Occupational Propensity for Training in a Late Industrial Society: Evidence from Russia

International Journal of Training and Development. 2017. Vol. 21. No. 4. P. 249–284.

Anikin V. A.

 

What factors best explain the low incidence of skills training in a late industrial society like Russia? This research undertakes a multilevel analysis of the role of occupational structure against the probability of training. The explanatory power of occupation-specific determinants and skills polarisation are evaluated, using a representative 2012 sample from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. Applying a two-level Bayesian logistic regression model, we show that the incidence of training in Russia is significantly contextualised within the structure of occupations and the inequalities between them. The study shows that extremely high wage gaps within managerial class jobs can discourage training, an unusual finding. Markets accumulating interchangeable and disposable labour best explain the low incidence of training; workers within generic labour are less likely to develop their skills formally, except in urban markets. Although we did not find strong evidence of skills polarisation, Russians are yet to live in a knowledge economy. 

 

Keywords: MCMC, occupational structure, multilevel modelling, Training

Publication based on the results of: Analysis of the demographic and socio-economic behavior of households at different stages of the life cycle and assessment of social and tax policies impact on the dynamics of the standard of living and its differentiation (2016)