Background
The European Union is committed to becoming the most competitive
and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. In 2010, the
European Commission funded a major comparative study of changing
patterns of work-related learning and career development in Europe.
The purpose of this study was to gather evidence on how individuals
make use of their learning and development throughout their working
lives. The study sought to develop an understanding of:
- how individuals' careers unfolded over time;
- how different types of learning interact across the life
course; and
- how learning may facilitate mobility in the labour market.
The study consisted of an extensive literature review, a
detailed survey of 1,148 individuals from 10 countries[1]
and some detailed individual 'case histories'. Most of the survey
respondents were in full-time permanent employment in their
mid-career (aged 30 to 55) having achieved skilled worker or
graduate qualifications in engineering, ICT or health. They were
working primarily in the health, ICT, education and manufacturing
sectors. The overall sample also included a small sub-set of people
with few qualifications and/or who worked in jobs requiring few
qualifications.
There were four main themes arising from the research:
The Complementary Roles of Different Forms of Learning
People acquired the knowledge and skills to perform their
current role through a wide variety of methods. These include
initial studies and training, learning through challenging tasks,
self directed learning, learning from others at work and additional
training, amongst others. The key point here is that the different
forms of learning are complementary, and that the successful
completion of challenging tasks at work can lead to a 'virtuous
spiral'. However, some respondents reported that in developing the
knowledge, skills and understanding which underpin job performance
they were extending their capabilities faster than their role
allowed them to demonstrate.
The Value of Substantive Episodes of Learning and
Development
In addition to incremental learning through challenging work,
many respondents with successful career biographies found their
prospects transformed through episodes of substantive learning,
such as formal academic qualifications. That is, as well as ongoing
adaptive learning there were periods of intense
episodic learning.
The Importance of Personal Agency
Most survey respondents had a strong sense of commitment and
ownership to their learning and career development - and this was
reflected in their positive attitudes towards learning. For many,
participation in training and learning activities was largely
driven by skill development and personal development - wanting to
develop a broader range of skills/knowledge and wanting to develop
more specialised skills/knowledge. Many older workers in the survey
had had to contend with major shifts in organisational structures
in addition to changes in their own roles - their learning and work
trajectory was intrinsically bound to the structural conditions
that they faced.
Negotiating Career Paths in a Landscape of Different
Opportunities
Even within many of the successful career paths evident from
survey respondents, anxieties still remained. People recognised
that navigating a career path could be fraught with difficulties,
especially at a time of organisational change and structural
constraints. When opportunities are limited, there is a need to
emphasise the immediate benefits of being a learner, rather than
where the learning itself might lead. In addition, there is a
potential policy issue here in seeking to extend the breadth and
quality of opportunities available.
Implications for Support for Learning and Career
Development
A number of implications arise from this analysis in terms of
support for learning and career development:
The Importance of Career Guidance to Lifelong Learning,
Reskilling and Job Mobility
Information, advice and guidance are crucial in facilitating
positive outcomes for individuals and in supporting the smooth
functioning of the labour market. Within this, there is a need to
recognise the value in helping individuals articulate their
learning and career development to their goals, expectations and
development strategies.
The Importance of Adaptability
In addition to achievement and competence, expertise can be
extended to recognise the importance of being able to adapt
to changing circumstances - for instance, in combining and applying
existing skills and knowledge in new ways. Adaptability is not
solely an individual characteristic; it also has social and
structural features which can be actively promoted.
Support for Workers in Low-Skilled Employment
Research has shown that, across Europe, individuals in
low-skilled work were most likely to enhance their skills by
changing jobs. Information, advice and guidance can have a key role
here in assisting individuals to develop a 'career narrative' -
understanding their career path to date and how it might develop in
future.
Support for Older Workers
The research highlighted some older workers who had dynamic
careers involving leading change in major organisations. Other
older workers were 'coasting' to retirement, leaving them
vulnerable to changes in their existing job or organisation. This
suggests a need to offer opportunities to older workers as part of
any upskilling strategy, alongside access to guidance for those
considering reskilling to a different career path.
The Richness and Diversity of Workplace Learning and its Role
in Personal Development
The overall study emphasises the richness and diversity of
workplace learning, although the challenge of recognising and
validating some of this learning remains. Equally, however, there
is a need for access to formal education programmes which can
consolidate such learning, forming a platform for individual
development and life transformation.
Potential Policy Challenges
A number of policy challenges emerge from this research:
- people need support and guidance to develop an understanding of
their career path to date and in assessing their future options.
This support can help people of all ages, including older workers
considering mid-career changes and in supporting progression both
within and between sectors.
- our approach to lifelong learning needs to embrace both the
adaptive form of learning which occurs more or less
continuously and the episodic nature of some intensive
periods of learning.
- individuals who face long periods without substantive
upskilling or reskilling risk being 'locked in' to specific ways of
working. This can make them more vulnerable to significant changes
in their job or circumstances.
- formal qualifications are an important proxy for learning and
development, but they do not fully capture the range, depth and
variety of forms of learning while working.
- the role of challenging work is important in assisting the
low-skilled in developing their employability, but also in
producing a positive disposition towards learning for workers
generally. However, learning through challenging work may not be
sufficient in itself and by itself to support deeper understanding
in particular fields of endeavour. A wider range of complementary
learning also has a key role here.
- continuing vocational training is about more than career
development. The ultimate goal should be to encourage individuals
to take greater control of their own lives more generally.
Professor Alan Brown
Professorial Fellow at the Warwick Institute for Employment
Research.
Alan's research has a strong international orientation, focusing
mainly upon continuing vocational training, skill formation,
organisational performance and professional guidance networks.
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[1] France, Germany, Italy,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and the
UK