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1 – 10 of 811There is a global concern about the effectiveness of vocational education and training (VET) programmes in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a global concern about the effectiveness of vocational education and training (VET) programmes in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. Experiential learning (EL) is a major component of VET programmes. This article aims to examine the effects of facilitating VET through EL theory to promote youths' skills acquisition. The study looks at the effects of material resources on the use of experiential learning theory (ELT), the types of EL and the contribution of ELT to VET programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design mainly entails a qualitative research design and research method to allow the researcher to view the reality as is experienced from the inside out by the trainees and training centre managers on important data for a thorough understanding. The study participants were 512 young trainees who completed different training courses from the VET programmes and 24 centre managers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
Findings
The findings reveal that the use of ELT in VET programmes helped the trainees to gain real-world skills, hence contributing to their empowerment in terms of work experience and competence for their future employment. Based on the findings, the study concludes that ELT is an effective instrument to promote VET programmes for disadvantaged and unemployed youths.
Practical implications
The practical and social implications of the findings are that, while disadvantaged youths cannot access and afford higher education, public and private sectors can remedy their situation by providing non-school-based technical and vocational training to help such youths enter the labour market. The findings will motivate the providers of skills development for unemployed youths to use ELT in designing course curricula, planning resources and directing teaching-learning approaches to help trainees to acquire skills and competencies to perform tasks close to real-work situations.
Social implications
The socio-economic implication of the article is that skills development plays an important role in poverty reduction. Investing in the skills development of citizens is vital to raise the incomes of poor groups and to reduce poverty (ILO, 2018). Although the causes of unemployment have also to do with economic factors in a country, skills development is an essential ingredient in developing capacities for labour market entry and increased income generation of a vulnerable group of people.
Originality/value
The article is significant because the study provides new insights into the use of ELT in VET programmes to improve their effectiveness in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by establishing a solid base for the evidence-informed practice of the effects of facilitating the VET programme through ELT to promote skills acquisition for the employment of unemployed and disadvantaged youths.
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This study aims to address this unexplored influence of international assignment types on the development, transfer and utilization of career capital by assigned repatriates from…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to address this unexplored influence of international assignment types on the development, transfer and utilization of career capital by assigned repatriates from host to home country. In response to existing literature gap, it aligns with the need for qualitative case studies that delve into threats to the self-reinforcement of repatriates' career capital.
Design/methodology/approach
By mean of a qualitative case study, this paper deepens understanding of linkages and processes in career capital development and clarify the interplay between individual interpretations of career actions and the organizational context in which they unfold. Nineteen qualitative interviews with assigned repatriates explored the impact of exposure to new career contexts.
Findings
This study provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of career capital development and transfer during international assignments. It elucidates the impact of career context on assigned repatriates' career capital, emphasizing challenges in career capital generation, dispersion and absorption within multinational enterprises. It contributes to understanding the complexities of (new) managerial capacity development by revealing varied effects that international assignments can exert on individuals' immediate competencies and career capital.
Practical implications
If the assigned expatriate/repatriate’s understanding of the firm’s assignment motive, and their own motive (understanding/reason) for the assignment corresponds then expectations of outcomes can be better managed. Organizations otherwise run the risk of perpetuating inequities in the career development opportunities of employees.
Originality/value
Studies on career capital emphasize its qualities or examine different globally mobile employee types. Yet there's a gap in understanding how the type of assignment impacts career capital development, transfer and utilization. This research fills this void by investigating the international transfer of career capital from host to home country specifically for assigned repatriates.
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Barbara Heilemann and Polly Parker
This paper highlights how career capital is accrued through three ways of knowing in a women’s leadership programme (WLP) in an Australian State Police Department. A shift in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper highlights how career capital is accrued through three ways of knowing in a women’s leadership programme (WLP) in an Australian State Police Department. A shift in focus to building capability rather than addressing gaps in participants' abilities was enhanced through the unique use of sponsors and positive psychology interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal study, which comprised 31 semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups, and a survey with participants eight months after the interviews, assessed the impact of enhanced skills, connections and qualifications on extant role performance.
Findings
The WLP enhanced three key components of career capital.
Originality/value
The authors' study extends extant knowledge in seven key ways related to WLPs: (1) reaffirms the benefits for police, (2) developing or enhancing career capital, (3) accruing women’s career capital in policing, (4) pedagogical benefits for WLPs, (5) articulating outcomes of developing career capital, (6) the uniqueness of allocating sponsors and (7) extending empirical studies demonstrating synergies within the intelligent career framework.
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Hyeonah Jo, Minji Park and Ji Hoon Song
A boundaryless career perspective suggests that career competencies are essential for employees who wish to advance their careers in high uncertainty. This study aims to propose…
Abstract
Purpose
A boundaryless career perspective suggests that career competencies are essential for employees who wish to advance their careers in high uncertainty. This study aims to propose an integrated conceptual model for career competencies to provide insights for employees and organizations by identifying what and how one can prepare and provide support for career development in an uncertain and complex work environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The integrated literature reviewed was adapted to provide a conceptual model for career competencies. All 77 studies were reviewed, guided by the intelligent career theory (ICT) and social cognitive career theory (SCCT).
Findings
The mechanisms of career competency development were examined through the interrelationship between three types of knowing; knowing-why, knowing-whom and knowing-how. Career competencies can be considered a developmental process, therefore, they could develop through various interventions and accumulate over time. Especially the results indicate that learning is an essential component of career competencies, as it increases self-efficacy and promotes a desire to achieve positive career outcomes.
Originality/value
This study provided a conceptual model, explored the mechanisms of career competency development and considered how career competencies influence career outcomes. Furthermore, it identified the context of the construct of career competencies by integrating the SCCT and ICT. Finally, it showed the inadequacy of existing research on negative factors of career competency outcomes and recommended further research to broaden the general context of career competency studies.
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Riccardo Sartori, Francesco Tommasi, Andrea Ceschi, Stefano Noventa and Mattia Zene
Given the instability and volatility of the labour market and the global talent scarcity, placing more attention on job employability is fundamental. In this context, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the instability and volatility of the labour market and the global talent scarcity, placing more attention on job employability is fundamental. In this context, the literature has already extensively examined employability as a crucial individual aspect, identifying some significant antecedents, including the applicability of training on the job. The present study aims to examine the impact that teaching employees to craft their job may have on the levels of applicability of training and if, in turn, this improves self-perceived employability.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors involved three private organizations that followed three workshops on job crafting behaviour. To empirically assess the intervention, the authors asked participants of the workshop to complete four quantitative diaries on a weekly basis, i.e. one per week, one before the intervention and three after the intervention. The diaries comprised measures of job crafting behaviours, applicability of training and self-perceived employability.
Findings
Multi-level analysis of data collected provided support to the positive associations between job crafting behaviour and self-perceived employability with the mediating effect of applicability of training. Notably, the applicability of training improves when individuals search for challenges, which indirectly affects perceived employability in terms of organizational sense.
Research limitations/implications
In the present study, no control group was used with which the results of our intervention could be compared. However, this does not affect the overall results, given the amount of intraindividual variability.
Originality/value
The paper proposes initial avenues for promoting employability at work via the use of behavioural job crafting intervention.
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Fazal Uddin Syed and Sikandar Mohd Abdul
The primary purpose of this research paper is to evaluate e-learning among employees of Information Technology (IT) companies based in Hyderabad, India.
Abstract
Purpose
The primary purpose of this research paper is to evaluate e-learning among employees of Information Technology (IT) companies based in Hyderabad, India.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was undertaken among the employees from different IT companies based in Hyderabad, India, to gauge the perception towards e-learning. The participants were selected randomly. The evaluation is based on a few factors: convenience, usefulness, course content, quality, effectiveness and benefits for employees and organizations. The responses were recorded online through a structured questionnaire. In total, 237 responses have been collected for this present study, of which 227 questionnaires were used for analysis.
Findings
The surveyed employees perceived that e-learning helped them enhance their workplace competency in a flexible but effective manner. The e-learning also empowered the learners and ultimately contributed to the enhancement of organizational performance in some ways.
Research limitations/implications
Limitation of the study – by examining the pris study was confined to employees working with IT companies based in Hyderabad City, India. The data is collected online, and there may be some insufficient responses. Implications of the study – the study results show a deep insight into the critical aspects of e-learning as a tool for employee training for the benefit of employees and organizational development. The surveyed respondents from the IT sector at Hyderabad perceived that keys to successful e-learning programs should give due consideration towards availability of internet bandwidth, making the course more interactive, providing more choices to the learners and user-friendly and personalized learning experience. The study also shows that the e-learning programs primarily benefit the employees as well as the organization in a manner, namely, improved productivity, helping to achieve business objectives of the firm, growth and advancement to the employees and enhancing the job-related knowledge. The study also discovered that e-learning improves employees’ opportunities for professional growth and advancement inside and outside the organization by assisting them in learning new skills and enhancing job-related information.
Practical implications
The internet penetration in recent years, as well as post-Covid-19, has given rise to online learning in the education and corporate sectors. The emergence of online or e-learning has been gaining ground in the corporate world by replacing the existing face-to-face or physical training model because of the cost factor and flexible learning to the learners. E-learning improves the learner’s ability to adapt to the company’s constantly changing business environment, which in turn helps the company increase departmental productivity and, ultimately, achieve its overall business goals.
Social implications
The e-learning also empowered the learners and ultimately contributed to the enhancement of organizational performance in some ways. The e-learning also empowers the learner to perform better at his workplace and at the same time moving on the social ladder as the learning makes him/her confident at the job market.
Originality/value
This study provides a valuable understanding of employee perceptions on the adoption and effectiveness of e-learning, which ultimately improves the benefits of the training and development department in realizing and enhancing the quality in corporate companies.
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Anna Sutton and Carol Atkinson
While the potential for HR practices (HRPs) to improve organisational performance is well-established, the mechanisms by which this occurs are complex. Individual HRPs may affect…
Abstract
Purpose
While the potential for HR practices (HRPs) to improve organisational performance is well-established, the mechanisms by which this occurs are complex. Individual HRPs may affect organisational performance either by mutual gains (improving both organisational performance and employee well-being) or by conflicting outcomes (organisational performance is improved at the expense of employee well-being). Models which combine HRPs may mask these differences and this study therefore tests pathways for four individual HRPs.
Design/methodology/approach
HRPs (employee involvement, pay, performance management and training) were hypothesised to influence organisational performance directly and indirectly via employee experiences of work (communication, autonomy) and employee well-being. The study used a large secondary dataset, the UK Workplace Employee Relations Survey 2011, to test these relationships in a multi-level model.
Findings
Employee experiences of work strongly predicted well-being. In addition, three different pathways from HRP to organisational performance were identified. Pay showed indirect negative effects, involvement had direct positive effects and performance management had a mixture of both positive direct and negative indirect effects on performance.
Originality/value
Using a disaggregated analysis of HRP and demonstrating their differing effects, this study questions the feasibility of a universal model of HRP effects. By using multi-level modelling (MLM), the study develops understanding of employee perspectives and integrates these into organisational-level models, demonstrating that performance effects are partially mediated by both employee experiences of work and employee well-being. Finally, the study highlights the complexity of performance effects achieved via both employee benefits and an intensification of employee experiences.
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Md Shamirul Islam, Muslim Amin, Feranita Feranita and Osman M. Karatepe
This study aims to propose and examine a research model where work engagement mediates the impacts of high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) on bank employees' turnover…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose and examine a research model where work engagement mediates the impacts of high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) on bank employees' turnover intentions. Specifically, the paper assesses: (a) the effects of empowerment, information sharing, rewards and training on work engagement and turnover intention, (b) work engagement as a mediator of the effects of these HIWPs on turnover intention (c) and functional competence as a moderator of the effects of these HIWPs on work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was employed to gather data from 343 employees working in commercial banks in Bangladesh. The authors applied partial least squares structural equation modeling to assess the aforesaid linkages.
Findings
Empowerment and information sharing increase bank employees' work engagement, while training and rewards reduce their proclivity to leave. Work engagement partly mediates the relationships of empowerment and information sharing to turnover intention. Functional competence moderates the relationship between three HIWPs (empowerment, information sharing and rewards) on work engagement.
Originality/value
The paper examines the association between HIWPs and turnover intention, which has been subjected to little empirical inquiry among bank employees during a crisis (e.g. Covid-19 pandemic). The paper provides new insights into the underlying mechanism linking HIWPs and turnover intention and highlights the moderating effect of functional competence. Additionally, the study offers new knowledge on the impact of the pandemic on bank employees' HIWPs. Finally, this paper used data gathered from bank employees in Bangladesh, which is an underrepresented Asian country in the extant service research.
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Aqsa Jaleel and Muhammad Sarmad
The ever-demanding role of employees in the hospitality sector stimulates job crafting. This study examines the relationship between inclusive leadership and job-crafting…
Abstract
Purpose
The ever-demanding role of employees in the hospitality sector stimulates job crafting. This study examines the relationship between inclusive leadership and job-crafting dimensions under the mediating role of work engagement through the lens of conservation of resources (COR) theory. It also aims to analyse the boundary condition of job autonomy between inclusive leadership and work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected in 3-time lags from 319 front-line workers in the hospitality sector. The adopted and adapted questionnaires were executed through a deductive approach and an applied research method. The data were analysed through SmartPLS by applying the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique.
Findings
This study provides evidence for a predictive relationship between inclusive leadership and job-crafting dimensions under the mediating psychological mechanism of work engagement. Additionally, the moderating role of job autonomy is established in the unique context of the hospitality sector of an underdeveloped country, Pakistan.
Practical implications
Services-based organisations need to endure the inclusive leadership style by establishing work engagement practices. Engaged employees result in better job-crafting behaviours through better training and subsequent performance.
Originality/value
This study established that work engagement and job autonomy are imperative forces that impact the relationship between inclusive leadership and job-crafting dimensions. The research study has time-lagged data and conveys meaningful theoretical and practical implications.
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