Intentions to Participate in Training Among Older Unemployed People: A Serial Mediator Model

Abstract

While a considerable number of studies have focused on factors driving employees to voluntarily participate in training programs, much less is known on this topic with regard to the unemployed population, in particular the older unemployed, who often are in a vulnerable labor market position due to educational deficits and skills obsolescence. This study proposes and investigates a serial mediator model of older unemployed individuals’ training intentions grounded in propositions from social cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior as well as prior models of employee involvement in training. The results, based on cross-sectional questionnaire data from 176 unemployed Portuguese individuals aged 40+, suggest that age, education, and proactivity have an indirect effect on training intentions via learning self-efficacy and training-related outcome expectations. Age was also directly related to stronger training intentions. These results may be useful for interventions aiming to encourage older unemployed individuals’ participation in training.