Quality of in-company training—A matter of perspective?

Abstract

Despite the importance of dual vocational training for the biographies of its graduates and for meeting the growing demand for skilled workers, there is a lack of multi-perspective studies on the quality of in-company training. Previous studies commonly do not go beyond descriptive analyzes of a single group of actors, mostly trainees. The few multi-perspective findings indicate that quality assessments by trainees and trainers sometimes differ widely. In this article, this finding is confirmed at the group level by using survey data (311 trainees, 30 trainers). In addition, the potential significance of the perspective taken for the modeling of links between different quality dimensions is checked. Here, bilateral modeling of training quality, which considers differences in perception between trainees and trainers, correlates significantly more strongly with trainees’ drop-out intentions than their unilateral quality assessment. Additionally, it is shown that certain trainee characteristics can partly explain differences in the assessment of training quality by different actors. Overall, the findings underline the relevance of multi-perspective approaches when considering the quality of training.