The Effect of Mandatory or Voluntary Trainings on Transfer of Training for Different Training Characteristics

• In Event: Exploring Workplace Learning: Session 1

Abstract

An important predictor of (motivation to) transfer is whether trainees attend voluntary or mandatory trainings. However, previous research is inconclusive on which attendance type is more beneficial for transfer. This might be because these studies did not take training characteristics (e.g., soft- or hard-skill) into account. This study examined effects of attendance type for transfer motivation and transfer of training for different training characteristics. 1317 participants took part in a voluntary or mandatory training and indicated motivation to transfer directly after the training and reported transfer six weeks later. Results indicate that effects on transfer of voluntary and mandatory trainings depend on content type (i.e., soft- or hard-skill), which provide insight in when which attendance type works better for transfer.

Authors

• Bas de Jong, University of Amsterdam

• Joost Jansen in de Wal, University of Amsterdam

• Frank Cornelissen, University of Amsterdam