Workplace learning: Dilemmas for the European steel industry

Abstract

The focus in recent studies of workplace learning has been on 'communities of practice' and the ways that learning is shaped by such communities. In the process, there has been a downplaying of the importance of broader institutional arrangements, including the impact of organisational structures and management practice, as well as national systems of Vocational Education and Training. This paper draws attention to the importance of these organisational processes in structuring workplace learning. We argue that the institutional arrangements that define organisations are decisive in defining the parameters of workplace learning. In relation to traditional industries, such as steel, the opportunities for time-served workers employed in production areas to learn their work and enhance their expertise is characterised by a set of embedded and regressive practices. These practices hinder the adoption of new forms of working practices and leave many steelworkers vulnerable to the broader effects of industry restructuring. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.