Study reveals expectations
Why low-skilled workers are less likely to participate in continuing education
The research team from TUM Campus Heilbronn and the ifo Institute surveyed approximately 3,700 employees aged 25 to 55 in 2024. The sample is representative of the German working population in this age group in terms of gender and age.
In the twelve months prior to the survey, 67 % of higher-skilled employees had participated in further training, but only 45 percent of lower-skilled employees had done so.
This finding confirms the current state of research, which indicates that less-skilled workers and older employees are less likely to take advantage of continuing education opportunities. However, little research has been conducted to date on the expectations underlying this behavior. The research team therefore asked participants, in two hypothetical scenarios, how they assess their professional situation six years from now. The questions focused on their expectations regarding income, professional success, career opportunities and job quality. In the first scenario, the participants engaged in regular further training; in the second, they did not.
On average, employees expect their earnings after six years to be about nine percent higher with continuing education than without it. “This means that employees have a very realistic picture,” says study author Hanna Brosch from the Professorship of Economics at TUM Campus Heilbronn. “Research estimates the actual effects to be of a similar extent.” There is little difference between highly and less highly qualified individuals in their expectations regarding percentage income gains.
Salary expectations are less important
The researchers identified expectations regarding professional success, job satisfaction and career opportunities as the most significant factors in their statistical analysis. “Expectations regarding career prospects are more strongly correlated with the continuing education programs actually completed than with expectations regarding salary,” says Brosch.
At this point, clear differences emerged between highly and less highly qualified employees. The latter are more skeptical that acquiring new skills will lead to greater success on the job, promotions or greater enjoyment of their work. “Less-qualified employees expect fewer benefits from further training,” says Philipp Lergetporer, holder of the TUM Professor of Economics and ifo Research Professor. “This is concerning in that they are generally more vulnerable to the upheavals of the labor market.”
“Cost-effective option for employers”
The research team also investigated whether these perceptions could be changed through better communication. Some of the respondents received information about how it is possible to acquire new skills without difficulty even in adulthood, and about the positive effects this can have. These participants subsequently showed a greater willingness to pursue continuing education than the control group – especially if they were less qualified.
“Even a modest amount of information can change attitudes toward continuing education,” says Lergetporer. “This gives employers a cost-effective option to convince their employees of the value of their programs and to shape the company’s future development together with them.”
H. Brosch, P. Lergetporer, F. Pfaehler und F. Schoner (2026): „Erwartungen entscheiden über betriebliche Weiterbildung“, ifo Schnelldienst 06/2026
H. Brosch, P. Lergetporer und F. Schoner (2025), “Worker Beliefs About Firm Training”, CESifo Working Paper 12183
Prof. Philipp Lergetporer conducts research at the Global Center for Family Enterprise on the TUM Campus Heilbronn.
At the TUM Campus Heilbronn, researchers from the fields of management and computer science collaborate on research and teaching related to digital transformation and family businesses. Their findings help ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises, too, can shape technological change.
Technical University of Munich
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