This study examines the transfer of gamified training activities aimed at developing key workplace competences, focusing on creativity, innovation and decision-making within a specific organisational context. We conducted an exploratory case study in a Spanish public-sector organisation. Data were collected through pre- and post-training interviews with 24 employees who participated in a gamification activity. A semi-structured interview was also conducted with the Internal Training Manager. Participants perceived that gamification activity contributed to the improvement of their competences, particularly creativity, innovation and decision-making. They reported higher motivation and engagement, as well as a greater readiness to apply gamification methods in their daily tasks. Although they faced challenges, including limited time and resources, participants expressed a strong willingness to continue using gamified practices. This study extends the application of gamification beyond educational contexts and explores its use in a professional environment, addressing a gap in the literature. It presents empirical findings on how gamified training is associated with the development and transfer of soft competences within a public sector organisation. By drawing on Baldwin and Ford's (1988) transfer model in a workplace setting, the study contributes to understanding the conditions under which gamification may support competence development beyond the classroom. The study is limited by its single-case design and reliance on self-reported data. Future research should examine similar training initiatives in different organisational contexts. Organisations seeking to enhance employee competences can adopt gamification as a strategic learning tool. Effective implementation requires sufficient time, resources and managerial support. By fostering competences such as creativity, innovation and decision-making, gamification can contribute to a more adaptive and innovative workforce in an evolving labour market.
ABSTRACT Human resource development increasingly emphasizes strategic training and development activities to support the growth of leaders and their leadership skills. This underscores the growing importance of human resource (HR) practitioners, who are often responsible for overseeing leadership development (LD). Despite their central role, research on HR practitioners' experiences and perspectives on LD design and delivery remains limited. This study explores how HR practitioners organize and refine LD in various organizational settings. This qualitative study employes an exploratory design and uses inductive thematic analysis of 24 semistructured interviews conducted across diverse organizational settings in Sweden. HR practitioners use three main strategies to organize LD: (1) tailoring LD to the organizational context, (2) tailoring LD to leaders' personal needs and growth expectations and (3) tailoring LD activities to context and leaders. The effectiveness of these strategies, however, depends on the practitioners' organizational support and work conditions, which can enable or constrain HR efforts. HR practitioners play a multifaceted role in shaping LD, balancing organizational goals with individual growth. Successful implementation of tailored LD strategies requires not only professional expertise, but also adequate resources, organizational support and strategic involvement.
With the emergence of entrepreneurship education, its integration within the arts discipline remains limited. Existing literature on entrepreneurship education in higher education has primarily focused on outcomes, with assessments relatively overlooked. This study investigated entrepreneurship education assessment through the expectations and perceptions of multiple stakeholders, including students, teachers and professionals from the field of arts. An open-ended survey was administered to first and final year students at a university in Hong Kong, followed by individual semi-structured interviews with higher education students and educators, as well as professionals. Findings showed that entrepreneurship education was valued in the arts discipline, and results recommended focusing on creative processes and fostering entrepreneurial competencies to enhance employability and career management. Non-traditional but authentic and experiential approaches in evaluation methods were highlighted. In light of the findings, this study offers valuable insights to curriculum design, as well as teaching and learning in the arts discipline within higher education.
Research on how vocational education and training (VET) foster vocational commitment has often overlooked the temporal effect of pedagogic factors. This study investigates the motivational pathways to vocational commitment as a crucial educational outcome by differentiating between commitment to the occupation and commitment to the training company (organization). Drawing on self-determination theory, we examine how both time-invariant and time-varying motivational and pedagogical contextual factors influence commitment trajectories over time. A total of 458 commercial trainees in commercial VET programmes (Kaufm & auml;nnische Ausbildungsberufe) within the German dual system were followed across three data collection waves at the beginning, middle and end of training. Participants were randomly selected from 10 vocational schools located in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-W & uuml;rttemberg. The sample was 36% male and 64% female, with an average age of 19.66 years. Using latent growth modelling, we analyzed how initial motivation (from external to integrated regulation) and dynamic pedagogical factors predict occupational and organizational commitment. Findings reveal both scope and the temporal dynamics in commitment: Integrated regulation fosters strong initial commitment both to company and occupation, but may lead to a decline over time, while introjected regulation leads to lower initial commitment but growth during training. Contextual predictors such as autonomy support and involvement in expert culture are domain-specific, influencing only company commitment but not occupational commitment. Functional involvement and competence recognition are domain-linked, influencing both company commitment and occupational commitment. Notably, the negative effects of early-stage pressure reversed over time, suggesting a developmental shift in how trainees appraise stress. Vocational commitment develops dynamically and is shaped by both stable motivational orientations and time-varying instructional factors, with effects differing across training stages and between company and occupation. These findings highlight the need for phase-specific and domain-sensitive pedagogical interventions in vocational training.
Establishing strong organisational commitment among early career starters such as apprentices, trainees, and dual-study students is of central interest to companies' HR strategies for developing and retaining skilled workforces. To explain how commitment emerges, attachment theory offers a useful conceptual lens, as it provides an established framework for understanding human relationships. Contributing to a growing body of research on attachment at the workplace, this study examines how general attachment and relationship-specific attachment of early career starters relate to affective, normative, and continuance commitment towards two salient targets in vocational settings: the company and the in-company trainer. Using structural equation modelling with data from 405 dual-study students as representatives of early career starters in Germany, the findings highlight the value of an attachment-based, multi-target perspective. In particular, relationship-specific attachment was more strongly related to commitment to the company and the in-company trainer than general attachment. Moreover, relationship-specific attachment avoidance emerged as a key predictor of most commitment components across both targets. Overall, the findings suggest that companies and in-company trainers can actively and differently shape attachment and commitment and thereby support retention during early career stages.
New technology is changing the skills that employers demand and the tasks that employees perform. Technological change is therefore increasing the need for continuing vocational training. However, little is known about the association between technology introduction, employees' job tasks and continuing training participation in firms. Employees' job tasks may mediate the relationship between technology introduction and continuing training participation. As tasks are distributed unequally among employees, tasks may reinforce inequality in continuing training. This study uses German firm-level data (BIBB Training Panel, n = 1057) to identify such a mediating effect. The results show that the association of technology, tasks and continuing training varies depending on the form of continuing training. Technology introduction does directly affect informal continuing training rates, but not course-based continuing training rates. Nevertheless, technology introduction does increase the frequency of all types of tasks in firms. Moreover, manual tasks have a direct negative effect on the course-based continuing training rates. The results suggest that manual tasks mediate the relationship between technology introduction and course-based continuing training. Also, the results highlight the importance of tasks for reinforcing inequalities in continuing training participation in times of technological change.
This article compares gender disparities in access, learning outcomes, and school-to-work transitions (STWT) among dual Vocational Education and Training (dVET) apprentices in Mexico. Drawing on data from a longitudinal research project, the study includes in-depth interviews with 60 apprentices, conducted at the start of dVET and after graduation. The qualitative analysis compares apprentices' opportunities by gender and field of study, distinguishing between traditionally male- or female-dominated areas. The findings reveal significant gender differences in access to dVET highlighting the critical roles played by family and teacher support, as well as peer information. Additionally, the analysis indicates that female apprentices in male-dominated fields face disadvantages with gender-related stereotypes persisting in both educational and workplace environments. Moreover, STWT results suggest that male apprentices experienced greater advantages in fulfilling their expectations. Our results contribute to the broader discussions on gender, equality, and inclusion within comparative dVET studies, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions.
This qualitative study examines how learning and development (L&D) leaders perceive and evaluate AI-enabled coaching agents and identifies factors shaping organisational adoption. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 senior L&D and HR leaders from large organisations who had recent experience of using generative AI coaching tools. Reflexive thematic analysis generated six themes relating to perceived value at scale, hybrid human-AI delivery preferences, adoption barriers, perceived conversational strengths and limitations, trust and governance concerns, and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations. Findings are interpreted through UTAUT2 to clarify how performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, habit and perceived value are refracted through organisational risk, data protection, trust and inclusion. The study contributes an adoption-focused account of how commissioners of workplace learning and development assess coaching and the emergence of AI coach agents, offering implications for governance, implementation design and future research on responsible deployment.
Transnational education institutions promoting foreign curricula often claim to enhance international employability for local students, yet many assertions lack substantial evidence. This qualitative study investigates the study-to-work transitions of alumni from a binational university in Turkey, focusing on their motivations for selecting this university and their immediate labour market outcomes. The study introduces the concept of “exporting employability” through transnational education. The findings indicate that the extent to which transnational higher education institutions can “export” employability has limitations and largely depends on language skill development. Notably, nearly all graduates choose to work in their country of origin. By applying transnational social fields theory, this study illustrates how transnational education can offer a globally relevant yet locally applicable education, ultimately providing concrete evidence of transnational education's role in enhancing alumni employability and contributing to their labour market outcomes.
First-time managers have received limited attention in academic research, with only a few studies appearing over the years in human resource development and related fields. Today, generation Z has entered the workforce, and many of them are being promoted to management. Therefore, our study explored the transition to the management process for generation Z employees. We interviewed 12 representatives of this cohort and analyzed the data using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings suggest that the transition for first-time managers from generation Z has five facets that can be divided into two groups: dispositional and situational. Additionally, the study offers important insights into the transformation of professional identity during this transition, highlighting the significant roles of values and proactive behaviours. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of our findings, as well as suggestions for future research.
The rapid pace of technological innovation and the advent of Industry 4.0 have profoundly transformed labour markets and the nature of work. This paper examines the preparedness of Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) programmes in Germany and Italy to meet the demands of Human Capital 4.0. Utilising a comparative analysis of three IVET programmes, this study investigates the skills and competencies these programmes aim to develop and evaluates their alignment with the requirements of a technologically advanced economy. In Germany, the dual system's practical orientation, strong industry feedback mechanisms, and continuous curriculum updates position it as a model of high readiness. The integration of practical training and close collaboration with employers ensures that students acquire relevant skills, making the German IVET system highly responsive to labour market needs. In contrast, Italy's predominantly school-based IVET system emphasises theoretical knowledge with limited practical exposure. The centralised, state-driven feedback mechanism in Italy leads to slower adaptation to industry changes, affecting the system's readiness to equip students with the necessary skills for Industry 4.0. Findings reveal that Germany's IVET programme is nominally better aligned with Human Capital 4.0, as it embraces soft skills, cognitive skills, digital competencies, and emotional intelligence. Italy's IVET programmes, while strong in theoretical knowledge, need to enhance their practical training components, incorporate industry feedback more effectively and integrate emotional intelligence to improve readiness. This paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on vocational education reform by highlighting the critical role of practical training and industry collaboration in preparing students for the challenges and opportunities of Industry 4.0. It underscores the importance of revising traditional education systems to meet the dynamic needs of the modern economy and suggests areas for improvement in both German and Italian IVET systems.
This study aims to identify latent employment quality patterns among vocational high school graduates and examine how these patterns are influenced by their upper-secondary vocational education and training (VET) experiences. Grounded in the International Labour Organisation's concept of decent work, this study considers employment quality within diverse indicators: job relevance to education, decent hours, social protection, employment status, adequate earnings, work-life balance, and social dialogue and workplace relations. Using nationally representative data from 1463 Korean vocational high school graduate workers, latent class analysis is employed to classify individuals into distinct employment quality patterns based on multiple dimensions of decent work. The analysis reveals three latent groups: stable (26.7%), partially stable (54.8%), and precarious (18.5%). Results from multinomial logistic regression indicate that students' active participation in vocational coursework, acquisition of industry certifications, and work experience are significantly associated with these latent patterns. Moreover, these relationships vary across different occupational programmes, including STEM, business and services, and others tracks. This study underscores the importance of incorporating diverse indicators of employment quality rather than relying on a single metric. It also suggests that VET strategies should be tailored to the unique characteristics of each occupational programme to improve employment outcomes for vocational high school graduates.
This study examines international travel as a context for informal intercultural learning and the development of intercultural competence, aligning with the broader goals of training and development. Using the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI), this research assesses changes in four dimensions—Emotional Resilience, Flexibility/Openness, Perceptual Acuity, and Personal Autonomy—among Czech tourists before and after a 2-week guided cultural experience in France. A longitudinal design involving 120 participants and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests revealed statistically significant improvement in the Flexibility/Openness dimension. These findings suggest that structured travel experiences may foster greater openness and receptivity to cultural differences, representing a partial yet meaningful enhancement of intercultural competence. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on experiential learning in tourism and offers nuanced implications for intercultural training, particularly regarding how short-term international experiences can serve as informal opportunities for developing selected facets of intercultural competence.
Building on transformative learning theory, this study develops and tests a moderated mediation model to explain how developmental job experience fosters unlearning among early-career employees, while also illuminating the paradoxical role of psychological safety. Using two-wave survey data from 1382 young Japanese employees, hierarchical regression and moderated mediation analyses revealed that developmental job experiences directly and indirectly promote unlearning through the mediating effect of critical reflection. Paradoxically, while higher psychological safety encourages employees to undertake challenging tasks, which strengthens the positive influence of developmental job experience, it also weakens the link between developmental job experience and critical reflection by reducing the tension necessary for in-depth self-examination. These findings advance the literature on unlearning by elucidating the complex interplay between individual developmental experiences and the dynamics of organizational culture. From a practical perspective, human resource development professionals should strategically balance psychological safety and constructive tension to optimize adaptive learning and agility among younger employees.
Further education and training (FET) should form a foundation for increasingly dynamic and digital European economies. Policies aim to support ongoing workforce development and retain as many individuals as possible in the labour market. However, limited existing evidence supports the Matthew effect in this area—FET tends to be more accessible for workers with higher qualifications in better jobs. This study uses data from the EU Labour Force Survey and examines the relationship between individual and job characteristics with FET, as well as its shift during the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings confirm that FET is more common among younger and middle-aged workers, those in higher-level positions, workers in larger companies, and those not working under a supervisor. Some of these patterns changed with the onset of the pandemic, notably the link between FET in ICT and higher education becoming stronger. This study identifies several robust factors that influence participation in FET, serving as a foundation for policies that aim to provide accessible, targeted FET opportunities for groups at risk of exclusion in a digitalised labour market.
The meaning of learning in knowledge-intensive work for competence development and motivation is significant. Supervisors play a major role as facilitators of learning, making individual- and team-level learning possible in organizations. Supervisors need to implement organizational-level strategies in practice and enhance employees' learning processes in daily problem-solving situations. To facilitate learning, supervisors act as coaches in helping employees develop themselves. However, supervisors have difficulties recognizing this role, and they might not have enough knowledge and competence on how to support adults' learning processes based on self-determination. We explore how supervisors in technology organization and central hospital in Finland conceptualize their role as leaders of learning in their own work contexts. The findings of the phenomenographic analysis were derived from supervisors' diaries (N = 29) and interviews (N = 17). The findings consist of four logically constructed categories of descriptions in which supervisors depicted leading as a practice that focuses on recognizing and strengthening individual motivations and organizational goals, supporting personnel in learning situations, facilitating collective learning situations and acting as a role model. Leading learning is tied to everyday work situations, emphasizing supervisors' presence and participation among personnel in daily work. The findings can be utilized towards creating a pedagogically suitable environment for learning and development in organizations. Thus, understanding the actions that facilitate learning is essential for developing supervisors' training and education to meet employees' learning needs. Additionally, we offer suggestions for future research.
Teacher self-efficacy refers to teachers' beliefs in their capacity to influence student learning and engagement. A strong sense of self-efficacy has been identified as a key factor associated with instructional practices and the quality of teacher-student relationships. The present study focuses specifically on vocational education and training (VET) pathways, and aims to examine the impact of teachers' sense of self-efficacy on the academic performance of VET students. In addition, this study evaluates the suitability of the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) for use with VET teachers. Data from a survey of 285 vocational education and training teachers were analyzed. The findings indicate a redefined questionnaire structure, revealing a new item distribution. Moreover, the results show that teachers' sense of self-efficacy significantly predicts students' academic performance. However, when considering the newly identified factors, certain dimensions exhibit contrasting influences on students' academic performance. Thus, Efficacy in Promoting Engagement and Adaptation positively influences students' academic performance, while Efficacy in Questioning and Explaining is associated with a negative impact. This study sheds light on the relation between teacher self-efficacy, individual and contextual factors, and student academic performance in vocational education.
Demographic development and hiring and retirement policies in higher education institutions (HEIs) have promoted the coexistence of different generations in university departments. Intergenerational learning (IGL) processes in the workplace are crucial for improving both individual and institutional well‐being and performance. This scoping review examines empirical studies on workplace IGL, paying special attention to those focused on HEIs. The sample comprises 61 articles. The scoping review method used in this study is based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA). The results highlighted: (1) the prevalence of qualitative studies aimed at understanding IGL from an organisational, group or individual perspective; and (2) the lack of educational studies, particularly research conducted at universities. In this context, the absence of such studies contrasts with the importance, topicality and urgency of analysing and promoting IGL in HEIs to ensure organisational development and generational change between teachers.
This study follows a dynamic conceptualization of training transfer focusing on leadership development. Based on the Dynamic Transfer Model, we investigate temporal changes in transfer behaviour while considering the influence of leaders' appraisal of previous transfer experiences. We include motivation to transfer and perceived support as mediators and investigate their impact on training transfer within a dynamic framework. A total of N = 65 leaders (280 occasions overall), who attended various leadership trainings, were surveyed on transfer behaviour, satisfaction with transfer attempts, transfer motivation, and support received from colleagues and supervisors once a week over a period of five consecutive weeks. Multilevel analysis revealed that satisfaction with transfer experiences gained in 1 week significantly predicted transfer behaviour in the following week, after controlling for transfer behaviour in the former week. While transfer motivation was found to partially mediate this relationship, perceived support did not yield a significant indirect effect. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of motivational factors in predicting future transfer behaviour and contribute to the existing literature by incorporating affective dimensions.
