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The paper examines the link between workplace disability (WD) and job satisfaction (JS) in Britain using linked data from [Workplace Employment Relations Study] WESR2011. The results obtained indicate workplaces with respondents with disabilities report lower JS vis-a-vis workplaces without such respondents in the private sector. Within private sector workplaces with mixed respondents, the JS of respondents without disabilities declines with the percentage of respondents with disabilities. Also, workplace disability policies and practices are positively (negatively) associated with the JS of respondents with (without) disabilities in the sector. The sector may have to re-examine its dealings with issues of workplace disability.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This project was undertaken for the National Printing Industry Training Council South Australia Division (NPITC), to assist the NPITC in identifying and planning the future training needs of the industry in South Australia. The major components of the workplace analysis were made up as follows: questionnaire research to obtain the requisite information from establishments within the industry; analysis and tabulation of results from the questionnaires; workshops to discuss initial results from the survey and assist with recommendations for future directions; a final report.

The report contains conclusions, with a brief summary of major observations, and four recommendations for future action. Show less

Technological change is considered to induce upward biases in the demand for skills and contribute to increases in wage inequality in more developed countries. This paper uses an extension of the Roma model of innovation to show how technological change affects the demand for skills and the role of workers in the process of innovation. The paper concludes that successful technological innovation may be restricted by the workers' flexibility level. Flexibility is defined as the ability and willingness of workers to undertake new tasks as a result of innovation at the workplace. Lack of flexibility may render the innovative activity unprofitable and therefore hinder an innovation-based development process. The author suggests that the analysis provided in this paper has opened up the possibility of exploring the impact of technological change on wages, and whether it has more to do with the range of tasks workers are capable of performing over time than with the quantity of human capital they have acquired in the past. Show less

Protecting healthcare worker wellbeing is a priority for attracting and retaining the workforce. This has always been true, but [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the critical importance of healthcare worker wellbeing for our health system. The healthcare system is a shared responsibility between the federal and state governments. Both governments and health service providers have a duty of care towards healthcare workers' health and safety, which includes protection of their mental health and overall wellbeing. Failure to protect healthcare worker wellbeing will lead to an unsustainable workforce that will have wider implications for the quality and sustainability of all service offerings within the health services. While this perspectives brief considers healthcare workers employed in the context of hospital health services, wellbeing is an issue affecting the broader healthcare workforce, and consideration of the sector in its entirety will be needed to address this pressing issue.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

In October 1996, the Australian Light Manufacturing Industry Training Advisory Board (ALMITAB) conducted a survey on the methods and methodologies employed for evaluation of Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) projects. This study analysed the evaluation processes used by providers, companies and the ALMITAB National English, Language and Literacy WELL Project. The main aims of the study were to map the WELL projects conducted in the ALMITAB industries, describe the innovations and methodologies that have come out of these projects, describe the evaluation processes used by providers, companies and the ALMITAB National WELL Project, record conclusions about process evaluation, impact evaluation and outcomes evaluation. Section 1 provides an introduction to the study outlining its main tasks, research design and methodology. Section 2 provides an overview of evaluation and identifies some National projects which directly relate to Workplace English Language and Literacy. Section 3 provides eight selected case studies, illustrating the level of diversity levels of Best Practice. The case studies are: Clifton Furniture, Launceston, Tasmania; Blueline Laundry, Hobart Tasmania; Queensland Furnishing Industry Training Council, Milton Queensland; Mentor Sox, Brookvale, New South Wales; Supertex Industries, Bankstown, New South Wales; Sheridan Australia, Woodville, South Australia; Melba Industries (Australia), Geelong, Victoria; and Rivers, Sebastopol, Victoria. Show less

This document reports on Stage 1 of the Regional Labour Market Project, funded by the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) and conducted by the Centre for Workplace Culture Change, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). A key focus of the project was to determine the nature and extent of skill gaps, that is, gaps between the skill needs of enterprises and the availability of suitably skilled people to fill those needs. This report outlines some key issues from the perspectives of young people and enterprises in the Shepparton and Wangaratta regions of Victoria, Australia. Section one of the report gives the executive summary. Section two provides a brief background and introduction to the project, looking at the key concepts and the approach used in conducting the research. Section three offers an overview of the data collected in the community mapping. Section four covers the data collected from enterprises. Section five outlines some implications of Stage 1 and gives recommendations for further stages of the project. Show less

This paper is part of the Production Learning Seminar series. The paper explores how the emerging concept of productive learning differs from traditional explanations of learning at work and presents a tentative outline of some main dimensions of productive learning. The author also presents a range of literature that could provide a basis for further exploration of the concept of productive learning. The main aim of the paper is to develop a working account of the term 'productive learning' so that, if the concept of productive learning proves to be durable, it could be used to underpin valuable research on learning at work.

An earlier paper by the author compares and contrasts two major understandings of learning (see TD/TNC 67.90). Show less

Workbase provides advice for New Zealand businesses on how to improve the literacy, English language and numeracy skills of their employees. This publication focuses on the experiences of learners in workplace literacy programs in New Zealand. The nine contributors give their views on the changing nature of work, their attitudes to, and experiences of, formal schooling and the motivation leading them to participation in literacy learning opportunities available in their workplaces. The contributions outline how learning is fitted into busy lives and the benefits of skill development for the learners and their families, and their employers.

A companion document, 'Voices from management' is indexed at TD/TNC 73.321. Show less

This white paper presents various possible visions of what the future of work might look like by the year 2030. Based on how different combinations of three core variables - the rate of technological change and its impact on business models; the evolution of learning among the current and future workforce; and the magnitude of talent mobility across geographies - are likely to influence the nature of work in the future, the paper provides a starting point for considering a range of options around the multiple possible futures of work. It is stressed that the scenarios presented are designed to create a basis for discussion among policy-makers, businesses, academic institutions and individuals; they are not predictions. Instead, they are a practical tool to help identify and prioritize key actions towards proactively shaping a new, positive future of work that maximizes opportunities for all across their working lifetimes.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website. Show less

The changing nature of work raises implications for those responsible for policy and practice in secondary education in relation to developing the secondary school curriculum to meet new skill demands. This exploratory study used three approaches to examine the relationships between academic and non-academic skills and work and identify issues for educators and policymakers. A literature review identified empirical research and issues related to academic skill needs and two data analyses viewed skills from the perspective of individuals in the workplace. The first examined academic skills in context through several case studies of sub-baccalaureate technical jobs in four industries. The emphasis was on the application of mathematics, science and technology in these occupations and illustrated how academic skill requirements are contextually bound. The second analysed existing longitudinal survey data on high school students and explored the relationships between academic skills, non-academic skills, and labour market performance. The idea that skills need to be viewed as multivariate is upheld in all three areas of research presented in this report. Show less