This study uses a person-centered approach to investigate construction workers' learning at work, focusing on their approaches to learning, self-efficacy beliefs and work engagement and how these vary according to their goal orientation profiles. Survey data were collected from Finnish construction sector employees (N = 1,280) in June 2021. The…

Context: Existing studies have explored the association between workplace training and wages suggesting that training participation may have a positive association with wages. However, we still know very little about whether this association varies between men and women. Through its potential positive association with wages, training may balance…

Rapid changes in working life have raised awareness of the need for lifelong learning among personnel, and there is increasing concern regarding the sustainability of such learning, especially in growth companies, where learning can be seen as a prerequisite for many work practices. Hence, the aim of this study is to understand the sustainability…

Purpose: A fundamental assumption of the apprenticeship model is that there are benefits to both employers and individual learners. This study offers a broad conceptual interrogation of this inherent assumption underpinning the apprenticeship model. Approach: This study combines analysis of literature and available data and draws upon…

This article explains the realisation and impact of tutoring on learning through a new kind of on-the-job learning method in workshops led by professional musicians. The research is a qualitative case study involving 62 upper secondary Finnish vocational music students who participated in 11 workshops. The research data consist of (a) workshop…

This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest…

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine young diplomats' socialization to the professional expert culture of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland over a six-month on-job training period, as part of their preparation for service in the diplomatic corps. Using social network analysis, we analyzed departments' internal social…

The aim of this study is to analyze discursively how the relationship between educational institutions and workplaces materializes in the position of a vocational teacher. Several studies have pointed out that the role of vocational teachers is changing as a result of current educational reforms, which can be understood in terms of bringing…

Purpose: This paper aims to identify methods of guidance and supervision used in air traffic control training. It also aims to show how these methods facilitate trainee participation in core work activities. Design/methodology/approach: The paper applies the tools of conversation analysis and ethnomethodology to explore the ways in which trainers…

The field of workplace learning lacks empirical studies that view workplace practices as places for learning and see these practices in a critical light. Accordingly, the aim of this study is, first, to describe examples of everyday shared practice and consider what kinds of various conflicting aims and demands exist in it. Second, the purpose is…

A case study of a tailor-made apprenticeship training program for experienced employees is presented. The existing and aspiring heads, managers, and experts in a single enterprise were offered apprenticeship training for special vocational qualification in engineering. The aim of the case study was to discover participants' views about age,…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine employees' conceptions of the meaning of experience in job-competence and its development in workplace context. The aim is to bring out the variety of conceptions related to experience, competence and workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on interview data from six Finnish small and…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe the organization of workplace learning in Finnish polytechnics, the models that have been developed for this purpose, and the challenges presented. Design/methodology/approach: First, the models for embedding workplace learning in the curriculum are described and analysed. Second, the conflicting…

Purpose: The paper seeks to investigate design engineers' and product developers' learning through their work. The aim was to approach designers' work practice and their learning in the course of it as perceived by the designers themselves. The aim is also to examine their learning through the various individual and social processes, which take…

This book presents results of a European study into the changing role of human resource development (HRD). Chapter 1, "Introduction," describes the background, objectives, research questions, and underlying research project. Chapter 2, "Learning Organizations and HRD" (Saskia Tjepkema, Hilde ter Horst, Martin Mulder), discusses…