Only on-the-job training effectively trains workers to develop skills necessary for high skill training.
Pastore 20, [Pastore, Francesco, and Marco Pompili. "Assessing the impact of off-the-job and on-the-job training on employment outcomes: A counterfactual evaluation of the PIPOL program." Evaluation Review 44.2-3 (2020): 145-184., panav]
We found that the net impact of PIPOL was equal to þ5.6 pp on average, but no impact was found for classroom training. The greatest impact was found for on-the-job training or internships (þ14.1 pp). The latter also affected the probability of finding permanent employment (þ3 pp). The mix of classroom training and internship had also a strongly positive effect (þ9.6), mainly due to the training needed to gain a qualification, which has a strong content of internship (þ6.4 pp). This was consistent with the view of a youth labor market where young people have excellent theoretical Pastore and Pompili 177 competences, but very little work experience and work-related competences, both general and job-specific (Pastore, 2015, 2017). The off-the-job training programs showed no statistically significant impact on employment. These results are partly due to a lock-in effect, namely the tendency of those who attend training programs to delay their job search activities. Interestingly, we found that the program had a different impact for different typologies of recipients and different types of intervention. The scheme seems to have a greater net impact in the case of women, foreigners, and lower educated young people. Some forms of off-the-job training nevertheless had a positive net impact on employment chances (training to gain a qualification). Internships in manufacturing and construction showed a greater impact than in the service sector. To sum up, our findings suggest that an active labor market policy is more effective in Italy when it generates work-related competences.