Effects of Work-Oriented Adult Basic Education Trainings: Addressing Employee's Competencies across Sectors

Abstract

The paper focuses effects of work-oriented adult basic education trainings across different sectors. As such manufacturing sector, care sector, transportation sector, personnel services as well as logistics sector are under scrutiny. It is based on a broader research project (ABAG2) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and examines the acquisition of competencies through workplace-related trainings. All in all, 50 trainings and 304 participants are considered within the study. The survey draws on a longitudinal self-assessment of the participants at the end of the respective trainings and differentiates professional competence, methodological competence, social competence and self-competence. These competencies are not only considered crucial by the European Union (2018) for the personal fulfilment, participation in the labour market and social participation, but are also based upon a continuing scientific discourse (Roth 1971; Maurer 2006; Trautwein 2011) with references to Klippert's (1994) extended learning concept. What is more, individual preferences, satisfaction with the work situation and satisfaction with the trainings are also referred to within the survey. Next to common descriptive and bivariate analysis, the research on the effects of competencies is based on methods which are assigned to the area of robust statistics (Huber 1981). The methods of robust statistics consider the non-normally distributed response behavior which is to be anticipated in surveys on heterogeneous target groups. As a consequence, the data can be compared across sectors and highlight differences between participants. What is more, the findings of the study allow for conclusions regarding the anticipated effects of training for employees in different sectors and thus are of high relevance for employers.