Workplace learning in the green transition: competence development in the Swedish mining industry

Lifelong learning and competence development is crucial to organizations' success in today's world. As part of public governance in Finland the Finnish Defence Forces view themselves as a learning organization and workplace learning is considered to be a central tool for competence development in the military. A case study about learning through work was conducted in one army unit's three companies. The case study was a part of a larger study analysing networked learning in the conscript-training companies of the Finnish Defence Forces. The study aims to bridge the located research-gap by providing theoretical insights on the collective and individual workplace learning practices of instructors. Theoretical tools offered by knowledge-creation theory and cultural-historical activity theory were used. The knowledge-creation metaphor of learning views learning as collective artefact-mediated activity to produce something new. Cultural-historical activity theory highlights the meaning of culturally-mediated tools and artefacts in moulding the object of activity. A second important point of entry for the study was the realisation that studying individuals learning activities required to situate the learning individuals in their activity system. Drawing from these theoretical foundations workplace learning was understood as object-oriented activity in which tools and personal networks of the subjects play a major role in the individual and collective learning processes. Combining the theoretical foundations with analysing documents and norms concerning competence development in the FDF provided the starting point for an abductive process the researcher used to state the research questions. The analysis focused on the agency of the non-commissioned officers and the expansive and restrictive features of the studied companies as well as the tools, artefacts and personal networks important to learning. Empirical data was collected with semi-structured interviews and egocentric network interviews. The data was analysed with phenomenography and the visualised egocentric networks were analysed qualitatively. The preliminary results suggested that the organization viewed itself as expansive and supportive towards learning. However social affordances and active guidance towards learning were lacking. Active agency was required to succeed in the studied military organization and certain tools were well-known and commonly used in competence development, but new tools were not actively developed. It seems that there is a need to actively create and consolidate new learning practices. Personal networks play a major role in the instructors learning and they can be surprisingly broad and different, which suggests that they are carefully and personally constructed through one's work history.

Workplace learning and competence development in work are frequently used concepts. A wide spread notion is that societal, institutional, and organizational changes require the development of knowledge, methods and strategies for learning at workplaces, in both public and private enterprises. In research on learning and competence development at work, the organizational learning and development as well as individual accomplishments are investigated from various perspectives and in different contexts. The theoretical base for research projects can, accordingly, be focused at a number of organizational and system levels. This paper describes a research project called "Workplace development and learning in elder care" in which learning and knowledge were key issues and where Activity Theory was used as the theoretical base. The project was joint project between two research and development field units. These were UFFE, a municipal social services’ field research unit, and Äldrecentrum Västerbotten, a county council field research unit which aims to serve the interests of the elderly. The project was launched in the fall of 2000 and ended in the summer of 2003. I was employed part-time as a research leader at the municipal research unit and became the research leader for this particular project. A number of students, as well as employees from the county council geriatric care services and the municipal elder care participated in the project. The general aims of the project were to: a) investigate the prerequisites for development and learning; b) test and evaluate interventions at a workgroup level; and c) identify the need for new knowledge. The results were expected to be useful for the field research units as well as for the municipal and county eldercare services in their research and development work.I start with a presentation of the theoretical concepts and apply them in order to form a tentative hypothesis on the status of learning and knowledge in elder care. The next section contains a short description of the different parts of the project and the main results are presented. Finally, the results are discussed and related to the conditions and impact of workplace interventions.

Work experience is becoming an increasingly important part of human capital, so in this lifelong learning, organisations must encourage employees to perform better by providing career opportunities and multidimensional mobility. The shock effect caused by the pandemic and the changed circumstances had a noticeable impact on the organisations, which reacted to the changed environment sometimes with resistance and sometimes with adaptation (for example, collective learning and flexibility), the result of which were the various productive and innovative responses of the organisation to the changes (Spicer, 2020). As a result of the epidemic, millions of employees switched from one day to remote work, which has become a globally recognised form of work and the subject of research. Such a dynamic change in the digital transition has significantly impacted the workplace environment and learning and has changed attitudes about work, employment and workplace learning.

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore individual and collective workplace learning and the connections between them in the contemporary industrial work.Design/methodology/approachTwo case studies were carried out in the Finnish package‐supplier sector. The research methods applied were standardized observations and qualitative interviews.FindingsThe cases show that the socio‐technical influences have created learning‐conductive work at the individual level, but failed to create optimal possibilities for collective learning. The still‐prevailing bureaucratic power relations prevent employees from fully contributing to collective learning and organizational development.Research limitations/implicationsWorkplace‐learning research should study more rigorously the connections between individual and collective learning and, especially, the ways in which the prevailing power relations influence them. Integrating concepts from chaordic systems thinking to the workplace‐learning theory seems fruitful and could be pursued further.Practical implicationsIn order to become organizations in which internal and external development may take place at the individual and collective levels alike, the case companies should directly address their shared mental models regulating employees' participation opportunities rather than leave those models to develop in a non‐reflected way.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the field of workplace learning by presenting a conceptual model on sustainable development building on concurrent individual and collective learning. With the help of this model, founded on several theoretical traditions, strengths and weakness in an organization's approach to workplace learning can be detected.

The paper draws on the role and importance of motivational factors for learners’/employees’ competence development in the context of vocational education and workplace learning. Learners’ motivation is considered to be an important ‘driving force’ of the learning process in the area of work-based learning. The paper focuses on the factors that may facilitate the links between the college and workplace settings, considering in particular those factors that may stimulate learners’ motivation towards competence development and workplace learning.

Stepping Up the Ladder: Competence Development through Workplace Learning Among Employees of Small Tourism Enterprises

More than a placement: A scoping review of the theoretical foundations shaping workplace learning for future nurses.

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on academic library managers’ learning practices in the context of cooperative work supported by computational artefacts. Academic library managers’ everyday work is mainly cooperative. Their cooperation is supported predominantly by computational artefacts. Learning how to use the computational artefacts efficiently and effectively involves understanding the changes in everyday work that affect managers and, therefore, it requires deep understanding of their cooperative work practices.Design/methodology/approachFocused ethnography was conducted through participant observations, interviews and document analysis. Ten managers from a university library in Sweden participated in the research. A thematic method was used to analyse the empirical material. Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and work-integrated learning was used as the conceptual lens.FindingsFive learning practices were identified: collaboration, communication, coordination, decision-making processes and computational artefacts’ use. The findings show that learning is embedded in managers’ cooperative work practices, which do not necessarily include sufficient training time. Furthermore, learning was intertwined with cooperating and was situational. Managers learned by reflecting together on their own experiences and through joint cooperation and information sharing while using the computational artefacts.Originality/valueThe main contribution lies in providing insights into how academic library managers learn and cooperate in their everyday work, emphasizing the role of computational artefacts, the importance of the work context and the collective nature of learning. It also highlights the need for continual workplace learning in contemporary knowledge work environments. Thus, the research generates contributions to the informatics field by extending the understanding of managers’ work-integrated learning in their everyday cooperative work practices supported by computational artefacts’ use. It also contributes to the intersection of CSCW and work-integrated learning.

Purpose: this article is to conceptualize the reasons of European green energy transition sustainability on the basis of its historic dynamics of its political and economic drivers and its possible developments taking into account adjustments of this process caused by current energy market situation.Methods: system analysis in the context of economics and politics, case-study, statistical method, information analysis and synthesis, data visualization method are applied.Results: the process of formation of modern economic and political drivers of green energy transition from the moment of the origin of this process to the present time has been investigated. The scale of the restructuring of European energy in the first quarter of the 21st century is shown based on the analysis of the dynamics of energy production by different types of generation. The substantiation of the sustainability of the process of greening energy in European countries is formulated, consisting in a combination of political and economic factors. The possible options for the development of the European green transition process in the medium term are evaluated, taking into account the adjustments of market conditions that are caused by the current unstable state of the energy markets.Conclusions and Relevance: green energy transition is caused from a political point of view, firstly, by the popularity of the concept among voters, and secondly, by the fact that it is the only option to ensure energy independence for Europe. From an economic point of view, the green transition acts as a tool for the development of industry, support for innovation and a factor in reducing negative externalities associated with the negative consequences of the use of hydrocarbon energy. The combination of these factors ensures the sustainability of the greening of energy, therefore, the most likely option for its medium-term development will be the resumption of the process after finding temporary solutions for energy supply.

UK policies for post-school education and training have continued to focus, in the twenty-first century, on the significance in modern societies of human capital, lifelong learning and work. The competence development of individual workers is expected to play a crucial role in employability and adaptability to economic shifts and changing demands in extended working lives. The nature of competence and its various configurations, as well as the contexts where it could be developed and exercised, continue to be debated as research evidence accumulates on the processes and practices of competence development in large-scale programmes that have been implemented nationally. Because of its complexity and strong dependence on the context where it is applied, the concept of competence has been interpreted and conceptualised in a variety of ways. The meanings given to competence in everyday life, in vocational education and training settings and in academic settings are quite different. What is more, the meaning is likely to change over time. This chapter critically reviews developments and identifies some enduring challenges in the interplay of policies and practice in competence development and workplace learning in the United Kingdom, drawing on examples from contrasting occupational fields.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the challenges of low hierarchy and self-organised structures for employees’ learning and competency development at work. In the past decade, interest in employees’ and organisations’ self-directedness has increased. Self-organised structures are perceived as better able to answer to the quickly changing requirements of clients and business environments. Within these structures, employees are expected to take on more responsibility and maintain more control over their workplace learning, which means they must be self-directed and autonomous. An important question for this approach is how can workplace learning and employee competence development be enhanced.Design/methodology/approachTwo self-organised Finnish information and communication technology-companies participated in the study. With the help of data-driven content analysis, 36 interviews were analysed.FindingsUnclear roles, structures and areas of responsibility caused challenges during the guidance and support of learning, for long-term and sustainable professional development possibilities and in organising and prioritizing work tasks related to learning.Practical implicationsIn self-organised structures, there should be a means of the better supporting individual- and team-based learning. This will allow learning to have as much value as possible in the future and, therefore, be more sustainable. The findings are also important to be taken into account in managers’ and HR professionals’ education and training.Originality/valueThe findings of this study can offer insights into employees’ well-being emerging from the possibility to learn and be supported in that learning especially in self-organised structures, which so far has been scarcely studied.

This paper analyses two perspectives, a macro and a micro perspective, on changes in the workplace in relation to workplace learning. It critically evaluates what kind of phenomena both perspectives can account for. Research from a macro perspective focuses on changes in economy or on organisational change. It helps to explore the role of lifelong learning and workplace learning in society as well as to define required competences in different professions. Research from a micro perspective focuses on individual reactions to changes in one’s own workplace. It helps to explain how changes in daily work affect knowledge and skills on the individual or group level. It is argued that the micro perspectives is advantageous if educational goals are pursued which aim at fostering workplace learning and competence development. Examples for empirical research are provided which illustrate the potential of a micro perspective on workplace changes and workplace learning.

The article examines the integration potential of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Eastern Partnership countries in the context of the European Green Deal. Using a mixed-method approach and drawing on EU4Business data, the study identifies spatial differences in the structure and effectiveness of SME support across three key areas: access to finance, competence development, and the institutional environment. The analysis highlights country-specific patterns in the use of SME development instruments that shape the green transition in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Based on these findings, the paper proposes a conceptual model for strengthening SME integration potential, built around five interconnected components: integration readiness and environmental compliance; financial accessibility; competence and innovation development; the institutional integration framework; and monitoring and evaluation. The study shows that this model aligns with the core directions of EU SME support programs. It outlines a systemic approach to enhancing business resilience in the Eastern Partnership region, facilitating gradual convergence with the EU internal market and adaptation to the requirements of the green transition.

Having seen significant improvements to accident rates in the last 40 years, companies in the Swedish mining industry now show a greater focus on the development of safety cultures throughout their organisations and workplaces. However, there is a lack of research examining the different safety initiatives and strategies practiced in the industry today. This study explores the potential influence and consequences such initiatives may have on the development of safety cultures in the Swedish mining industry. Twelve interviews with experts on safety initiatives from four different Swedish mining organisations were conducted and analysed in a process based on qualitative thematic analysis to identify notable connections to safety culture development. The results of these interviews highlight proclivities in the implementation and use of safety initiatives such as subjects of focus, methods and desired effects. This enables the interpretation of the conceptualisation and methods for the development of safety culture in these organisations based on their approaches to safety development. We believe the results of this study can serve as support for discussions on safety culture development in the Swedish mining industry, and be of interest for international mining industries, in addition to approaches to research in this field. However, we also believe it is important to emphasise the opportunities to approach safety culture in mining from different perspectives than those common today.

Workplace learning in midwifery education in Flanders (Belgium)