Learner demand and workplace participation for learning

1
Learner demand and workplace participation for
learning
Prof. MARK STUART
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BACKGROUND

• Involvement in various projects on workplace
  learning, mainly from employment relations
  perspective
• Trade Union Learning current evaluation
• Raising the Demand for Learning 3 year, EU
  funded action research project, coordinated by
  the Campaign for Learning low skill workers
• Time to talk training guidance on how to
  develop an effective dialogue on skills at the
  workplace, for CBI, TUC, BERR and DIUS.

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Rationale for understanding demand for learning

• Understand how to raise demand and its potential
  impact seen as important in context of
• Perceived UK skills deficit and basic skills
  problem
• The (policy) turn to the demand side
• Raising demand from individuals will put
  pressure on employers to make use of individual
  skills and will enlarge the availability of
  skilled labour (PIU, 2001)
• A dual approach stimulating independent
  individual demand for development as well as
  employer demand will achieve impact for a
  demand-led workforce development system
  (Strategy Unit, 2002)
• Effective workplace dialogue can contribute to
  learner demand, opportunities for learning and
  positive outcomes

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Project methods

• Raising the demand for learning project, 3
  years, involved
• 8 large public/ private organisations each
  employed an action researcher with practical
  initiatives
• Wide stakeholder group
• accompanying research programme
• 400 qualitative interviews (workers/ managers)
• Two employee surveys second of which
  undertaken in 2005 generated 1561 responses (18
  return)
• Time to talk training
• High level guidance document from social
  partners
• 12 case studies of good practice in different
  contexts

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Individual experiences of learning/ training

• Extensive experience of learning (formal and
  informal) and high demand for more learning
• Learning facilitated by personal want to
  develop at work organisational expectations of
  development need to gain qualification
• Perceived changes in skills dealing with
  people planning problem solving.
• Organisations most likely to provide training on
  computers dealing with people (typically less
  than 2 days)
• Anticipated outcomes of future development more
  optimistic than past experience (eg. pay,
  promotion, job choices)

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Factors that encourage take up of learning at work

• Past experiences of take-up
• Need to have qualification
• Support from managers
• External standards (IiP)
• Better information
• Time off for learning
• Future take-up
• Freedom to choose topic of learning
• Payment/ time off for learning
• Support and encouragement from management
• Needing to have a qualification

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Line management support

• Line management support considered important, and
  first point of contact
• But demand for more engagement
• Appraisal more focused on performance and
  learning opportunity

Actual discussions Desired discussions
gt Once a month 12 16
Once a month 20 33
Every 3 months 26 30
Every 6 months 13 12
Every 12 months 29 9
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Model of demand for learning (how keen are you
to receive training in the future?)

• Positive factors
• Want to develop Job requires new skills
• Opportunities for learning Like different job
• Negative factors
• Training opportunities open to all
• Interventions (high influence)
• Learning centre Need for qualification
• Courses for reading, writing Free to chose topic
• maths

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Model for performance (how far has skills from
training improved your performance at work?)

• Positive factors at work
• Meeting with line managers one a month/ support
  from line managers
• Training for dealing with people using
  computers helping workmates learn their job
• Length of training
• Sharing skills learnt with workmates and having
  this monitored by line managers
• High expectations of future learning
• Interventions (high influence)
• Courses to improve computer skills

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Its time to talk training Workplace dialogue

• The raising the demand for learning project
  reveals that workforce engagement is important
• Yet, relatively little is known about this in
  term of engagement and workforce dialogue over
  training. This was explored by UK Guidance
  Document
• Workforce dialogue was found to vary from open
  door policy, through appraisal to structured
  management-union forums, committees and
  agreements (from direct to indirect)
• 12 cases were examples of good practice and
  dialogue was seen to have led to quality
  improvements reduced staff turnover improved
  internal communication enhanced staff
  recruitment improved learning cultures improved
  industrial relations.
• But issues of mistrust and hidden agendas of
  dialogue needed to be overcome fear by
  employees possible resentment by the line
• Linking to wider corporate policy and embedding
  was important.

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Top Tips on Dialogue!

• Need supportive senior management
• Need all to be onside/committed to principles
• Must be seen as genuine (delivery)
• Need to take long-term perspective
• Structures, and embedding, matter
• its easy to start a dialogue over training,
  structures are important to maintain dialogue

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Conclusions

• High demand for learning
• Workforce development influenced naturally by
  various workplace factors
• Much emphasis on transfer and skills
  utilisation
• Structures and processes of employee
  participation and workforce dialogue also
  important