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Overview
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| Title |
WORKTOW
Changing
working life and training of older workers |
| Synopsis |
WORKTOW
was a multidisciplinary research project, with its main focus on learning
among older (45+) workers in SMEs. The central theme of the project
is concerned with job-related competence (defined broadly to involve
knowledge, skills, learning, values, and attitudes), its maintenance and
development, as well as formal and informal learning on-the-job. The project's
starting point was the individual and organisational effects, needs and
opportunities emanating from the intersection of two trends in society:
the ageing of populations and changes in working life. These developments
have made it necessary to revitalise the old idea of lifelong learning.
There is a pressing need to develop systematic learning initiatives and
interventions. On the one hand, occupational knowledge and skills acquired
once in a life-time are not necessarily valid and sufficient over the course
of a changing working life. On the other hand, training institutions are
faced with demands to adjust and align their course provision and curricula
with the competence needs and demands of working life. The main goal for
the latter is to fill in the gap between formal training and competence
needs in workplaces. Thus, there is also a need to understand more of how
to ensure commensurability between job-related learning and training and
the experience-based competence of mature workers and the needs
of working life. As regards the latter, most arguments have been based
on the deficit-assumption, which is also more broadly applied to defining
older people in society. In line with this view the job competence of older
workers is obsolete or 'lacking' and thus they are 'in need' of new skills
and knowledge. Acknowledging the need for new learning, the project has,
however, focused on examining the added value of mature competence in current
working life (Tikkanen et al. 2001, pp.1,
2). |
| Reference |
The
conceptual basis of the investigation, related to the objectives and theoretical
framework of the project, is further outlined in the final report (Tikkanen
et al. 2001, pp. 1-34).
See
also project info on WORKTOW. |
|