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While research has shown reflection is a valuable part of individual learning, developing reflection habits has remained notoriously difficult, particularly for working adults. We explore whether an intervention of being able to review previous reflections will affect employee engagement in future reflection activities and raise their awareness of learning opportunities at work.

We conducted a large-scale field experiment, including 136 employees from an international bank in Europe, in which participants were asked to reflect twice a week for eight weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to either a group that was given access to their previous reflections, or a group that was not.

We found that individuals who were able to see their previous reflections wrote significantly more subsequent reflections than the other group. In addition, those who could see their previous reflections used more words related to learning and cognition.

Often employees may feel they are only learning when they attend formal trainings. However, this paper provides concrete guidance for how human resources management (HRM) managers can boost employees’ informal learning and awareness of the learning opportunities inherent in challenging work.

This study furthers research on using HRM interventions to facilitate informal learning activities, in particular, methods to motivate systematic reflections and raising awareness of learning opportunities. Our findings suggest that developing habits of reflection and improving awareness of learning opportunities encompasses more than simply writing reflections, but should include processing previous writings.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the constituent parts of learning in the manufacturing work context and understand why these parts are key in the learning of the employees.

The data was collected from two sources: a literature review of the Information Systems literature to establish an initial picture of what learning in relation to digital technologies entails and in-depth interviews with engineers in the automotive industry whose knowledge-intensive work is exposed to substantial digital transformation.

The authors first identified three constituent parts for learning: change, reflection and deliberation. When the authors cross-checked the initial findings through in-depth interviews with the engineers, it was found that these three themes trigger learning through three different mechanisms, that is, balancing newness, finding point of reference and organizing actively. Thus, the findings of this paper extend beyond a categorical identification of what constitutes learning to also illustrate why learning entails these constituent parts.

This paper implies that progressive learning requires active organizing of learning stages. The data is limited to the review of the Information Systems field. The authors have also only focused on the automotive industry as the representative sector in the manufacturing industry.

Applying the model of progressive learning can be a primary way to actively plan and organize learning opportunities for employees. This is key for supporting learning culture in organizations that are exposed to continuous and disruptive changes.

A significant part of social sustainability is based on sustainable employability and feelings of contentment at work. This paper is an attempt to highlight how sustainable employability can be achieved by providing effective learning opportunities at work.

The originality of this paper emerges from two sources. First, the authors conducted the literature review and in-depth interviews by devising innovative methods because of the challenges of identifying when (informal) learning has occurred at work. Second, the authors owe the in-depth interviews to the first author’s extensive familiarity with the automotive industry and the knowledge and rapport acquired through her prior longitudinal research on the engineers’ work. It was this background that allowed the authors to find out when these engineers were about to leave the firm because of discontent about their competence development.

This study aims to identify the relation between perceived learning opportunities, behavioral intentions to voluntarily stay or leave technology organizations and employee retention within these organizations.

This is a survey of 440 employees of a technology organization.

Learning opportunities perceived by managers and technicians presented significant positive correlations with the intention to stay and significant negative correlations with the intention to leave the organization. No relation was identified between perceived learning opportunities and manager retention. Among technicians, the correlation between perceived learning opportunities and retention was near zero.

If the organization wants to guarantee the intention of professionals to stay in the organization, the “perceived learning opportunities” indicator should have a similar level of importance as other objective indicators, such as performance and achievement.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to identify relations between perceived learning opportunities and behavioral intention to stay and leave of professionals that work in technology organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the distribution of learning and training opportunities in the Finnish workforce. It will concentrate on the sectors of the workforce that lack these opportunities.

The Working Conditions Barometer (WCB) data from 2008, 2009 and 2010 are used (N = 3,326) in this investigation. The focus of the study is to examine those employees whose learning and training opportunities fail to match the positive visions of the current “super professional hype”. The problems associated with the workforce training margin are considered as a part of the so-called work process debate.

Findings suggest that age, gender, type of industry and socioeconomic status have an independent influence on an individual’s presence in the training margin: women, older employees, employees in manufacturing and the private service sector and manual workers have a greater risk than others do. The relative differences between the social classes are still prevalent: incapacity and marginalization are primarily working class problems.

The workers should collectively demand certain benefits more forcefully, even when working under fixed-term contracts. Employers should be pressured to organise development opportunities and training for the fixed-term employees, including the type of training that not only benefits an employee in that one company but also the employees’ working life in general. Employers should be persuaded to organise the type of training that improves the chances of a fixed-term or otherwise powerless employee to find a new, perhaps better and more secure job.

Because the percentage of response to the WCB is exceptionally high, 80 per cent on average, the information obtained from the random sample can be generalised to represent all of the working wage earners in Finland and in a European context as well.

This paper provides more insight into the assumption of human capital theory that the productivity of job-related training is driven by the improvement of workers’ skills. We analyze the extent to which training and informal learning on the job are related to employee skill development and consider the heterogeneity of this relationship with respect to workers’ skill mismatch at job entry. Using data from the 2014 European Skills and Jobs Survey, we find – as assumed by human capital theory – that employees who participated in training or informal learning show greater improvement of their skills than those who did not. The contribution of informal learning to employee skill development appears to be larger than that of training participation. Nevertheless, both forms of learning are shown to be complementary. This complementarity between training and informal learning is related to a significant additional improvement of workers’ skills. The skill development of workers who were initially underskilled for their job seems to benefit the most from both training and informal learning, whereas the skill development of those who were initially overskilled benefits the least. Work-related learning investments in the latter group seem to be more functional in offsetting skill depreciation than in fostering skill accumulation.

The purpose of this article is to explore the opportunities for informal learning among nurses working on a hospital ward.

A field study was conducted in one hospital ward. Methods used to collect data included participant observation, ad hoc conversations and formal interviews.

Eight categories describe the opportunities for informal learning among the nurses. Several factors seemed to mediate the opportunities for informal learning, such as the size and physical structures of the ward, role modeling by the nurse leader, systems and artifacts that triggered and scaffolded learning, and interaction and collaboration among all professionals on the ward.

A limitation is that data are collected from only one ward. A strength is the use of several methods to collect data and the range of participants' ages, experience and gender.

This study offers examples of informal learning opportunities that can be tailored to different clinical settings. Through role-modeling the leader can influence both the norms that become established in a ward and the development of a culture of mutual support and learning.

This article adds to the existing research by including observation in the hospital setting of actual practices that involve informal learning.

Educational policy instruments such as apprenticeship levy and forthcoming lifetime skills guarantee are creating unprecedented opportunities for rapid growth in a range of work-based learning (WBL) programmes, requiring increasingly complex levels of collaboration between providers and employers. Apprenticeships require providers to assume responsibility in ensuring apprentices’ work-based managers and mentors (WBMMs) are equipped to provide effective support to individuals as they learn ‘on the job’. After six years of higher education institution (HEI) apprenticeship curriculum delivery, there is opportunity to examine existing WBMM practice to inform the design, content and delivery of a shared knowledge base via a practical interactive toolkit. By developing clearer understanding of WBMMs’ experiences, expectations and challenges, the study aims to reduce potential gaps in knowledge and skills and encourage more effective collaboration between employers and providers to better support apprentices as they progress through WBL programmes.

This paper discusses evolution of higher level and degree apprenticeships, explores guidance for WBMMs and investigates the influence of expectations and motivations of WBMMS. Theoretical and conceptual foundations relating to WBL programme delivery and WBMM role are analysed and discussed. Qualitative data drawn from semi-structured surveys are analysed thematically to investigate common patterns, clarify understanding and identify development areas to inform future university provider and employer practice.

The findings suggest a number of themes to improve apprentice management; further clarity of WBMMs role, greater involvement of WBMM’s for negotiated learning, unplanned experiences do add value and scope for richer mentoring dialogues. WBL value for WBMMs is broader than expected, incorporating apprentice performance and output improvements, and solving complex problems.

The research is drawn from an established university with five years of experience. However, the context in which programmes are delivered significantly varies according to providers and employers. This means factors other than those highlighted in this paper may continue to emerge as the research in this field develops.

The practical implications from findings can be used to cultivate stronger collaboration, providing a foundation of knowledge intended to provoke further dialogue regarding content for an interactive toolkit. The findings signal the need for further resources, a review of the restrictions associated with levy funding for co-creation of a more effective national apprenticeship framework.

This paper builds on a limited body of research examining employers’ perspectives of apprenticeship management. Degree apprenticeships have attracted limited scholarly attention over six years since their inception (Bowman, 2022) resulting in a significant paucity of research that focuses upon employer role. This study addresses this void by exploring WBMMs experiences, requirements and expectations, revealing new insights for providers of WBL, employers and individuals employed as WBMMs.

The purpose of this paper is to advance understandings of the subjectivities that influence auxiliary‐level female employees' work and learning experiences in general legal practice. Moreover, the aim is to maximise the opportunities for these workers.

A broader critical ethnographic study investigated socio‐cultural perspectives of women, work, and learning. This paper represents part of the study exploring the empirical relationships of female workers and the subjectivities that impact on their work and learning. This approach was based on critical epistemologies and examines sources of workplace barriers. Data were triangulated through interview transcripts, observations, and reflective diaries. The collection of data involved gathering information from nine female workers and an analysis of the data were activated at the research settings and organised into categories through comparison and inductive coding.

Findings suggest that negotiating subjectivities at work is complex and inhibiting for auxiliary workers. Yet, despite low levels of support, auxiliary workers are determined and they find ways to survive through participatory practices and agentic actions. These findings are imperative to enhance auxiliary women's workplace learning experiences.

The research challenges management to acknowledge and expand understandings of subjectivities and to take advantage of these understandings as a springboard to augment auxiliary women's work and learning experiences. Value is in transforming social practice within legal workplaces to better consider the potential of all workers. Also, strategically this may well enhance the productivity and viability of these kinds of practices.

This study aims to find out the means used for individual, group and organizational learning at work at one air navigation service provider after the initial training period. The study also aims to find out what practices need to be improved to enhance learning at work.

The data for the study were collected over four years from several air traffic control (ATC) units of the organisation using different methods. In total, 155 subjects (operative personnel, supervisors) answered a reporting system questionnaire, 20 supervisors participated in interviews and 142 subjects (operative personnel, supervisors) responded to a safety culture questionnaire.

Several learning methods were used in ATC. Some of them were organisation‐wide and mandatory, but others were dependent on the activity of the unit or a single person. Individuals reported problem areas in operative work and learned from them. Group level learning was not actualized in all units of the organisation. Learning was insufficient at the organisational level.

A reporting system is a useful way of learning for individuals working in complex systems such as ATC. To use it for communicative and organisational learning, however, demands the formation of an integrated learning system for the different parts of the organisation and its stakeholders. This system could support conscious analysis of learning material arising from everyday work. These improvements would contribute to securing safety in the field of aviation during major changes.

The paper provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of learning in one complex, high reliability, work area. The study shows that the latest knowledge regarding learning at work was not utilized effectively.

The purpose of this study is to develop the self-initiated work adjustment for learning (SIWAL) scale that measures the adjustments that employees make in their work to enhance learning, based on theories and research on workplace learning, work adjustment and work design.

The SIWAL scale was validated in two independent studies. Study 1 (n = 208) focused on the internal consistency and factor structure of the SIWAL scale. Study 2 (n = 178) re-examined the factorial structure using confirmatory factor analysis and investigated scale validity.

In both studies, the SIWAL scale showed good psychometric characteristics, i.e. a clear two-factorial structure and internal reliable sub-scales. The findings also indicated convergent, divergent and concurrent validity.

Using the SIWAL scale, future research could focus on the individual, social and organizational predictors and outcomes of SIWAL, collect supervisor and peer ratings to further validate this self-report scale and investigate lower-educated workers.

Organizations might try to enhance their employees' SIWAL through organizational policies, such as supportive leadership, and a learning climate.

This study provides a first step toward a better understanding of what workers do to enhance their workplace learning. The study findings indicate that employees address two adaptive behaviors: adjusting job responsibilities and adjusting social interactions.