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Purpose: This study aims to investigate the factors that can influence the transfer process of training in open skills, i.e. non-technical skills (NTS). Specifically, according to the model of the transfer process, the aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of both personal (e.g. self-efficacy) and work environment (e.g. safety leadership styles) antecedents of intention to transfer. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 88 workers belonging to two different plants of the same chemical company filled in a questionnaire at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of the training intervention. The majority of the sample was composed of men (95.5 per cent), with the mean age being 45.19 years old, and they had worked in the same company for an average of 17.2 years. Personal (self-efficacy) and organizational (transformational and passive leadership) factors were measured at T1, while intention to transfer was measured at T2. To investigate the combined effect of both personal and environmental characteristics on the transfer process, a moderation analysis was conducted following the Preacher and Hayes approach.

Findings: Results showed that all the antecedents investigated (except for passive leadership) impacted on the intention to transfer. Furthermore, high levels of self-efficacy combined with higher levels of transformational leadership resulted in higher levels of intention to transfer. Research limitations/implications: The sample size is quite small, and effective transfer of NTS has not been measured. Practical implications: Results suggest that organizations should focus on fostering self-efficacy of the trainees and transformational leadership of the supervisors so as to facilitate the transfer process of NTS. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study which has considered both individual and contextual characteristics to analyse the transfer process of NTS.

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Microsoft Word, Excel and Access have become an indispensable part of office efficiency. It is hardly surprising, then, that nearly every IT training agency offers courses in these products. Nor are many significant complaints expressed anywhere about their value as productivity tools. Such is not the case when it comes to PowerPoint, with which an increasing dissatisfaction is to be found in the literature, yet many training agencies routinely add this piece of presentation software to their packaged courses. We conducted a survey of trainees in Wales, UK, in order to determine the levels at which skills acquired in the Microsoft Office suite had subsequently been transferred to the workplace. The results indicate that while in absolute terms the increase in usage was greatest in the case of PowerPoint, and smallest in that of Word, the reverse was true with respect to post-training usage. We argue in this paper that while the import of such a finding must not be overstated, the consequences for employers, and for national education policies, should not be ignored.

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The aim of this study was to examine the differential effects of specific types of supervisor support on transfer of training, taking into account established trainee characteristics, such as trainees' motivation to learn, motivation to transfer, and training self-efficacy. More specifically, nine types of supervisor support were examined (pre-training information, role modelling and facilitation, request sharing, favourable attitude, coaching and feedback, openness, involvement and accountability, work coverage, and training participation). In addition, the mediating effect of training retention is explored, as learning outcomes may present an intervening variable that connects supervisor support to transfer of training. A time-lagged design was used to investigate the relationships in the proposed model and it was evaluated using partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM). Data was gathered in Belgium through online questionnaires at three points in time from 111 participants of work-related training. Participants were employees from a retail organisation and different government agencies. Results indicate that only supervisors' accountability and involvement positively predicted employees' transfer of training three months after training. In addition, it was found that supervisors' involvement and accountability had an indirect effect on transfer of training through training retention.

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Founded in 1971, COST is an intergovernmental framework for European cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research. It allows the coordination of nationally funded research on a European level. COST is based on Actions. These are networks of co-ordinated national research projects in fields which are of interest to participants from different Member States. The main objective of the COST Action A11 was to increase knowledge about the development of flexibility, transferability and mobility through teaching-learning processes in the fields of vocational education and training. The COST Action A11 was guided by a management committee and five working groups were established to assist the committee in the organisation of the Action. The program ran for five years between June 1997 and June 2002. This conference report demonstrates the success of the COST Action A11. It brings together the contributions of the five working groups for discussion. The conclusions reached at the conference provided the basis for the committee's final report (indexed at TD/TNC 73.597). The 'Opening session' contains: Transferability, flexibility and mobility as targets of vocational education and training / Agneta Bladh; Will Cinderella get to the ball?: how will she cope with the three ugly sisters: Flexie, Transi and Mobi? / Frank Coffield. The 'Forum for young researchers - a structural poster session' contains: Economical evaluation: striving for an optimal cost-benefit-relation in evaluation / Volker Bank; CULIK - a Network for Curriculum Development and (Self-)Qualification / Franz Gramlinger; The game as a learning tool in a complex environment / Fabrice Hoff; Exploring the practice of HRD as a field of professional expertise / Tuija Hytonen; Boundary-zone activity as a model for collaboration and developmental transfer between school and work / Riitta Konkola; Variants of an action oriented learning environment for technical vocational training / Alfred Riedl; Practice firms (PF) without strategies?: an approach to promote further development of PF through TQM / Michaela Trummer; Innovation in secondary vocational education: problem based learning in technical education / Regina Mulder. 'Contributions to the panel on learning and transfer' contains: The problem of knowledge in vocational education / Michael Young; Learning and transfer in the field of vocational education and training / Susanne Weber. 'Debate on transferability, flexibility and mobility - a transnational perspective' contains: Institutions and organisational aspects of VET in Switzerland / Ursula Renold; VET systems: role of assessment in supporting lifelong learning / Alan Brown. 'Evaluation and assessment of vocational education and training' contains: School assessment policy and practice in Belgian secondary education with special attention to VET / Jef C. Verhoeven & Geert Devos; Barriers to formative assessment in vocational education and training: a multi-level framework for research / Kathryn Ecclestone; Evaluation and assessment face to educational system / Luisa Ribolzi; VET-colleges in transition: how do schools handle the new challenges? / Peter den Boer; Empirical comparisons between the English National Vocational Qualifications and the educational and training goals of the German dual system - an analysis for the banking sector / Gerald A. Straka; Authenticity and validity in vocational examinations - real worksite tasks for mechatronics in Germany / Klaus Breuer. 'The future of vocational education and training - on the basis of the Action's research and results' contains reports from the working groups. 'Closing of the conference' contains: Conditions for instructional design and innovation in vocational education: successful design and implementation of complex learning environments / Regina Mulder; Success and shortcomings of the COST Action A11; Final remarks - saying good bye / Per-Olof Thang. Other papers are: Research network as a learning context in teacher education / Pirjo Lambert; The role of vocational education and training in a changing world: pro-active agent or compliant child? / Lorna Unwin & Phil Hodkinson; Flexibility of pathways / David Raffe. Show less

The literature has indicated that support of the supervisor is critical for employees to transfer the competences developed during training to their job. However, little is known about which specific supervisor behaviors and attitudes enhance transfer of training. An earlier systematic literature review demonstrated the multidimensionality of supervisor support and discerned 24 categories. The aim of this empirical study is to validate this multidimensional framework and to discover what supervisor support means in practice by exploring how supervisors take up their role in transfer of training. The present study reports on a qualitative study in which 16 supervisors were interviewed about how they experience and display support in training transfer. Findings show that the majority of the 24 categories of specific supervisor support are provided in practice. However, it appears that, particularly, involvement in training selection, coaching learning and transfer, and participation in training characterize the role of the supervisor in transfer of training. The findings furthermore reveal 83 specific approaches, strategies, actions, and attitudes that supervisors report to use to enact each particular category of support for transfer of training.

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The Graduates for the 21st Century (G21C) enhancement theme has had two principal goals. First, it asked: what should be the attributes of a graduate from Scottish higher education in the 21st century, and how can the achievement of these attributes best be supported? Second, it has explored how the pursuit of these can be informed and enriched by the outcomes of the preceding enhancement themes. This report focuses on the achievements of the G21C theme as a whole. The report has two aims: (i) to synthesise what has been learnt from the work of the theme and (ii) to consider how its outcomes could be built upon and further pursued under the aegis of the new theme, Developing and Supporting the Curriculum.

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This chapter reports on a project conducted within the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme in the United Kingdom (UK). The program examined the ways in which lifelong learning can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and in other areas of adult life. The project described in this chapter was designed to gain insight into generic skill acquisition in higher education and employment in order to facilitate an improvement in provision. The first stage of the research sought to clarify contemporary policies, practices, priorities, conceptions and expectations within both higher education and employment settings. The second stage was designed to identify and evaluate employer-led skills initiatives within the context of higher education. The implications of the research for the effective implementation and utilisation of generic skills in higher education and employment are outlined in the form of an agenda for future action.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 67.145. The second volume of findings from the ESRC Learning Society Programme is indexed at TD/TNC 67.152. Show less

Background: The health and social care workforce requires access to appropriate education and training to provide quality care for people with dementia. Success of a training programme depends on staff ability to put their learning into practice through behaviour change. This study aimed to investigate the barriers and facilitators to implementation of dementia education and training in health and social care services using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and COM-B model of behaviour change.

Methods: A mixed-methods design. Participants were dementia training leads, training facilitators, managers and staff who had attended training who worked in UK care homes, acute hospitals, mental health services and primary care settings. Methods were an online audit of care and training providers, online survey of trained staff and individual/group interviews with organisational training leads, training facilitators, staff who had attended dementia training and managers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic template analysis.

Results: Barriers and facilitators were analysed according the COM-B domains. 'Capability' factors were not perceived as a significant barrier to training implementation. Factors which supported staff capability included the use of interactive face-to-face training, and training that was relevant to their role. Factors that increased staff 'motivation' included skilled facilitation of training, trainees' desire to learn and the provision of incentives (e.g. attendance during paid working hours, badges/certifications). 'Opportunity' factors were most prevalent with lack of resources (time, financial, staffing and environmental) being the biggest perceived barrier to training implementation. The presence or not of external support from families and internal factors such as the organisational culture and its supportiveness of good dementia care and training implementation were also influential.

Conclusions: A wide range of factors may present as barriers to or facilitators of dementia training implementation and behaviour change for staff. These should be considered by health and social care providers in the context of dementia training design and delivery in order to maximise potential for implementation.

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According to the Alliance for Health and The Future (2005) the group of vulnerable adults is growing. Taking the ongoing development of the knowledge society, the individualisation and globalisation into account, this group of vulnerable adults risks social exclusion. According to Schedler (1998) and Christian (1974) (adult) education can prevent social exclusion and enable vulnerable adults to cope with problems in daily life. More research is needed in order to understand more clearly how adult education programs can enhance the increase of social inclusion among vulnerable adults. Firstly in order to explore learners’ perceptions, a phenomenographical research could provide insights in the meaning of learning outcome in terms of social inclusion. Secondly, regarding the lack of evidence-based research on learning outcome of adult education, development of an instrument in measuring the outcome of adult education is needed. It can be expected that social inclusion among vulnerable adults will increase after joining education and that the learning environment (based on the transfer of training model) will influence this increase. In short this article will provide a research agenda (based on desk research and literature study) concerning the outcome of adult education in terms of increasing social inclusion among vulnerable adults.

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Purpose: The transfer of training has been identified with the effectiveness of training. The purpose of this work is to analyse the impact of training stages (training needs analysis, application and evaluation) as they relate to training transfer. Design/methodology/approach: The study participants correspond to a sample of 116 teachers with managerial responsibilities (management teams and department heads) from 17 secondary schools in Spain. This work hypothesises five significant relationships: needs analysis and application of training, application and transfer of training, evaluation and analysis of training needs, evaluation and application of training and evaluation and transfer of training. The hypotheses were tested using structural equations, namely, the partial least squares-structural equation modelling technique and SmartPLS version 3.2.9.

Findings: The relationships between application and transfer of training, between evaluation of training and needs analysis, application and transfer of training are positively contrasted. The relationship between the analysis and application of training is not contrasted. Originality/value: This work analyses the relationship between the training process's different phases (analysis, application and evaluation) in the training output (training transfer) and emphasises the role of evaluation in the training process.

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