Using case studies from Germany, Britain, the United States and Japan, this text traces cross-national differences in contemporary training regimes back to the political settlement achieved among employers in skill-intensive industries, artisans and early trade unions in the 19th century

Acknowledgements -- Foreword looking back in order to look forward / Ken Roberts -- Understanding the changing youth labour market -- From the "golden age" to neo-liberalism -- The great transformation and the punitive turn -- Towards a new normality : work and unemployment in contemporary...