Starting from the CVTS-2 survey in which responses by Austrian and French employers revealed their very limited use of "non-school" types of training (on-the-job training, self-learning, job rotation, apprenticeship and quality circles, etc.), the author searches for the reasons for these two European exceptions. Although certain national institutional and structural characteristics common to both countries may explain this particular vision of continuing training, they only account for part of the similarities between Austria and France in terms of training practices. The cultural dimension therefore assumes an interest as a possible explanation for this behaviour. The assumption of a common social notion of training can therefore be advanced to explain the responses of employers in these two countries. (Contains 4 tables and 6 footnotes.)