European Journal of Industrial Relations

This article studies how labour migration affects dual vocational education and training (VET) systems. We argue that because dual VET systems rely on employers engaging in training, an alternative source of labour – such as labour migrants – may make employers less likely to train, especially when …

This article undertakes a cross-national comparison of the aerospace sectors in two ‘liberal’ countries, the UK and Australia, examining how several multinational firms engage with engineering skill institutions: regulation of entry to profession, entry-level and ongoing training. The paper empirica…

We distinguish between social and liberal collective skill formation systems and demonstrate that the German VET system is a social system with a strong (parity) role for trade unions in its governance. In contrast, unions play a considerably weaker role in the more liberal Swiss system, which privi…

Many extensions of classical human capital theory regard labour market rigidities as a prerequisite for firms to invest in general training. From this perspective, the German labour market reforms since 2003 should have reduced their willingness to support the apprenticeship training system. This ar…

This article explores the variation of vocational education and training systems in European countries. From a survey of experts in 15 European countries, we develop a typology along two dimensions: employer involvement and public commitment. In a second step, we explain the variety of skill formati…

The pay of metalworking apprentices is high in Britain, middling in Germany and low in Switzerland. We analyse these differences using fieldwork evidence and survey data, drawing on both economic and institutionalist theories. Several institutional attributes influence apprentice pay, partly by affe…

According to theorists of Varieties of Capitalism, employers can achieve strong decentralized cooperation on vocational training when there are institutional devices encouraging workers and firms to co-invest in the skill production. Yet numerous European countries, including those where such instit…

Research on employer coordination in the advanced capitalist countries has focused almost exclusively on the manufacturing sector, even though the service sector is responsible for most employment growth. This article considers organizational change in the service sector, comparing structurally simi…

This article examines the link between labour market regulation, in particular in relation to employment security, and the development and maintenance of an adequate skill base. The implications of the different institutional and regulatory contexts within France and the UK are addressed through a c…