Purpose: In a best-case scenario, both organisations and their employees gain from technological changes by staying up to date on developing digitalisation. However, opportunities to learn and use modern technologies may not be shared equally in the workplace. Employee groups can be divided between those with and without access to new…

Most studies on participation in training focus on participation versus non-participation. The individual's participation varies, however, very much in terms of the duration of training, from until a few days to intensive participation. This study examines participation in non-formal training by the total amount of training during a year. In the…

Living in learning societies encourages learning outside the classroom. Alongside this reality, higher education institutions have been incorporating policies and procedures that support recognition of prior learning (RPL). This development means establishing adequate RPL assessment practices. Our empirical study at the Aalto University Language…

Interviews in two technology-intensive Finnish companies (banking and engineering) found that workplace learning was continuous and active. Learning stimuli and competence development differed in two settings. A more systematic, long-term approach to learning and acknowledgment of collective competence could improve the work environment as a…

As part of a larger research project on workplace learning, a study examined learning at work as it is experienced among product planners in Finland. The study focused on three questions: (1) What kind of experience do employees interpret as learning? (2) What kind of meanings do employees give their action and learning individually and together?…

Work and learning in microenterprises in the printing industries of four European Community (EC) countries were examined through 17 case studies of firms with 10 or fewer employees (5 firms in Finland and 4 each in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain). Structured interviews were conducted with each firm's owner and a total of 90 staff at the 17…

WORKTOW was a multidisciplinary action research project carried out in 27 small and medium-sized enterprises in the United Kingdom, Finland, and Norway. The main focus was on the learning of workers aged 45 and older. In-depth case studies were conducted in all three countries involving a range of learning interventions. Results showed age was not…