Job insecurity and the willingness to undertake training: the moderating role of perceived employability

This study investigates the relationship between job insecurity and the willingness to undertake training, accounting for perceived employability. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we hypothesize that job insecurity negatively relates to the willingness to participate in training to strengthen the internal and external labor market position and that perceived employability has a buffering effect on this relationship. The hypotheses were tested among 560 Belgian employees using structural equation modeling. The results did not provide support for the relationship between job insecurity and the willingness to undertake training to strengthen the position inside the organization. We did, contrary to expectations, find a significant positive relationship with the willingness to undertake training to strengthen the position outside the organization. Furthermore, the relationship between job insecurity and the willingness to undertake training to strengthen the external labor market position was weaker with increasing levels of perceived employability.