Browsing by Subject "organisaatio oppimisympäristönä"

Surveys conducted in recent years reveal that many organizations face skill gaps and challenges in competence development. The aim of this study is to understand the support for learning and competence development in IT organizations. As the IT industry has evolved rapidly, it provides an interesting starting point for this research. Supporting learning is approached in this study through viewpoints of HRD professionals. The study seeks to find out how HRD professionals approach learning in organizations, how learning is supported, and what kind of challenges are related to supporting learning. The study was conducted using qualitative methods and the research material consisted of seven interviews. The interviewees were working in IT organizations and their area of responsibility included supporting learning and development. In this study, the interviewees are referred as HRD professionals. Organizations that were selected to this study, were IT organizations that focused on software development. Of the selected organizations, six were consulting companies and one was a product company. The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The HRD professionals described learning very broadly and saw learning as ongoing. In their descriptions, there were similarities with the metaphor of knowledge creation. Learning was supported through practical models that support individual learning as well as collective learning. In addition, learning was supported by shaping the learning environment in the organization. The roles of management, work community and organizational factors were identified as key factors here. The ways of supporting learning were mainly very consistent with the learning-promoting practices presented in previous research and theory (eg self-determination theory, dimensions of a learning organization, organizational mindsets, psychological safety). The biggest challenges in learning and supporting learning, were lack of time, taking individual interests into consideration and encouraging employees to share their knowledge and participate in collective learning activities. The pandemic created challenges for learning and supporting learning in terms of shaping work practices, well-being challenges and the knowledge sharing.