in Europe”, as Acting Director Christian Lettmayr points out in his foreword, “would directly benefit from such integrated economic policies”.