Lifelong learning inequality? The relevance of family background for on-the-job training

Despite ample evidence on intergenerational persistence of formal education as well as on the determinants of non-formal training, these issues have not yet been analysed jointly. The question remains whether people from low-qualified family backgrounds make up for their relatively sparse own formal education by means of non-formal training during adulthood. Hypotheses based on economic theory and findings from various other disciplines suggest otherwise. I use the German ALWA survey to estimate the influence of family background on non-formal training participation. Count data analyses show that a low-qualified family background is negatively related to both likelihood and frequency of on-the-job training. This result holds when controlling for education, ability and personality as well as job and firm characteristics.