Who Learns at Work: A Study of Learners in the ROI

CIPD National Training and Development Conference

Dublin, 24th November 2003

Thomas N. Garavan & Ronan Carbery

Why Focus on the Learner?

• Learning is a central preoccupation for both individuals and organisations. Major evidence of an increase in learning activity in the past 10 years

• Employees and organisations are increasingly concerned with issues related to: productivity, flexibility, employability and career progression

• The learner was for a long time the silent stakeholder in the training and development literature

• Increased focus in recent years on understanding why employees participate in learning events.

– What motivates employees to participate?– What factors influence the confidence of employees to learn?– How do employees evaluate the potential benefits of learning?– What factors motivate employees to transfer learning to the workplace?– How do situational factors influence employees to participate in

learning?– What elements of social support are important in helping employees to

learn?– What types of learning strategies are used by employees in the

workplace?– What are the preferences of learners in respect to learning content,

learning methods, and learning outcomes?

• Emergence of a debate in the literature that focuses on the learner. CIPD has contributed to this debate. It has published a number of reports

• Central arguments of the emerging debate is that the trainer’s role is to be an enabler; to develop an environment where learning is facilitated and learners are self motivated to learn

Issues:

Focus of the Current Study

• First major study of its type conducted in ROI

• Study sought to investigate the perceptions of learners in organisations

• Studies of training and development traditionally rely on the perceptions of training and development managers

• Study sought to investigate these issues– Amount of voluntary, formal, mandatory formal and on-the-job

training undertaken in previous 12 months– Extent of participation in qualification type programmes– Perceptions of the quality of training and development provision

that employees experience as part of their work

– Perceived usefulness of different forms of training and development

– Perceptions of the nature of learning opportunities

– Perceptions of the individual and organisational barriersthat prevent participation in learning

– The extent of discussion with key individuals prior to participation in learning

– Perceptions of the benefits of participation in training and development

– How do particular characteristics of individuals and organisations influence opportunities to learn?

Participation in Trainingand Development by Employees

Extent of Training and Development

• We focused on the number of training events as well as the number of hours of training and development

• Number of Events:– Average voluntary formal: 1.42 events– Average mandatory formal: 1.92 events– Average on-the-job training and development: 2.01 events

• Number of Hours on Non-Mandatory Training– Mean hours of participation: 17-24 hours– Majority of respondents (36%) undertook between 1-16 hours

of non-mandatory training– 23% of respondents participated in more than 41 hours of non-

mandatory training

• Qualification Based Training and Development– 16% of respondents indicated that they were currently

taking a degree-level programme– 15% of respondents indicated that they were currently

taking a non-qualification based programme

• Forms of Training and Development Received– The majority of learners received training and

development in a classroom / meeting setting (80%)– Workstation or on-the-job learning was the next most

popular form of training and development– Approximately one-third of learners had participated

in team or project learning activities– Approximately 30% indicated that they had learned

informally

Quality of Learning & Preferencesfor Different Forms of Learning

• We measured the perceived quality of the learning

• Each form of training and development was rated at a similar level of quality– Voluntary formal training and development – 3.15

– Mandatory formal training and development – 3.16

– On-the-job training and development – 3.14

• We also measured satisfaction with learning– 31% of respondents were very satisfied with learning

– 48% were somewhat satisfied with learning activities

– The overall level of satisfaction was high

• The level of satisfaction differed depending on the size and ownership of the respondent’s firm as well as the gender of the respondent

– Learners from large firms were significantly more satisfied– The firm size – satisfaction relationship was consistent– Learners from US owned firms were significantly more satisfied with

training– Female learners were marginally more satisfied with training and

development

• Respondents showed very distinct preferences for particular forms of training and development

– Respondents considered on-the-job and learning from colleagues tobe the most effective learning

– Correspondence / open learning, electronic-based learning, reading books / articles and watching videos to be the least effective methods

– Educational programmes and formal classroom learning were rated to be moderately effective

Characteristics of the Trainingand Development Process

• Discussion Prior to Participation in Training and Development

– A significant number of respondents indicated that they had no discussion prior to participation in learning (18%)

– 45% of respondents indicated that they had discussion with the line manager

– Discussion was more likely to take place for mandatory formal training and development than other forms of training

– Less likely to have discussion with the training specialist and the personnel manager

– Over one-third of respondents indicated that they had discussions with colleagues

• Motivation to learn and participate in training and development was high. Most significant motivators were:

– Desire to improve skills

– Desire to learn as much as possible

– Desire to improve in relation to current job

– Willingness to learn to prepare for promotion

– Belief that formal training and development is an effective way of

acquiring new skills

• Confidence to Participate in Training and Development was High.

Most significant elements were:

– Learners perceived that they were a good judge of their own

capabilities

– Previous work experience and achievements important in building

confidence for learning

– Belief that the current job was within the scope of the learner’s ability

Motivation to Learnand Confidence to Participate

– A belief that others make a positive evaluation of the learner’s abilities– Respondents had a higher level of confidence for training situations

that involved people skills and less confidence for situations that involved dealing with things

• Understanding of Development Needs was High for the Overall Sample

– Learners perceived that they had a good understanding of training needs

– They reported a high level of clarity concerning why they participated in training

– They expressed relatively less confidence in supervisors’ assessments and the outcomes of the performance appraisal process in clarifying learning needs

• Attitudes to Learning Were Generally Very Positive– Learners placed a very high value on education– They had less faith in learning by trial and error– They did express fear of classroom situations

• Evaluating of Previous Training and Development Experiences Were Generally Positive. Most Significant Factors:

– Trainers had created an environment conducive to learning– Belief that those in charge of training and development are competent– Previous experiences of training and development positive– Good balance between trainer and trainee input– Perceived relevance of the training and development event

• Influence of Situational Factors was Significant. Most Frequently Experienced:

– Changes in process, rules and methods make training irrelevant– The demands of non-work activities– The lack of time to strengthen skill weaknesses– Too much work which prevents skill development

• Support from Manager and Co-Workers is Important. Some Very Interesting Findings Here:

• More Positive– Managers were perceived as supportive of training and

development– Manager enthusiastically supports participation in learning– Willingness to inform the manager of training needs– Employer as a whole places value on development

• Less Positive– Provision of advice on specific opportunities for exposure– Manager less likely to believe that training advice is a key role

dimension– Frequency of feedback from the manager– Provision of coaching and guidance opportunities– Sharing of company information that will enable career

development– Opportunity to use the skills acquired during training– Level of comfort discussing skill weaknesses with manager

• The Study Indicates More Negative Findings in Respect of Co-Worker Support:

– Difficulty to improve skills because of co-workers relationships– More experienced co-workers reluctant to give guidance– Resistance to efforts to apply new skills– Some co-workers consider training to be a waste of time

• Reasons for Not Taking Up Training Opportunities in the Past 12 Months

– Too busy with work was the most frequently reported reason– Four other reasons frequently reported:

• Personal commitments prevented participation• Few training opportunities in the organisation• Training provided not relevant to the job

• Insufficient learning culture in the workplace

• Learners use a wide range of strategies to learn in the workplace:

– Interpersonal Help Seeking was the Most Frequently Used Strategy. This includes:

• Asking questions• Getting help when required• Asking others for information

– Seeking help from written material is the second most used strategy. This includes:

• Looking things up when unsure• Filling gaps in knowledge through reading• Locating and studying relevant documents

– Intrinsic work reflection was the third most frequently used strategy. This includes:

How Do We Learn inthe Workplace?

• Development of an understanding of how the job fits

together

• Understanding how new information fits in with work

• Thinking about the implications of new information

• Prioritising the elements of the job that are important

• Learners also use practical application.

This includes: Doing practical things to learn

Trying out new things by applying them in practice

Benefits of Participationin Training and Development

• Respondents Placed More Emphasis on Intrinsic over Extrinsic Benefits

• The Most Frequently Cited Intrinsic Benefits include:– Helping the learner stay up to date on new developments

– Facilitating personal development

– Training will facilitate better job performance

– Facilitate networking with other employees

• The Most Frequently Cited Extrinsic Benefits Include:– Training will result in more job opportunities

– Training will increase chances of getting promotion

– Training will help employee achieve career objectives– Training will help to clarify career paths

• Respondents Perceived that Training and Development had Value to Career and Employability– Training can be used to reach career goals– Awareness of knowledge and skills needed to achieve

objectives– Opportunity to get information on career options– Understanding of the different career paths available

• Respondents had clearly identified Reasons for Participation in Training and Development in the past 12 months– To enhance competencies was the primary reason– To increase job performance– To enhance personal development– To make the learner more employable externally

Who Hasthe Learning O pportunities?

• We focused on identifying who has the greatest opportunity to learn in the workplace

• Individual-Level Factors were very relevant.

• Gender– Females participate in less voluntary formal training, less

mandatory training and less on-the-job training– Females are more likely to undertake college-based courses– Females reported higher levels of satisfaction with training

• Age– Younger employees (less than 24) and older employees (55+)

have lower levels of participation in voluntary formal learning– Older employees participate less in formal mandatory and on-

the-job training– Older employees are significantly less likely to participate in

qualification based courses

• Qualifications– More qualified learners participate in more voluntary formal

training and development– Those with lower level qualifications had lower participation in

all forms of learning– More highly qualified learners were more likely to participate in

college-based courses• Working Status

– Part-time employees participate in significantly less training and development than full-time employees

– This applies for the three forms of learning studied as well as college-based training

• Those who did not participate in Training and Development reported the following pertinent reasons:– Lack of training opportunities– Poor quality training opportunities– Lack of skilled trainers– Line manager prevented participation

• Organisation-Level Factors were also important

• Firm Size: Learners in small firms have:– Fewer training opportunities– Fewer opportunities to discuss participation with line managers– Fewer quality trainers– The lack of a learning culture– The lack of career progression– Lower levels of motivation to attend

• Organisational Ownership– US-owned firms provide significantly more opportunities for training

and development– They provide better quality training opportunities– Irish-owned firms still provide significantly fewer opportunities– Learners from US and Irish owned firms reported the highest level

of satisfaction with learning opportunities provided– US-owned firms have a more positive learning culture. Irish-owned

firms have a less positive learning culture

Policy and Practice Implications

• Policy Implications– There are inequities in opportunities to participate in training

and development that need to be addressed

– There is a clear ‘more privileged’ and ‘less privileged’ divide

– The small firm is a particular issue. This type of firm significantly undertrains

– There is evidence that the small firm does not fully appreciate the value of investment in training

– We still have narrow notions of what constitutes training and development

– There is an almost total reliance on classroom and on-the-job training.

– On-the-job training is very popular but the research reveals variations in quality

• Practice Implications

– Preparation for participation in training and development

– Articulating the benefits of training and development

– Developing the confidence of less qualified learners to

participate

– Promoting equality of opportunity in training and

development provision

– Building the capability of the training profession to ensure

confidence in training

– Creating conditions to ensure transfer

– Reinforcing the role of the line manager and developing

line manager skills