ERIC Number: ED417330
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1997-Nov
Pages: 19
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Latent Factor--An Impetus for Employer Provided Education.
Fusch, Gene E.
A new phenomenon is emerging: companies are diverging from human capital theory by providing employees a general education in addition to specific training at the workplace. Blue collar workers often do not pursue higher education due to perceived lack of opportunities. If an employer provides educational opportunities, blue collar workers may experience a shift in mind and attitudinal change. Vroom's expectancy-valence theory explains workers' participation in education opportunities at the workplace: they believe participation will have certain desirable consequences (expectancy) and they conceive of participation as a means to satisfy their needs (valence). Evidence suggests that providing blue collar workers with opportunities for a general education at the workplace will reduce workers' perceived barriers for participation and provide a rationale for participation with expected outcomes. Innovative education and industry partnerships have implications for enterprises as they strive to correlate workplace learning to performance and production. Such workplace strategies include the following: tuition reimbursement; onsite professional education for engineers and management; Honeywell (Canada) Ltd.'s partnership with a community college that launched a lifelong learning initiative to enhance self-directed work teams, empowerment, global competitiveness, and a high performance workplace; and Ford Motor Company's program for life enhancement opportunities. (Contains 33 references.) (YLB)
Descriptors: Access to Education, Adult Education, Blue Collar Occupations, Educational Economics, Educational Opportunities, Employee Attitudes, Employer Attitudes, Employer Employee Relationship, Fringe Benefits, General Education, Human Capital, Human Resources, Individual Needs, Industry, Labor Force Development, Learning Motivation, Lifelong Learning, Partnerships in Education, Productivity, School Business Relationship, Theories
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A