Shifting the Training Choice Decision to the Jobseeker—The Slovak Experience

We describe a reform in the allocation of training to unemployed jobseekers in Slovakia. Under the REPAS reform, unemployed jobseekers choose a specialization and training provider. This shift in responsibility from the caseworker to the client is comparable to the introduction of training vouchers under the German HARTZ I reform. Benefiting from research available on the German case, we first estimate the positive employment effects of training participation separately for the pre-REPAS and REPAS periods. Second, we quantify and disaggregate the overall effect of the reform, which does not appear to be driven by a change in the composition of the participants. However, for at least one training specialization, this change does play a role in the short run. The overall reform effect is not channelled through the newly created segment of rare training specializations or high-skilled participants.