Many Paths to Skilled Employment: A Reverse Tracer Study of Seven Occupations in Colombia

The paper employs the reverse tracer study technique to identify alternative training paths for selected skilled and semi-skilled occupations in Colombia. The study, confirming earlier research for the US, shows that workers pursue a large variety of alternative training paths to acquire the skills that they need in a given occupation. The reader is introduced to the occupational training map format for analyzing these training paths. A policy conclusion emerging from the paper is that strong public intervention in training markets, resulting in a narrowing down in the effective range of available training paths, is to be discouraged; this will lead not only to a reduction in choice but also to a less flexible and efficient training system.