Search results

This article reports on research carried out under the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme. The program comprised 14 projects involving research into the learning society and the ways in which it can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and in other areas of adult life. The article reports on a study into the process of knowledge and skill acquisition in the workplace for individuals operating at a professional, management or technician level in twelve organisations in the United Kingdom, and the role of the manager in this process. The authors examined the formal systems of training, such as appraisal, mentoring, and personal development plans. The findings revealed that these formal systems deal with only a small fraction of what is learned in the workplace. Various types of informal learning, unspecific, unplanned and less visible, such as consultation and collaboration with work colleagues, played a far more significant role in learning at work. The research also highlighted the role of the manager as staff developer with policy implications for selection and training of managers. 'Learning from other people at work' by Michael Eraut, Jane Alderton, Gerald Cole and Peter Senker, complements this research and is indexed at TD/TNC 67.173.