Training
Education, Training & Achievement Scores
Training
Types of Skill Training Across Questionnaire Sections
Comparable types of training data collected within various sections of the questionnaire, the "Government Training," "Jobs," "Military," "Training," or "Other Training" sections, have been grouped together in Table 3. Variables represented in the table include those that have the following types of training represented either within their variable title or as a coding category:
- basic skill training
- occupational skill training (classroom)
- occupational skill training (on-the-job)
- or occupational skill training (apprenticeship program)
Employer-specific training: Questions on employer-specific training were fielded during select survey years and are also included in Table 3.
Table 3. "Other Training" & "Training" Sections of the NLSY79 for All Survey Years
| Training Type | Survey Years | Area of interest |
| Basic Skill Training1 | ||
| 'Services Provided - Classroom Training in Govt Program? Job #1-5' (Reading, Writing, or Arithmetic) | 1979-87 | Government Jobs |
| 'Services Provided - GED Preparation in Govt Program? Job #1-5' | 1979-87 | Government Jobs |
| 'Services Provided - Govt Program Training - English as a 2nd Language? Job #1-5' | 1979-87 | Government Jobs |
| 'Services Provided - College Preparation in Govt Program? Job #1-5' | 1979-87 | Government Jobs |
| 'Services Provided, 1st/2nd Govt Program Training Since Jan 1978/Since Last Int - Class Training?' (Reading, Writing, or Arithmetic) | 1979-86 | Government Training |
| 'Services Provided, 1st/2nd Govt Program Training Since Jan 1978/Since Last Int - GED Preparation?' | 1979-86 | Government Training |
| 'Services Provided, 1st/2nd Govt Program Training Since Jan 1978/Since Last Int - English as a 2nd Language' | 1979-86 | Government Training |
| 'Type of 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Vocational/Technical Pgm Since 86/Prior Int/Since Last Interview- Basic Skill' (GED, English, or Math) | 1988-94 | Training |
| 'Changes in Workplace - Upgrade Employees Basic Skills', CPS Employer - Job Change Past 12 Months | 1993-94 | Training |
| Occupational Skill Training - Classroom | ||
| 'Services Provided - Skills Training in Govt Program Job? Job #1-5' | 1979-87 | Government Jobs |
| 'Services Provided, 1st/2nd Govt Program Training Since Jan 78/Since Last Interview - Skills Training' | 1979-86 | Government Training |
| 'Type of 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Vocational/Technical Pgm Since 86/Prior Int/Since Last Interview' (Job Skill) | 1988-94 | Training |
| 'Formal (School) Training for Military Job Held?/for Other Military Job Held?' | 1979-85 | Military |
| Occupational Skill Training - On-the-Job Training | ||
| 'Services Provided - OJT in Govt Program? Job #1-5' | 1979-87 | Government Jobs |
| 'Govt Program Job - Sponsor of Job #1-5' (CETA On-the-Job Training; MDTA On-the-Job Training) | 1979-87 | Government Jobs |
| 'Services Provided, 1st/2nd Govt Program Training Since Jan 1978/Since Last Int - OJT?' | 1979-83 | Government Training |
| 'Govt Program Job or OJT Since Jan 1978/Since Last Int' | 1979-84 | Jobs, Misc. 1979 |
| 'Did R Have Govt Program Part-time Job, Summer Job, or OJT Since Last Int?' | 1985-87 | Misc. xxxx |
| 'Type of Experience Prior to Current Job/Most Recent Job - OJT with Current Employer/OJT with Previous Employer' | 1989, 1990 | Misc. xxxx |
| 'Type of 1st/2nd/etc. Vocational/Technical Pgm Since 86/Prior Int/Since Last Int - OJT' | 1988-96 | Training |
| 'Placed in a Job as Part of Govt Pgm Training Job #1-5' (Work Experience or OJT) | 1984-87 | Misc. xxxx |
| 'OJT for Military Job Held? for Other Military Job Held?' | 1979-85 | Misc. 1979, Military |
| 'Time Use - Working - Apprenticeship or OJT in Last Week?' | 1981 | Time Use |
| Occupational Skill Training - Apprenticeship Program | ||
| 'Type of School 1st/2nd/etc. Vocational/Technical Pgm Enrolled in At Last Int' - Apprenticeship | 1979-86 | Training |
| 'Type of School 1st/2nd/3rd Vocational/Technical Pgm Enrolled in Before Jan 1978/Since Last Int' - Apprenticeship | 1979-86 | Training |
| 'Type of School 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Vocational/Technical Pgm Since Last Int' | 1988-2018 | Training |
| 'Type of School 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th/6th Vocational/Technical Pgm Since Last Int' | 1993-2018 | Training |
| '1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th Govt Program Training Enrolled in Prior to Jan 1978' - Apprenticeship Program | 1979 | Government Training |
| '1st/2nd Govt Program Training Enrolled in Since Jan 1978/Since Last Int' - Apprenticeship Program | 1979-86 | Government Training |
| 'Type of Experience Prior to Current Job/Most Recent Job - Apprenticeship' | 1989, 1990 | Misc. xxxx |
| 'Time Use - Working - Apprenticeship or OJT in Last Week?' | 1981 | Time Use |
| Employer-Specific Training | ||
| '1st/2nd Vocational/Technical Pgm Enrolled in At/Since Last Int for Job? (Unemployed)' | 1982-84 | Training |
| '1st/2nd Vocational/Technical Pgm Enrolled in At/Since Last Int for Job?/for Job with Employer? (Employed)' | 1982-84 | Training |
| 'Type of Experience Prior to Current Job/Most Recent Job - OJT with Current Employer/OJT with Previous Employer' | 1989-90 | Misc. xxxx |
| 'Primary Reason for Taking 1st/2nd/etc. Vocational/Technical Pgm Since Last Int?' | 1991-2018 | Training |
| '1st/2nd or 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Vocational/Technical Pgm Enrolled in At/Since Last Int Needed for Job Promotion' | 1990-96 | Training |
| '1st/2nd/3rd/4th Trng Useful in Doing Different Work for CPS Employer' | 1993-96 | Training |
| '1st/2nd/3rd/4th Trng Useful in Doing Same Work for Employer Other than CPS Employer' | 1993-96 | Training |
| '1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th/6th Trng Useful in Doing Different Work for CPS Employer' | 1993-96 | Training |
| '1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th/6th Trng Useful in Doing Same Work for Emp Other than CPS Employer' | 1993-96 | Training |
| 1The 1980 School Survey also collected information on whether remedial English, remedial mathematics, or English as a second language had been taken at the last secondary school attended. | ||
Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: In each survey, information has been collected from the NLSY79 young adults, on their participation in training programs. For the young adults, government sponsorship of a training program is incorporated within the regularly asked "Other Training" questions. Beginning in 2000, detailed information was asked only of the current or most recent training program.
The NLSY97 asks all respondents who were at least 16 years old whether they had ever participated in any occupational training programs outside of their regular schooling. For each program, the survey then collects basic information, including the type of program, start and stop dates, time devoted to the training, periods of nonattendance lasting a week or longer during training sessions of at least two weeks, and whether the program was completed (and if not, the reason). In each round, respondents were asked about whether they participated in government training programs. Additional questions asked for specific programs and their duration.
Original Cohort respondents were asked questions about training both on and off the job and focused on government training programs. For the Young Men, details concerning training received in the military (other than basic training) were gathered in the 1966, 1969, 1971, 1976, and 1981 surveys. In 1975, among other additions, a new provider, "government program or agency", was added to the "Training" section of the Young Women survey. Beginning in 1984, a new category, "government agency", was added to the "Training" section of the Mature Women survey. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.
References
Loewenstein, Mark A. and Spletzer, James R. "Informal Training: A Review of Existing Data and Some New Evidence." NLS Discussion Paper No. 94-20. Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 1994.
National Center for Research in Vocational Education and Center for Human Resource Research. NLSY High School Transcript Survey: Overview and Documentation. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University.
Pollard, Tom. "An Overview of the Post School Vocational Training Experiences of Youth." In Pathways to the Future. A Report on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Labor Market Experience in 1979. Michael E. Borus, ed. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1981.
| Survey Instruments and Documentation | These data are collected in the following sections of the NLSY79 questionnaires:
Attachment 3: Industry and Occupation Codes in the NLSY79 Codebook Supplement presents the Census Bureau codes used to classify the job for which the respondent was being trained (1979-86) and the field/trade in which a certificate, license, or journeyman's card was obtained (1979 & 1980). Attachment 6: Other Kinds of Training provides the two-digit codes for up to four other types of training in which the respondent had ever participated as of the 1979 interview. Attachment 7: Other Certificate Codes provides the 1979 coding for up to four degrees or licenses ever received. Sections G-I of the NLSY High School Transcript Survey: Overview and Documentation provide alphabetical and numeric lists of high school course codes and a copy of the "Transcript Coding Sheet." Questions of related interest on nongovernment training can be found in the "Other Training" sections of the 1979-87 questionnaires. The 1979 Employer Flap and the 1980-87 Employer Supplements identify the nature of government-sponsored jobs and contain detailed information on each job. The Glossary of NLS Terms provides descriptions of some of the locally operated programs and the three Federal legislative acts authorizing employment and training funding which were in place during 1979-87. |
| Areas of Interest | Pollard (1981) reports, in an analysis of the 1979 "Other Training" data, that in-school vocational training was being incorrectly reported within this section. R07443., 'Employed When Began 3rd Vocational/Technical Pgm Enrolled in Since Last Interview,' has been placed in the "Misc. 1982" area of interest; comparable variables relating to the first and second program, R07429. and R07415., are located in "Training." Core training variables are found in the "Training" area of interest. The 1979 and 1980 collections of degrees and certifications are located in "Degrees & Certificates." The 1979 activities during last summer series is in "Misc. 1979." The set of remedial courses taken while in high school are located in "School Survey," and the 1981 time use questions can be found in "Time Use." The 1989 and 1990 CPS experience prior to current job variables are located in "Misc. xxxx" and the military training/OJT series are in "Military." The "Transcript Survey" area of interest contains the high school subject course code variables. Variables from the "Government Training" sections of the 1979-87 surveys are located in the "Government Training" area of interest on the main NLSY79 data set; government-related training variables for subsequent years are located in "Training." Variables relating to government-sponsored jobs are located in the "Government Jobs" and "Misc. xxxx" areas of interest. Detailed information on each government job, such as dates of employment, hourly rate of pay, occupation, and industry, can be found within "Job Information." The "Time Use" area of interest contains the 1981 time use questions. This supplement included questions on time spent in government training programs, that is, total hours in past week/per day, time spent studying and traveling to a government training program, and mode of transportation used. |