Further Education and Training in ICT: Inequalities Among European Workers Before and After the COVID-19 Outbreak

IF 1.6 Q3 MANAGEMENT

International Journal of Training and Development Pub Date : 2026-08-05 Epub Date: 2026-01-05 DOI:10.1111/ijtd.70020

Martin Lakomý, Jakub Šácha, Patrik Stopka

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Further education and training (FET) should form a foundation for increasingly dynamic and digital European economies. Policies aim to support ongoing workforce development and retain as many individuals as possible in the labour market. However, limited existing evidence supports the Matthew effect in this area—FET tends to be more accessible for workers with higher qualifications in better jobs. This study uses data from the EU Labour Force Survey and examines the relationship between individual and job characteristics with FET, as well as its shift during the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings confirm that FET is more common among younger and middle-aged workers, those in higher-level positions, workers in larger companies, and those not working under a supervisor. Some of these patterns changed with the onset of the pandemic, notably the link between FET in ICT and higher education becoming stronger. This study identifies several robust factors that influence participation in FET, serving as a foundation for policies that aim to provide accessible, targeted FET opportunities for groups at risk of exclusion in a digitalised labour market.

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信息通信技术的进一步教育和培训：2019冠状病毒病爆发前后欧洲工人之间的不平等现象

继续教育和培训（FET）应成为日益充满活力和数字化的欧洲经济的基础。政策旨在支持持续的劳动力发展，并在劳动力市场上保留尽可能多的个人。然而，有限的现有证据支持这一领域的马太效应- fet往往更容易获得更高资格的工人在更好的工作。本研究使用了欧盟劳动力调查的数据，并研究了个人和工作特征与FET之间的关系，以及它在2019冠状病毒病爆发期间的变化。研究结果证实，FET在年轻和中年员工、高层员工、大公司员工以及没有上司的员工中更为常见。随着大流行病的爆发，其中一些模式发生了变化，特别是信息和通信技术领域的场效效应与高等教育之间的联系变得更加紧密。本研究确定了影响FET参与的几个重要因素，为制定旨在为数字化劳动力市场中有被排斥风险的群体提供可获得、有针对性的FET机会的政策奠定了基础。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Training and Development MANAGEMENT-

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

11.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Increasing international competition has led governments and corporations to focus on ways of improving national and corporate economic performance. The effective use of human resources is seen as a prerequisite, and the training and development of employees as paramount. The growth of training and development as an academic subject reflects its growth in practice. The International Journal of Training and Development is an international forum for the reporting of high-quality, original, empirical research. Multidisciplinary, international and comparative, the journal publishes research which ranges from the theoretical, conceptual and methodological to more policy-oriented types of work. The scope of the Journal is training and development, broadly defined. This includes: The determinants of training specifying and testing the explanatory variables which may be related to training identifying and analysing specific factors which give rise to a need for training and development as well as the processes by which those needs become defined, for example, training needs analysis the need for performance improvement the training and development implications of various performance improvement techniques, such as appraisal and assessment the analysis of competence Training and development practice the design, development and delivery of training the learning and development process itself competency-based approaches evaluation: the relationship between training and individual, corporate and macroeconomic performance Policy and strategy organisational aspects of training and development public policy issues questions of infrastructure issues relating to the training and development profession The Journal’s scope encompasses both corporate and public policy analysis. International and comparative work is particularly welcome, as is research which embraces emerging issues and developments.