John Hamblett

The transition from higher education into work: tales of cohesion and fragmentation

Purpose – This series of papers aims to explore the transition from higher education into work. It reports on research undertaken over a period of two years and which sought to track a number of young graduates as they completed their studies and embarked upon career of choice.Design/methodology/approach – The approach adopted is defined and discussed as one of “common sense”. Alongside the notion of “common sense” the paper deploys two further concepts, “convention” and “faith” necessary to complete a rudimentary methodological framework. The narratives which are at the heart of the papers are built in such a way as to contain not only the most significant substantive issues raised by the graduates themselves but also the tone of voice specific to each.Findings – Five cases are presented; the stories of five of the graduates over the course of one year. Story lines that speak of learning about the job, learning about the organisation and learning about self are identified. An uneven journey into a workpl...

Employee‐led development: another piece of left luggage?

The article explores the growth of EDAP‐style employee led development (ELD) schemes in the 1990s and critically appraises the arguments offered in their support. The dominant claims for ELD sit with equal comfort in the discourse of trade unionists promoting “bargaining for skills”, and managerialists promoting populist notions of the “learning company”. However, the article draws on recent research which suggests that ELD is better understood as a marginal addition to the effort‐reward bargain; a “fringe benefit”, a “way of giving something back” in a period characterised by an intensification of effort, upheaval and uncertainty. Its contribution, therefore, to the emergence of sustainable human resource development is minimal – at least in conventional terms. Through the exposition of two case studies a reformulated argument is offered which seeks to place ELD in a framework of theory and practice which is both more durable and liberating. The article concludes that the ability to make and act upon an informed and rational interpretation of one’s interests, as an individual, or as a member of a collective within the workplace, must surely be premised on the development of an ongoing educational process; a process toward which a reformulated notion of ELD may well contribute.

Learning lessons from non‐work related learning

Recent official papers and reports credit employee development (initiatives which offer employees of an organisation opportunities to undertake non‐work related learning of their choice) as a vehicle for stimulating and promoting ideas of continuous education and lifelong learning. Commentaries such as these contribute to what is defined as an “orthodox” account of ED. In sum the orthodoxy promotes ED on the basis that by promoting learning and flexibility such initiatives contribute to organisational effectiveness and competitiveness. However, the orthodox account is inscribed with two fundamental flaws. The first is theoretical in kind, and concerns the under‐development of its central concepts. The second is of a more practical kind, and refers to the management of ED. The argument is illustrated with reference to both existing data and our own empirical work. The conclusion attempts to develop a more rational justification for ED, suggesting that support for such initiatives represents an ethical imperative. States that in a democratic society the workplace should be regulated in a democratic fashion. ED deserves to be sponsored in so far as it contributes towards this process of “democratisation”

To boldly go

The argument presented in this paper engages with what the authors define as the orthodox account of EDAP-style employee development initiatives (ED). That discourse is articulated around the assumption that it is feasible to describe the relationship between employer and employee by reference to the notion of ‘mutuality’. This central assumption holds aloft a ‘virtuous circle’style argument wherein individual employee development is synergistically linked to organizational efficiency. It is our argument that the orthodox account is open to question on two analytically distinguishable, though practically inter-related sets of grounds. Firstly, we claim that the orthodox account is conceptually under-developed. Secondly, we maintain that it generates predictions which are consistently confounded by empirical developments. Our argument contra the orthodoxy begins with the propostion that the study of work should be seen as the study of capitalism at work. We make this argument by means of both a theoretical...

Individual Learning Accounts: Honourable Intentions, Ignoble Utility?.

Abstract Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) represent a key tenet of the United Kingdom Governments lifelong learning strategy. They purport to be an innovatory response to the problems of adult participation in learning. Their design seeks to enshrine principles of individual choice and responsibility over the direction learning takes, and to be a vehicle of sustainable lifelong learning. Notionally, then, the ILA reflects noble and honourable intentions, drawing on liberal principles such as equality, progress and empowerment. In pragmatic terms, however, the high hopes associated with ILAs have floundered somewhat. This article aims to further the debate surrounding individual commitment to, and participation in, learning by questioning whether ILAs are simply problematic in terms of the way they have been implemented or whether they are beset by inherent flaws. Drawing on case study data the discussion brings to the fore a number of practical, philosophical and ethical dimensions.

Mutuality, learning and change at work: the case of employee led development

The concepts of mutuality, learning and change are embedded in the ideas surrounding employee led development (ELD) schemes. This paper explores the extent to which these concepts are an accurate reflection of the way such schemes are organised in practice. The article is based on qualitative research carried out in two small to medium sized enterprises in the north of England. We will show that while ELD can be beneficial to employees, attempts to apply the concepts of mutuality, learning and change require caution.

The ‘learning society’, and small and medium-sized enterprises: empowering the individual?

Abstract At the heart of the United Kingdom Governments vision of the ‘Learning Society’ in the 1998 ‘Learning Age’ Green Paper is the individual citizen, equipped for employment in the ever-changing, ‘knowledge-based’ economy of the future. Integral to this is the need for individuals to have responsibility for their own learning throughout life. It is particularly tough in the context of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – notoriously weak in terms of infrastructure and investment in training and development. Two initiatives deemed to carry the definitive marks of the ‘Learning Society’ are Employee Development (ED) programmes and Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs). Employees in SMEs figure prominently in Government ‘targets’ for ILA take up. Whilst ED schemes have received most notoriety amongst large organisations a number of the UKs Training and Enterprise Councils have sought to spread such activity into the SME sector. Drawing on in-depth research as part of a TEC sponsored evaluation of an ED initiative within SMEs and a pilot ILA programme, the article contrasts how three SMEs have engaged with such ventures and their relative impact. When put into practice in this taxing and unfavourable environment serious questions appear as to the extent to which ILAs are ‘fit for purpose’. ED, in contrast it is suggested, has the potential to be effective in SMEs and in ways that overcome the problems that beset ILAs in this same environment. ED, rather than ILAs, may offer the greater prospect of genuinely empowering individuals within an ongoing educational/developmental process.

Learning brokers in the workplace: a typology of practice

Abstract This article explores the emerging phenomenon of workplace learning brokerage and the extent to which learning brokers can facilitate workplace learning in firms that have little history of employee development. Drawing on research carried out over a 6-year period, the article puts forward a typology of practice and identifies four distinct forms of brokerage. It then considers the factors that constrain and enable successful brokerage. We suggest that factors constraining brokerage are organizational structures, discourse and tensions characterising the broker role. We conclude by arguing that brokerage functions best under conditions of social cohesion in the workplace, and where learners perceive themselves to have a sense of ownership of their own learning.

Grandpa lived to see white men walking on the moon (and other tales of employee development)

Initiatives in employee development (non‐work related learning) represent a significant growth phenomenon. Identifies an orthodox account of ED which has developed alongside this growth; one that revolves around shared interests and a routeway to organisation learning. The assumed mutuality which underpins orthodox accounts of the benefits that flow from ED is characterised by a return to learning which leads to greater flexibility, increased commitment and ultimately enhanced performance. Addresses some questions which appear to have been ignored in the desire to promote ED. Highlights key issues, such as, when given the choice, most employees choose not to participate, and questions whether ED can really represent a learning process which is both distinct from and superior to that which takes place day in, day out, within the workplace.