Workforce Development: Strategies and Practices

by Tom Short (Editor), Roger Harris (Editor)

Overview

This book is the second in a series of two volumes that reviews a broad range of strategies and practices undertaken as workplace development activities in a post-global financial crisis period when organisational volatility and survival were foremost in the minds of leaders. Drawing mainly from a wide range of major research projects conducted Australia and with some contributions from international authors, this second book is a compilation of contemporary themes and applications that were developed from individual research projects. During the global financial crisis, the Australian economy out-performed many other developed countries, but it was not immune from international pressures such as global competition, market fluctuations and an increasingly mobile workforce. These issues are reflected in many of the chapters and the combined work will inform readers about the major workforce development challenges facing public and private sector organisations. The book blends relevant literature with rich empirical evidence gathered from large and small organisations and includes application tools developed by researchers who are experts in their field. This book will be of scholarly interest to a broad audience of academics, industry leaders, human resource practitioners and students in adult education, business, psychology and social science disciplines. Moreover, the book will be of interest to education and training professionals, management consultants, and more generally, people who follow the evolution of work and its impact on contemporary society.​

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789812870681
Publisher:	Springer Singapore
Publication date:	07/02/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	370
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Tom Short is a Research Fellow at the University of South Australia where his activities include leading workforce development research projects within the CRC for Rail Innovation. His academic and work experiences span areas such as human resource management, workforce development, leadership and adult education – in senior management, consulting, education and research roles. He has published widely on these topics in books, journals, national and international conference proceedings, professional publications and currently serves on the editorial board of three international journals. Tom is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and was formerly Director of the Performance Improvement Centre, a HRD consulting and training business unit situated within the University of Auckland, Faculty of Education, specialising in the professional development of workplace educators, trainers, assessors and teachers of adults.

Roger Harris is a Professor in the School of Education, University of South Australia. He has had extensive experience in VET research, with a focus on national training reform, workforce development and adult learning. He has presented at national and international conferences and published widely, including books on competency-based education (Macmillan 1995), on and off-job training (NCVER 1998) and rethinking work and learning (Springer 2009), as well co-writing 18 research monographs published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. Recently, Roger was Director of the three-year Australian research consortium, Supporting VET providers in building capability for the future. He has been a member of the South Australian Training and Skills Commission and a Research Fellow for three months at the Institute for Adult Learning in the Singapore Workforce Development Agency. Currently he serves on the Academic Boards of two private higher education providers and as Program Leader of the Workforce Development Program within the CRC for Rail Innovation. He has been Editor of the Australian Journal of Adult Learning and is now Co-Editor of the International Journal of Training Research.

Table of Contents

1     Workforce Development: Moving from Perspectives to Practices
Tom Short and Roger Harris

Part I     Sustainability, Growth and Diversity

2     Global Shifts in Migration Policy and their Implications for Skills Formation, Nations, Communities and Corporations
Peter Kell

3     What do Young Australian Engineers Want? Strategies to Attract this Talent to Less Glamorous Industries
Michelle Wallace, Neroli Sheldon, Roslyn Cameron and Ian Lings

4     Enhancing Career Pathways
Neroli Sheldon and Michelle Wallace

5     Developing a ‘Win-Win’ Scenario: Understanding How Older Workers’ Learning Can Be Enhanced Within Organisations
Brian Findsen

6     Workplace Equity and Diversity: Towards Recognising a Plurality of Knowledge and Skills
Katie Maher

Part II     Building Capability and Capacity

7     Formal Workplace Mentoring: A Strategy for Engagement 
Tom Short 

8     Education, Technologies and the Training Curriculum
Lesley Jolly, Gregory Tibbits, Lydia Kavanagh and Liza O’Moore 

9     Leading Multiple Generations in the Australian Rail Workplace
Tom Short and Roger Harris

10   How to Identify and Teach Abstract Skills: A Case Study of Personal Practice
Lisa Davies

11   What Makes e-Learning Work?
Kieren Jamieson, Sukanlaya Sawang and Cameron Newton

Part III     Developing Leadership, Talent and Innovation

12   Building Leadership Capability: What it Means for Rail Organisations
Tom Short, Tom Stehlik and Janene Piip

13   Workplace Coaching: Context and Challenge
Roslyn Cameron

14   Identifying Leadership Talent
Janene Piip, Roger Harris

15   A Moment in Time and Place: Can Highly Contextualised Training Meet National Training Frameworks?
Jill Hadley

16   Innovation, Change and the Intrapreneurial Mindset
John Thompson, Jarna Heinonen and Jonathon M. Scott

Part IV – Harmonising Across Boundaries and Borders: Case Studies

17   Recruitment of Skilled Employees and Workforce Development in Germany: Practices, Challenges and Strategies for the Future
Thomas Deissinger and Kathrin Breuing

18   To Engage or not to Engage: What Can the National VET System Offer Enterprises?
Michele Simons and Roger Harris

19   Creating A Common Approach to Safety Management through Structured Training Development
Tamara Banks, Herbert C. Biggs and Nathan Dovan

20   Conclusion: Workforce Development – More than the Sum of Its Parts?
Roger Harris and Tom Short