Research background and motivation

Modern firms face the principle of “knowledge is only useful for those who can effectively learn, and learning is only effective if useful knowledge is available.” (Strong et al., 2008: 150). The knowledge-based view of the firm (Grant, 1996; Kogut & Zander, 1992; Spender, 1996) emphasizes knowledge as the key driver of superior organizational performance, competitiveness, and value creation (Alavi & Leidner, 2001; Spender, 1996). Hence, knowledge creation, acquisition, and application are central actions for organizations (Sousa

& Hendriks, 2006). Individuals are seen to have a major role in creating and possessing knowledge, and the main task of organizations is to manage the employees’ specialist knowledge in order to produce goods and services (Grant, 1996: 120). As knowledge is considered the most important asset in production, organizations are increasingly interested in learning. The organizations that are capable of continuous learning and adapting can stand out from their competitors (Li et al., 2009). Specifically, successful learning transfer among the organizational members is a crucial issue. In sum, learning is vital for modern organizations because their environment is constantly changing, which requires effective learning that improves the ability of organizations to benefit from opportunities, generate profits, and survive threats (Hannah & Lester, 2009). In this environment, workplace learning as a means to obtain appropriate knowledge today and in the future has garnered increased interest (Collin & Tynjälä, 2003; Harteis & Billett, 2008).

The academic literature has considered workplace learning an important issue for organizations in terms of the workers’ flexible learning of frequently-changing professional skills (Colley, 2012; Dymock & Gerber, 2002; Guile & Okumoto, 2008; Sauter, 1999; Sinha, 2012). Workplace learning is thus an important tool to support organizational renewal capability and increase employee competence (Felstead et al., 2010; Lans et al., 2008; Leonard-Barton, 1992; Leslie et al., 1998; Schmitt et al., 2012). Furthermore, most of the employees’ specialist knowledge concerning, for example, the production process, customers, the organization, and the industry resides in their tacit knowledge (Smith, 2001), which is not readily transferable to others. However, along with the retirement of the baby-boom generation (Koc-Menard, 2009), Finland and other industrialized countries are facing a loss of knowledgeable employees and their tacit knowledge.

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Students’ workplace learning can mitigate this problem by providing a means to convey the present employees’ professional skills and knowledge to younger workers just ready to enter the job market. In fact, it has been argued that workplace learning is an appropriate environment, sometimes the only plausible one, for the learning of professional skills (Sauter, 1999; Streeck, 1989).

Workplace learning has been studied widely (Billett, 2001, 2004; Engeström et al., 1995; Eraut, 2004;

Gherardi, 2001; Leslie et al., 1998). Workplaces as learning environments can be used to achieve different learning goals depending on the target groups and desired results (Nieuwenhuis & van Woerkom, 2007).

Thus far, however, the literature has mainly focused on professional skills development for the current employees (Amenumey & Lockwood, 2008; Karakowsky & McBey, 1999), and there are only a few empirical studies examining the effect of various factors on students’ workplace learning of professional skills (Virtanen et al., 2014). Furthermore, the literature seems to emphasize primarily the importance of firms in enhancing or preventing workplace learning. Previous studies have found that the managers’ role (Bryson et al., 2006), structured guidance (Billett, 2001), an innovative environment (Laurillard, 1999), and social and informal interaction at workplaces (Aksu and Özdemir, 2005) influence workplace learning. In addition, the literature has suggested that individuals’ goal orientation (Sujan et al., 1994), initiative in learning (Billett, 2004), and self-efficacy (Hurley, 2002) influence learning at work as well. The joint influence of organization- and individual characteristics-related factors influencing on-the-job learning is a field that is not as well understood.

It is crucial to increase understanding of the students’ aspect in workplace learning because students are the future workforce who can potentially replace the retiring baby boomers. When the seniors’ tacit knowledge (Smith, 2001) is conveyed to the juniors, it enhances the students’ learning of expertise (Dornan et al., 2007) and provides them with up-to-date skills; furthermore, workplace learning is considered necessary for the development of professional skills (Collin & Tynjälä, 2003). Organizations have a valuable knowledge asset in their hands in the form of students performing their training periods at the final stages of their studies.

These students already possess basic abstract and practical knowledge of the profession studied and they will soon enter the job market. In this phase, firms have an excellent opportunity to mold the students’

professional skills according to their needs and at the same time take into account the future needs of the business. In order to make the most of the students’ on-the-job learning from the viewpoint of the students,

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firms, and schools it is important to study and identify organization- and individual-related contributors to successful workplace learning.

Specifically, it is important to examine the vocational students’ on-the-job learning because workers performing practical tasks are a large and increasing group within the labor force (Eurostat, 2010). For example, in Finland 41 percent of the graduates from compulsory education in 2010 continued on to vocational education (Statistics Finland, 2010). A further motivation to examine the vocational students’

workplace learning is that it has been demonstrated that professional learning is most successful in normal, daily situations in authentic environments (Felstead et al., 2010). A common way to acquire competence required in practical jobs is vocational education. The vocational professionals’ knowledge is practical (Albrecht et al., 2009; Mascha, 2001) defined as knowledge of how to use different methods and strategies in specific situations, personal, expressed through actions, and crucial in skillful decision-making (Albrecht et al., 2009; Mascha, 2001; Matsuo & Kusumi, 2002; Rix & Lièvre, 2008).

The current study defines a worker performing practical tasks as a person with specialized non-academic skills, training, or knowledge required by a specific trade, occupation, or vocation (Metso, 2012). Their professions are multifarious; for example, artisan, customer service and salesperson, vehicle mechanic, articulated vehicle driver, bus driver, surface treatment finisher, electrician, ventilation fitter, infrastructure builder, mechanical fitter, joiner, security officer, environmental operative, practical nurse, cook, and travel counselor. Typically, these workers acquire formal competence and initial profession-related skills through vocational education. Successful performance in their professions requires professional qualifications, continuous learning, and work experience. They create new knowledge and skills by performing in changing authentic situations, improve and develop their working methods, and are connected widely within and outside their organizations. Hence, they are involved in the core functions of organizations. With these workers’ comprehensive representation in organizations and their substantial influence on everyday functions, it is important to study the contributors to the vocational students’ successful learning through work.

This study takes part in academic discussion in the following fields: First, the study is related to the literature examining the newcomers’ workplace learning (Tynjälä, 2008; Virolainen, 2007) and second, the literature on 15

workplaces as the students’ learning environments (Collin & Tynjälä, 2003; Dornan et al., 2007) through the main focus of examining contributors to the vocational students’ on-the-job learning included in the vocational education and training (VET) system. The focus of this dissertation is on the vocational students’

on-the-job learning, but for an audience not interested in this special field, it provides understanding of the multifaceted nature of workplaces as learning environments and individual-related factors enhancing successful learning at work.