Employer-based training
An individual's future transitions will be enhanced by the experience and the skills acquired in his or her present job. However, the level and quality of employer-based training are difficult to assess. The 1991 National Training Survey found that records of training were often not kept by employers; where records existed, the lack of standards for reporting was an obstacle to getting accurate training data.
Just as we emphasized the right to an opportunity to undergo training for everyone looking for meaningful employment, we recognize the same right for employees willing to progress in their careers. The lifelong learning paradigm should be practiced with the active support of employers: employability is a constantly moving target, and both employees and employers benefit from regularly updating the skills of the workforce.
In addition to showing the overall extent of training in the private sector, the National Training Survey also revealed that workers who benefit from training are those who are already most educated. Emerging forms of work organization (teamwork, jobs requiring a specific set of skills, use of computers in manufacturing as well as in service jobs) require extension of training to first-line workers. Such training will enhance career "laddering" and promotion opportunities (promoting from within saves money) and also facilitate further transitions.