Fixed-Term Contracts, Economic Conjuncture, and Training Opportunities: A Comparative Analysis Across European Labour Markets

Our work aims to bring together two research fields: the debate concerning different labour market flexibilization strategies and the determinants of training chances. The purpose of our work is therefore to assess the trade-off between temporary employment and training opportunities in a comparative analysis of three groups of countries characterized by different levels of labour market segmentation and training coverage. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the 2008 economic downturn in shaping training opportunities for contingent workers. Our research questions are investigated using three pooled rounds of the European Social Survey (2004, 2006, and 2008). While regression analyses partially confirm the negative effects of fixed-term contracts (FTCs) on training opportunities, a counterfactual analysis shows a retrenchment in training provisions among temporary workers only in strongly segmented labour markets, where FTCs constitute a more homogeneous marginal group, highly stratified in terms of age, gender, unemployment experience, and social class.