Unions, Work-Related Training, and Wages: Evidence for British Men

Using data from the British Household Panel Survey from 1991 to 1996, the authors investigate the impact of union coverage on work-related training and how the union-training link affects wages and wage growth for a sample of full-time men. Relative to uncovered workers, union-covered men are more likely to receive training and also receive more days of training. In addition, union-covered men experience greater returns to training, and coveredtrained workers face a higher wage growth. While some of these findings have been found in previous studies, others are new. The wage results, in particular, suggest a rethinking is warranted of the conventional view that union wage formation in Britain reduces the incentives to acquire work-related training.