Belinda Walther, Jürg Schweri and Stefan C. Wolter
The classical form of dual vocational training in Switzerland is on‐the‐job training combined with theoretical education in a school. In order to be an attractive educational…
Abstract
Purpose
The classical form of dual vocational training in Switzerland is on‐the‐job training combined with theoretical education in a school. In order to be an attractive educational choice for both enterprises and pupils, the apprenticeship model has to be constantly adapted to the demands of the labour market. As a potential model for future apprenticeship training, large firms started to concentrate their apprenticeship training in one or a few sites. More recently, independent external firms have been set up with the express purpose of training apprentices for other companies. This article aims to discuss these new developments.
Design/methodology/approach
This article bases its discussion of the developments on the basis of a unique data set comprising more than 2,300 training companies in Switzerland.
Findings
The observations reported in this article suggest that training in a training centre is a viable alternative to the usual in‐house apprenticeship system where the apprentice is trained within the company. However, training centres will never be an ideal solution for all occupations or for every company. Training centres are primarily worthwhile for investment‐intensive occupations where the main objective is to invest in an apprentice's human capital and thus help ensure a steady supply of highly qualified workers.
Originality/value
The article presents useful developments in the use of training centres.
Details
Keywords
Rubin Hao, Jing Xue, Ling Na Belinda Yau and Chunqiu Zhang
This study aims to examine the characteristics of financial analysts’ earnings forecasts after COVID-19 outbroke in the USA. Specifically, the authors examine how financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the characteristics of financial analysts’ earnings forecasts after COVID-19 outbroke in the USA. Specifically, the authors examine how financial analysts tradeoff between accuracy and responsiveness under investors’ heightened information demand when there is market-wide uncertainty. In addition, the authors investigate how COVID-19 may affect analysts’ cognitive bias.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses a sample of US-listed firms from March 2019 to February 2021, the period surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak in the USA.
Findings
The empirical analyses reveal that analysts issue timelier, more frequent, but less accurate forecasts after the COVID-19 outbreak, indicating that analysts become more responsive to investors’ intensified demand for information during the pandemic. Yet, the high uncertainty caused by COVID-19 increases forecasting difficulty. There is no systematic difference regarding the forecast accuracy between high- and low-ability analysts. Meanwhile, high-quality audit can improve forecast accuracy. Contrary to prior findings that analysts tend to underreact to bad news, the empirical evidence suggests that analysts, shaped by the salience bias, overestimate the negative impact of the pandemic. Analysts first issue pessimistic forecasts at the start of the outbreak and then revise forecasts upward steadily as the fiscal year-end approaches.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by adding novel evidence on how COVID-19-induced uncertainty affects analyst forecast characteristics. It also provides additional evidence on how high-quality audit is associated with improved analyst forecast accuracy even under heightened uncertainty of COVID-19.