Pre-employment vocational training : a case study in South India

This study examines the relationship of education, training and performance in specific jobs, in order to determine which paths of education and training appear to be most effective job preparation. The sample includes 474 skilled tradesmen from a machine tool factory in the south of India. The findings show that schooling is related to job performance and may possibly be an important prerequisite for on-the-job learning, and that workers who received formal on-the-job training or who acquired skills informally by observation and practice are generally better producers than workers who were trained in government sponsored vocational institutes. Nevertheless, a credential from a vocational institute, though associated with lower levels of productivity, appears to ensure more rapid promotion within a trade. The study also notes that vocational training institutes operate at higher cost levels than in-firm training programs.