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Article
Publication date: 20 February 2023

Prakash Kumar Paudel and Mahesh Nath Parajuli

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the formal workplace learning situation in Nepal and argue that workplace learning is not in priority in Nepali Technical and Vocational…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the formal workplace learning situation in Nepal and argue that workplace learning is not in priority in Nepali Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) despite a regular policy emphasis.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered using both desk-based review of pre-diploma and diploma-level curricula and semi-structured interviews with eight employers and six technical school principals. Coded themes were interpreted in the meaning-making process.

Findings

Workplace skills learning in Nepal has remained a neglected agenda. Despite some successful implementation practices and policy recognition, it is stagnated. Employers expect skills in graduates relevant to their demands. However, unfortunately, there needs to be more trust for a culture of shared responsibilities among employers and TVET providers for arranging the provisions so that the learners can acquire the skills that the employers need. There is a blaming game between them, which has ultimately resulted in the poor arrangement of workplace learning.

Practical implications

TVET providers’ and employers’ engaged participation in recognizing and developing workplace learning for making the learning as per the needs of the world of work could benefit them and also support students to upgrade and acquire employability skills.

Originality/value

This paper is based on empirical data and contributes new knowledge in academia which is still rare in the context of Nepal.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2023

Xiao Xu

Utilizing datasets of Ecuador, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Peru from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey from 2017 to 2018, this study…

Abstract

Purpose

Utilizing datasets of Ecuador, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Peru from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey from 2017 to 2018, this study aimed to develop and validate a profile indicating core workplace skills in developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

DeVellis' guide of scale development navigated the development of the profile. Multiple techniques including item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis were used on a sample of 7,166 participants to validate the profile of core workplace skills in developing countries.

Findings

A resultant five-dimensional profile with 18 items was developed: oral communication skills, reading skills, math skills, information and communication technology skills and learning skills. The estimates of composite reliability showed the profile was reliable. The validity estimates of the profile were obtained from several sources including content, convergent, discriminative and construct validity. The measurement invariance was also held for the profile.

Originality/value

Based on the researcher's knowledge, the study is the first attempt to develop a profile to indicate core workplace skills in developing countries. The profile theoretically framed the core workplace skills in developing countries and provides a new measure for identifying, evaluating and thus improving core workplace skills in developing countries for different stakeholders in the era of Education 4.0.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2014

Sari Metso

The purpose of this paper is to identify organizational factors that enhance the vocational students’ development of professional skills during workplace learning and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify organizational factors that enhance the vocational students’ development of professional skills during workplace learning and, furthermore, to examine the effects of the factors identified on the development.

Design/methodology/approach

The results were based on 285 Finnish graduating vocational students’ responses. The confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations were conducted by using Lisrel.

Findings

The students’ development of professional skills was enhanced by three organizational factors: an innovative climate, guidance, and interactions with seniors. Furthermore, the results emphasized that other employees have a central role in enhancing the students’ professional skills development.

Research limitations/implications

The study used the students’ self-appraisal of the examined factors because it seems to be a common approach. However, future research should consider managers’ and seniors’ viewpoints.

Practical implications

Managers should map present and future skills requirements set by the organization and create a detailed plan for the students’ workplace learning. A practical tool to engage and support employees to enhance the students’ professional skills is to make a process with explicit descriptions of each organizational factor and the actors’ responsibilities.

Originality/value

The study provides empirical evidence supporting the substantial influence of organizations on the students’ development of professional skills.

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1993

Karen Rupp‐Serrano

Literacy has been one of the most publicized societal problems of the past decade, and it is likely to continue as such for some time to come. Like many problems of modern…

Abstract

Literacy has been one of the most publicized societal problems of the past decade, and it is likely to continue as such for some time to come. Like many problems of modern society, it involves a variety of educational, social, and economic factors, and will therefore not be easily solved.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 19 June 2017

Diana Rajendran, Karen Farquharson and Chandana Hewege

The purpose of this paper is to explore how highly skilled migrants to Australia integrate into the workplace, focussing on the factors that foster or hinder that integration.

3867

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how highly skilled migrants to Australia integrate into the workplace, focussing on the factors that foster or hinder that integration.

Design/methodology/approach

An inductive method using an interpretive methodological approach was employed. In-depth interview data were analysed thematically.

Findings

Informal workplace practices, such as informal peer mentoring and having an “empathetic” supervisor, also assisted with integration, as did migrant self-help strategies. Factors hindering integration included structural barriers outside the organisation and workplace factors such as racism, cultural barriers and individual factors that centred on the migrants themselves.

Research limitations/implications

While the exploratory qualitative enquiry sheds light on issues of concern regarding workplace integration of skilled migrants, further studies with diverse migrant groups would be required to understand if the findings could be replicated. An industry or sector-wise migrant study would shed more light on the issues.

Practical implications

Fostering and hindering factors identified through the lens of four workplace integration theories can inform workplace integration strategies and related policy formulation.

Originality/value

Informed by four theories of integration, the findings shed light on the everyday workplace experiences of linguistically competent, self-initiated, highly skilled migrants from diverse ethnic/cultural backgrounds in Australian workplaces in a range of industries. While previous research has identified problems experienced by migrants at work, this paper explores factors fostering and hindering workplace integration through the lens of the lived experiences of skilled migrant workers.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2021

Farveh Farivar, Roslyn Cameron and Jaya A.R. Dantas

Drawing on embeddedness theory, we examine how skilled immigrants' perceived brain-waste affects their social embeddedness. Social embeddedness facilitates the acquisition of host…

1329

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on embeddedness theory, we examine how skilled immigrants' perceived brain-waste affects their social embeddedness. Social embeddedness facilitates the acquisition of host country-specific human capital, which, in return, can accelerate the transfer of immigrants' human capital in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 397 skilled immigrants in Australia participated in this study. We applied a set-theoretic approach to decode the complexity and interplay among the key concepts used in this study.

Findings

We found the impacts of psychological workplace wellbeing and workplace discrimination on social embeddedness differ between skilled immigrants who experience perceived brain-waste and skilled immigrants whose skills were recognized by employers. The results suggest that job satisfaction is the most critical factor contributing to social embeddedness among skilled immigrants who did not report brain-waste. Furthermore, we found that married skilled male immigrants who reported brain-waste still could embed socially if they did not directly experience workplace discrimination.

Originality/value

The majority of previous studies have compared skilled immigrants with their local-born colleagues, but we compared two groups of skilled migrants in the current study. We adopted fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to test how unique configurations of several variables can ease their social embeddedness into the host society.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 51 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2009

Tony Fang

The purpose of this paper is to analyze employer responses to vacancies and skill shortages by adopting certain workplace practices.

2325

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze employer responses to vacancies and skill shortages by adopting certain workplace practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Making use of the longitudinal nature of the Workplace and Employee Survey, a nationally representative sample of Canadian organizations, the paper applies both linear and probit models to examine incidence of positive vacancies and vacancy rates and subsequent adoptions of various workplace practices in response to such vacancies and skill shortages.

Findings

Employers respond to labour and skill shortages in a number of ways, focusing more on short‐term and less costly solutions, such as adoption of flexible working hours and increases in overtime hours, greater reliance on flexible job design and part‐time workers, and implementation of self‐directed work groups and problem‐solving teams. There is no evidence that workplaces would raise employee wages or fringe benefits to alleviate shortages.

Practical implications

In the absence of a well‐developed internal market, firms are likely to continue using short‐term and less costly solutions. Governments should work with firms, workers and their representatives and act strategically to resolve issues of timely identification of skill shortages in order to make informed decisions and put mechanisms in place to address such shortages.

Originality/value

The results are based on a national longitudinal survey and a number of important practical and policy implications are discussed in the paper

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2004

Karen Evans and Natasha Kersh

The part played by tacit skills and knowledge in work performance is well recognised but not well understood. These implicit or hidden dimensions of knowledge and skill are key…

4025

Abstract

The part played by tacit skills and knowledge in work performance is well recognised but not well understood. These implicit or hidden dimensions of knowledge and skill are key elements of “mastery”, which experienced workers draw upon in everyday activities and continuously expand in tackling new or unexpected situations. This paper, based on the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Network on Workplace Learning, argues that it is important to understand better how tacit forms of key competences can contribute to sustaining learning outcomes in different types of learning environments.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 16 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 June 2023

Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol

Considering the detrimental impact of workplace cyberbullying on employees and organizations, it is necessary to understand factors that potentially induce employees to engage in…

Abstract

Purpose

Considering the detrimental impact of workplace cyberbullying on employees and organizations, it is necessary to understand factors that potentially induce employees to engage in cyberbullying and to recognize personal characteristics that may help employees mitigate its impact. This research applies the conservation of resources (COR) theory to investigate the effect of organizational politics and political skill on employees' exposure to workplace cyberbullying as well as to analyze the subsequent impact on emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the interaction effect of political skill and organizational politics on employees' exposure to workplace cyberbullying is analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

The total of 358 complete questionnaires were obtained from one medium-sized public university in Thailand. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data.

Findings

The analysis supports the positive association between organizational politics and employees' exposure to workplace cyberbullying. Employees' exposure to workplace cyberbullying also has a positive association with emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, the analysis showed that political skill has a negative association with employees' exposure to workplace cyberbullying. The result from the moderating effect analysis further shows that political skill also reduces the impact of organizational politics on employees' exposure to workplace cyberbullying.

Originality/value

The incorporation of the COR theory provides theoretical insight into how political skill of employees can buffer the impact of organizational politics on exposure to workplace cyberbullying. It advances the knowledge found in previous research that lacked solid theory to explain the interaction between organizational politics and political skill of employees in the area of workplace cyberbullying.

Details

Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-4323

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 May 2017

Giovanni Russo

We investigate the relationship between job complexity and skill development of adult workers in Europe using the Cedefop European Skills and Jobs Survey.1 The results suggest…

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between job complexity and skill development of adult workers in Europe using the Cedefop European Skills and Jobs Survey. 1 The results suggest that challenging workplaces in which jobs are designed to include complex tasks that place high demands on workers’ skills also stimulate skill development. Increasing the degree of job complexity has positive and robust effects on the degree of skill development. Skill development is also positively linked to job tenure. The analysis stresses the importance of on-the-job learning and contextual workplace characteristics for adult workers’ skill development.

Details

Skill Mismatch in Labor Markets
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-377-7

Keywords

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