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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 is one of a series of comparative studies which explore notions of lifelong learning, learning organisation and learning society in Europe and, in some cases, reflect on the use of comparative research in the social sciences. It outlines the introductory steps towards a possible framework for transnational comparisons of continuous vocational training (CVT), also referred to as 'company training'. The authors compare innovations in CVT within companies in the United Kingdom (UK), France and Spain. In the last two decades, CVT has become increasingly associated with organisational change and restructuring for competitiveness and flexibility, but also serves as a buffer against change through the qualification of employees and the anticipation of employment trends and skill requirements. In addition, all three countries have experienced deregulation to varying degrees and the authors demonstrate how each country has developed a form of 'social compromise' between the quest for economic competitiveness and the protection of employees from the effects of deregulation. The article indicates that cross-national comparison of innovation in company training requires the comparison of emerging 'compromises' within increasingly flexible and deregulated environments.

The volume from which this article is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 67.176. Other publications from the ESRC Learning Society Programme are indexed at TD/TNC 67.145, TD/TNC 67.152, TD/TNC 67.169, TD/TNC 67.185, and TD/TNC 67.192. Show less

Despite the prevalence and significance of regulating emotions in the workplace, there is a major gap in the literature on the training and work-based application of emotion regulation strategies. This study seeks to fill this gap by investigating how emotion regulation strategies are taught to managers on three emotional intelligence training courses, the events associated with their use in the workplace and any constraints. Drawing on qualitative data from participant observations and interviews with managers and trainers, the study identifies the use of eight emotion regulation strategies that are classified as attention deployment, cognitive change and response modulation. Managers use a variety of the strategies at work, sometimes combining and adapting them. These strategies were reportedly used during situations of interpersonal conflict, interpersonal interactions, organisational change, to relieve boredom and cope with work overload. Managers described constraints as dispositional, physical, time, effort, status and unfeasibility/lack of realism of tools.

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

This video cassette and brochure provide an introduction to the training program for workplace supervisors conducted by the Australian Student Traineeship Foundation (ASTF). It discusses the structure of the program and the expected outcomes. Show less

This article examines some of the factors involved in organisational change that result in pressure and stress in the workplace for employees. These factors include changes in organisational culture, senior management complacency in relation to the impact of change on employees, and the neglect of training in times of change and transition. The author suggests some solutions including communication, retaining training during periods of change, and senior management support and leadership. Show less

Three major elements in the Australian national workplace reform agenda are the introduction of key/generic workplace competencies, national occupational employment standards and a competency-based education-training system that recognises prior learning and assures development of identified competencies, both generic and occupationally specific. Attempts to develop effective and efficient assessment schemes to determine participant competence are underway. A continuing major concern, however, is how best to report information to potential employers. While employers need sufficient relevant information to make informed hiring decisions there is the distinct danger of providing too much detailed information in a competency-based education system that it is not able to be used in a timely and efficient fashion. This paper reviews the merits of selected reporting schemes being considered, and then presents questions for further research about employers' reactions to reporting of competency information. Show less

In a previous ethnographic study (Sebrant, 2000) a social constructionist view of how social identity is produced among professional groups in Swedish healthcare was developed. Looking at the workplace as an important environment for identity construction suggested that these processes were conditions for learning. The purpose of this paper is to develop further interpretations of narratives from the previous study about the implementation of teamwork and computerisation at the clinic. The main question is: how do emotion, power relations, identity construction and learning interact in the healthcare context? In an emotional reading of these narratives, the medical hierarchy seems to have a strong influence on emotional displays among staff. The fear of losing tasks and responsibility turned to anger and resistance when change was initiated. Disappointment and envy towards other groups, which were perceived as gaining an advantage, seemed to be underlying emotions that were not allowed to be expressed overtly. The display of envy, often in the form of ironies, critique and ignoring the competence of others, appeared to be an obstacle to learning new ways of working and relating to each other in the workplace.

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'NACE journal' is published four times a year. It covers both sides of the college career services and human resources (HR)/staffing field. This issue includes the following feature articles: 'Projected demographics: numbers tell the story' by Patti Giordani (p. 14-18) which employs demographics in order to ascertain the expected study plans of students, and how recruiting professionals can expect this to impact on the workforce; 'A tribute to excellence: NACE Annual Awards' (p. 19-26) which recognises organisations and individuals who have displayed knowledge, leadership and excellence in professional practice; 'Research to practice: DO-IT prepares students with disabilities for employment' by Sheryl Burgstahler, Scott Bellman and Sara L. Lopez (p. 27-35) which describes a project in which students with disabilities can access and derive benefit from work-based learning and mentoring programs; 'Do employers and colleges see eye-to-eye?: college student development and assessment' by Smriti Shivpuri and Brian Kim (p. 37-44) which examines the perceived 'skills gap' between university education and workplace expectations. Show less

This study informed on why men, trained in electrical safety, take risks on the job site. As Senge (2006) agreed, this condition creates a problem of dynamic complexity (p. 71), not linear complexity. Through interviews and focus groups with electricians, this study examined the role of emotions in safety advertising aimed at modifying risk-taking behaviour. Key topics of explorations included worldviews, cognition, education, age, personality type, macho behaviour on the job site, organizational and cultural pressures, peer pressure, and safety role modeling. Subtopics included adult learning at different VMEMEs (Beck and Cowan, 1996), or worldviews, how adults learn, and the role of positive or negative advertising in risk communications. Authors have argued that fear is the most efficacious means of modifying risk-taking behaviour (Hill, Chapman, and Donovan, 1998; Tanner, Hunt, and Eppright, 1991), while positive emotions can encourage 'advertising likeability' (Du Plessis, 2006, p. xxiii), improving recall of safety messages.

Author's abstract. Show less

The focus of this issue of 'Training and development in Australia' is on marketing and how to use it effectively to get support for learning and development programs. The feature articles are: 'Marketing learning and development services programs: a guide for internal professionals' by Reg Polson (p. 6-8) which contains a seven-step guide to marketing learning services internally; 'Send in the clowns: selling learning in the corporate arena' by Doug Malouf (p. 9-11) which outlines the four changes that need to be made and how to make them to win stakeholder support for training programs; 'The next tsunami: climate change in business strategy' by Fabian Dattner (p. 12-15) which discusses the findings of a longitudinal study into cultural change in the workplace; 'RPL: recognising all aspects of prior learning' by Leesa Wheelahan (p. 16-19) which looks at questions such as how much non-formal training can be counted towards a new qualification, and when recognition of prior learning (RPL) should count and when it shouldn't. Also included in this issue is 'Building corporate sustainability' by Andrew Griffiths, Dexter Dunphy and Suzanne Benn (p. 20-22), a research article on ways in which organisations can build sustainable practices into their management strategies. Show less

Workplace trainers have become central players in moves to implement training reforms that emphasise the workplace as a key site of learning. They are increasingly being asked to take greater responsibility for the delivery and assessment of training. The introduction of Training Packages will further entrench the importance of their role. Descriptions of the role of the workplace trainer (as embedded in workplace trainer and assessor competency standards) seem to be over-reliant on approaches to training that take little account of what is known about how learning takes place in the workplace. They appear to ignore the significant ways in which the nature of work impacts on the learning process and the critical role the workplace trainer plays in managing the structure of work in order to facilitate learning. This paper presents an alternative way of conceptualising the role of the workplace trainer. Drawing on ideas from network learning theory, the paper examines the multiple learning networks that a workplace trainer could facilitate in a work site. The critical role of the trainer in fostering worker-initiated learning is also examined. Implications for those concerned with fostering a learning culture within enterprises are explored.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The title of the conference was 'Changing practice through research: changing research through practice'. This volume of the collected papers is indexed at TD/ANTA 82.132; selected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 60.163 to TD/TNC 60.171. Show less