Employees supporting the learning, training and development

Training the Trainers:
First International ln-line conference
5-6 th November 2008
Employees supporting the learning, training and development of other employees while working in groups: examples drawn from aerospace, health and accountancy
Alan Brown
[email_address]
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/glacier/learning/
http:// www.tlrp.org/themes/workplaceov.html

how organisations support employees learning from each other (while working in groups)
some team members explicitly encouraged to support the learning and development of others
accountancy case study draws on the work of the Early Career Learning project funded by ESRC TLRP
TLRP Associate Director: workplace learning

The development of expertise in knowledge-intensive workplaces in aerospace.
focus on competence insufficient basis for preparation for future performance.
Need to take a developmental view of expertise.
development of expertise should itself be viewed as a continuing process.
goes beyond expecting technical proficiency and a commitment to continuing improvement.

Competence inventories of staff:
Those who are technically able to perform a task but have very limited practical experience
Those who have successfully performed the task a few times
Those who have performed the task many times and under a variety of conditions
Those who have substantial experience but are also able to support the learning of others
Those who are world class, that is they are able to think through and, if necessary, bring about changes in the ways that tasks are tackled

importance of having a capacity to support the learning of others as well a capacity to change the way things are done.
Workplace-based assessment (WPBA) traditionally focused on the first three levels
Assessment could be broadened to cover aspects of interaction with others, both on task and at other times
Compare German Meister qualifications

Early career learning in nursing, engineering and accountancy
graduates challenge in applying what they have learned during training
not a simple case of transfer of knowledge to a new setting.
development of expertise built around integration of different kinds of knowledge.

Eraut (2004) five stages:
The extraction of potentially relevant knowledge from the context(s) of its acquisition and previous use;
Understanding the new situation, a process that often depends on informal social learning;
Recognising what knowledge and skills are relevant;
Transforming them to fit the new situation;
Integrating them with other knowledge and skills in order to think / act / communicate in the new situation.

Much learning and development takes place while working,
Social capital developed through participation in work-related networks,
The informal learning associated with personal networks was often important in many contexts over a career,
Need for employees to develop a range of generic skills (planning, problem solving, communication, IT and management skills) and much skill development in these areas can come through informal learning while working coupled with short periods of explicit formal learning and reflection upon experience.
Use of personal networks can be an effective way to critically reflect upon work.

Learning how to support the learning of others (especially for those with management and supervision responsibilities) is vital to improve the likelihood of significant learning while working,
Learning how to organise knowledge effectively and apply it appropriately can be developed effectively through informal learning coupled with more formal reflective and deliberative learning,
Innovation and learning within and across organisations are social processes and both personal networks and cross-company networks need to pay attention to building relationships to support development as well as focusing upon substantive issues.
Need to consider the interaction between formal and informal approaches to learning, skill development and knowledge creation as a particularly effective way forward not only for enhancing personal professional development but also as a means to improve organisational effectiveness.

informal learning in learning-rich jobs value of ‘learning by interacting’ within communities and networks: personal development and sense-making.
desire for sense-making driven by search for understanding and/or a function of participation in networks with an explicit learning dimension.
Learning from others with acknowledged expertise is sometimes facilitated through particular activities (e.g. work shadowing), sometimes through explicit knowledge development and sharing activities and at other times is built into the organisation of work activities (e.g. in the construction of project teams).

Employees supporting the learning, training and development

by network_trainers on Nov 10, 2008

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Employees supporting the learning, training and development — Presentation Transcript