U-BLOG 4

Understanding workplace learning
Workplace learning is a relatively new area of academic enquiry but, as our knowledge expands, it is evident that it must be seen as part of a more general process of skill formation. This is because learning is not a one-off activity like buying a pair of shoes. How we learn and the intellectual capacities we have developed to aid the process are dependent on our prior experiences in family, community and school, which in turn form part of the way we see ourselves, our self-image. Our successes and failures in these areas form the background against which we experience the workplace and the opportunities it offers for learning and the acquisition of skills. These experiences condition our attitudes toward learning and the basic skills we bring with us into the workplace. It is in this sense that workplace learning is part of a general process of skill formation, a process that is ongoing as we change jobs and raise children, a process which leads on into retirement and beyond.
Here we only examine two arenas, namely the school/college and workplace. The family and school provide the initial basic education, the grounding in numeracy, literacy and now computer literacy, the building blocks on which other skills are built later.1 In the case of those entering traditional Taylorist forms of organization as low-level, white-collar, service or manual employees, work offers little more in the way of opportunities to further develop their capabilities. For others, destined for professional, managerial and technical jobs, basic schooling is followed by further general and technical education that provides the underpinning knowledge for the performance of specialized work roles. For those who enter HPWOs at all levels, the workplace offers the opportunity to continue to develop their skills throughout their working life. First, we turn to an examination of the process of learning in Taylorist organizations.