• Young Women cohort
• Mature Women cohort

Young Women Training Questions

Training questions were fielded in each survey year. In 1968, respondents were asked a series of questions on their plans for more education or training. The survey also asked about past training, including whether they had ever been enrolled outside of regular schooling in a full-time (two weeks or more) company training course sponsored by an employer, in any other vocational training (such as typing, nursing, or cosmetology) other than on-the-job training, or in additional general courses (e.g., English, mathematics, science, or art) since they stopped attending full-time school.

For each training experience, information was gathered on the type of training (technical/professional, managerial, clerical, skilled manual, semi-skilled manual, other technical, or other training [including basic or general courses]); number of months and hours per week spent in the training; whether the program was completed and if not, the reason; and whether the skills acquired in the training program were used on the respondent's current/last job. Respondents also reported whether they had ever obtained a certificate needed to practice a profession or trade, the type of certificate (e.g., professional [teacher, nurse, etc.] or trade [beautician]), and whether the certificate was currently valid.

Two variables were created from these 1968 data. The first, '# of Years of Occupational Training Outside Regular School, 68,' summarizes the duration of time spent in training by number of programs in which the respondent had participated. The second is 'Type of Longest Occupational Training Program Taken in Past Year, 68.'

Surveys administered during 1969-78 updated the information collected in the initial survey year. For those respondents who had participated since the last interview in a training course or educational program of any kind, either on the job or elsewhere, data were gathered on the type of training, type of organization providing the training (e.g., business college/technical institute, company training school, correspondence school, regular school, and other [including federally funded MDTA or Title V programs]), duration and intensity, completion status, reason for engaging in additional training, and use of the training on the respondent's current/last job.

For those who had obtained a certificate since the last interview, updated information included type of certificate (i.e., professional or trade), occupational code, and whether the certificate was valid. The 1971, 1975, and 1978 questionnaires included only one certificate question; the 1972 survey provided retrospective information on certification back to February 1970. Beginning in 1977, the coding categories for the type of certificate included certificate, license, journeyman's card, or other.

Variations present during the 1969-78 fieldings included the following: (1) Beginning in 1972, regular school as a training provider was differentiated into high school, area vocational school, or community or junior college. (2) Regular 4-year college, university or graduate school; nursing school, hospital, or medical school/college; and government program or agency (federal, state, or local) were added to the training provider series in 1975. (3) During 1972, 1973, and 1978, questions were fielded on the respondent's plans to enroll in additional training or educational programs. (4) Finally, sales and service were added to the type of training categories beginning in 1978.

Beginning in 1980, the training section was restructured to include two series of questions, one dealing with on-the-job training (OJT) courses in which the respondent had participated since the last interview and the second on other training courses or educational programs other than OJT or college courses in which she had enrolled. The OJT series included questions on duration and intensity of the training and whether the respondent was still attending or had completed the program. Beginning with the 1985 survey, two additional OJT questions were regularly administered: (1) specification of the job for which the respondent was being trained and (2) the reason that the respondent decided to take on-the-job training.

The second training series for the 1980-2003 surveys continued the core set of questions asked during the 1968-78 interviews. From 1980 to 1991, there was an additional regularly fielded question on whether the training program was part of an apprenticeship program. Beginning with the 1985 survey, three new questions on the respondent's other training were added that included the collection of information on (1) the kind of work for which the respondent was being trained; (2) whether the respondent's employer required the training; and (3) for those whose employer did not require the training, the reason for taking the training. A new provider type, community organization (e.g., church, temple, synagogue, YMCA, Red Cross, neighborhood association), was added in 1985 as a permanent coding category for the training provider series. Certification information, i.e., whether a certificate had been received as a result of this (other) training and if so, the type of certificate, continued to be collected during the 1980-88 interviews.

Beginning in 1983, respondents identified on the Information Sheet as having been enrolled in a training program at the time of last interview were asked for information on whether they had completed the training and the number of weeks they had been enrolled. (An Information Sheet contained data from previous interviews that could be used to refer to during the current interview). These variables, 'Did R Complete Occupational Training Program Enrolled at Last Interview' and 'Duration of Occupational Training Program Enrolled at Last Interview,' are available for the 1983-2003 survey years. The 1995-2003 surveys included an additional question that asked whether the respondent's employer required the training. Table YW1 presents by year and race the number of respondents participating in on-the-job and other vocational training programs since 1980. Because the universe of respondents asked these questions was different in 1999-2003, those years are not included in the table.

Table YW1.  Numbers of Young Women Respondents Participating in Training Programs 
by Type of Training and Race: 1980-97

Reference

Shapiro, David and Carr, Timothy J. "Investments in Human Capital and the Earnings of Young Women."In Years for Decision: A Longitudinal Study of the Educational, Labor Market and Family Experiences of Young Women 1968-1973. Frank L. Mott, ed. R and D Monograph 24, vol. 4. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978.

Mature Women Training Questions

Training questions were fielded during all survey years except 1968, 1974, 1976, and 1992. The 1967 survey collected information on the training experiences of each respondent during high school and since her regular schooling ended, and on the types of professional or trade certification ever received. Subsequent surveys updated this training and certification record, added both on-the-job training and apprenticeship as categories in the training type/training provider series, and gathered information on the future educational and training plans of the respondents.

The 1967 survey collected information on whether the respondent had been enrolled during high school in a vocational or commercial curriculum and whether, since attending regular school, she had ever participated in a full-time company training program of two or more weeks duration; in other technical or skill training; or additional general training in such courses as English, math, science, or art. Information was gathered for each program on the type of training (professional/technical, managerial, clerical, skilled manual, or general courses); length of and hours per week spent in the training program; completion status; whether the skills acquired were used on the current job; and whether this training had ever been used on a job. In addition, the 1967 survey fielded questions on the respondent's plans to enroll in educational or training courses in the future, whether a certificate had ever been obtained to practice any profession or trade, and, if so, the type (professional [teacher, nurse, etc.] or trade [beautician, etc.]).

A series of variables created from these data summarized--for the longest training program in which the respondent had been enrolled outside of regular school--the characteristic information on each program described above. Another variable coupled the type of training with whether the training was completed. This latter variable was created once again with the 1972 data.

The next four personal interviews (1969, 1971, 1972, and 1977) updated the respondent's record with additional training courses or educational programs in which she participated and/or any new diplomas, degrees, and certificates acquired since the last interview. The 1972 questionnaire repeated the 1967 series on the respondent's plans to seek additional training in the future. Created variables included 'Type and Duration of Longest Occupational Training Program' since 1967 (1969 interview) and since 1967 and 1969 (1971 interview); coding distinguished between programs of "less than 16 weeks" and "16 weeks or more."

Questions about on-the-job training (OJT) and/or other training or educational programs in which the respondent had participated since the last interview were featured in the 1979-89 and 1995-2003 surveys. For each OJT program in which the respondent was enrolled, information was collected on the number of weeks enrolled, hours participated per week, and program completion.

The second training series in the 1979-89 and 1995-2003 surveys continued to record the same type of information as in earlier surveys with the following exceptions/changes:

1. New coding categories were added to the sponsor/provider questions that included apprenticeship beginning in 1981 and community organizations beginning in 1984.
2. In 1984, a government agency category was added that was intended to reflect training programs operated by CETA, JTPA, or other manpower programs.
3. The coding categories for the type of certification series shifted for the 1979 survey only to professional/technical, managerial, etc.
4. Beginning with the 1981 survey, the certification coding categories included: certificate, license, journeyman's card, or other.
5. The 1984 and subsequent surveys added two questions, one on the reason the respondent took the other training program and the second on the kind of work for which she was being trained; the 1995-2003 surveys also asked if the program was required by the respondent's employer.
6. Finally, a question on whether the other training program was part of an apprenticeship program was added to the 1987 and 1989 questionnaires; this question supplemented apprenticeship as a coding category in the provider type series.

Table MW1 presents by survey year and race the numbers of respondents participating in on-the-job and other vocational training programs during 1979-97. Because the universe of respondents asked these questions was different in 1999-2003, those years are not included in the table.

Table MW1. Numbers of Mature Women Respondents Participating in Training Programs by Type of Training and Race: 1979-97

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics. Work and Family: Never Too Old to Learn. Report No. 856. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, 1993.

Parnes, Herbert S., et al. Dual Careers: A Longitudinal Study of Labor Market Experience of Women. Manpower Research Monograph No. 21. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970.

Shaw, Lois B. "Effects of Education and Occupational Training on the Wages of Mature Women." Columbus, OH: Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University, 1983.