One possible explanation for Canada’s recent lackluster productivity growth is its feeble innovation performance. Since the stock of human capital is an important determinant of innovation, it is reasonable to think that increases in human capital investments among the workforce would lead to more innovation. Moreover, firm-sponsored training might well be one of the best ways to maintain and increase the workforce’s human capital levels, especially in periods of rapid technological change. We therefore expect that increases in levels of firm-sponsored training will lead to more innovation. In this study, we estimate the impact of firm-sponsored training on innovation performance using data from theWorkplace and Employee Surveyfrom 1999 to 2006. We find that higher levels of both firm-sponsored classroom and on-the-job training lead to more innovation.
Dostie, B. and J. Paré, Formation parrainée par l’employeur et performance en innovation, Centre for productivity and prosperity, HEC Montréal, February 2013.
