Search Results

Enhancing access to and the use and quality of ICTs is one of the 11 thematic objectives of the European Union's cohesion policy for the period 2014-2020. In France, more than eight out of every ten employees use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their work, but to varying extents and with very different user profiles. The heaviest users of ICTs are more likely to access organised training and also benefit from the stimulating effect of ICTs on informal learning. Thus pinpointing the influence of ICTs on the various modes of learning at work is one of the possible ways of preparing for the digital transition.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

Lifelong learning has become one of the keys to making workers' career paths more secure at both the French and the European policy level. However, the implementation of these policy lines raises delicate questions as to how the responsibility for vocational training should be shared among employees, employers and public institutions. The capability approach is used here to elucidate the ambiguous relationships between responsibility and freedom that characterized French training reforms in 2004. The study, based on quantitative and qualitative surveys in which employers and their employees were consulted, shows that the environment provided by the company contributes more decisively than employees' previous training and career paths to the capability of the latter to attend vocational training and develop professionally at work. Relying on these empirical findings, it proposes a scheme for a capability-based conceptualization of professional development.

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

For most employers, employees acquire competences less by taking part in organised training programmes than by carrying out their work tasks. The training and employee trajectory surveys (dispositif d'enquetes sur les formations et itineraires des salaries/Defis) show that employees whose work dynamics offer the best opportunities for informal learning are also the ones who enjoy the highest levels of access to organised training. This is particularly true for employees in the least skilled jobs.

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