The views of employees and staff members on workplace learning affordances and hindrances – a case study from heavy industry

Purpose This paper aims to study the views of heavy industry personnel on informal and formal workplace learning, focusing on the affordances, hindrances and views on support and training. Design/methodology/approach To gather data for the study, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 14 employees and 7 staff members. The data was analysed thematically using an inductive approach. Findings In this study, 13 categories of affordances and 6 categories of hindrances related to workplace learning were found. Interviewees acknowledged training and informal learning such as interaction with co-workers and working with new products and methods, as the most important learning affordances. Lack of time was found to be a major hindrance to workplace learning. Practical implications Based on this study, heavy industry companies should expand their support for workplace learning beyond formal training. More emphasis should be placed on supporting informal learning through peer learning models such as working in pairs or small groups. Originality/value By studying two different personnel groups in the same company, this study contributes to previous research that shows that opportunities for workplace learning manifested differently at different levels of the workforce.