Keynote talk at The Changing Face of Work and Learning conference, Telus Centre, Edmonton. Sponsored by The Work and Learning Network, University of Alberta. For conference details see: www.wln.ualberta.ca
TALK OUTLINE: Marshall McLuhan once predicted that we would all be “learning a living” in the information age. This age has arrived, but learning in workplaces is easier said than done. The rhetoric is clear: economic policy links national competitiveness to skill development and learning, social policy promotes life-long learning, and employers are striving for knowledge-intensive business strategies. However, implementing these ideas is difficult because many work environments do not enable learning. The solution requires more than new human resource management practices or a stronger commitment to build a ‘learning organization’. A useful guide for supporting learning in workplaces is the model of a healthy organization – one that has healthy, sustainable and innovation outcomes for employees, investors (or citizens in the public sector) and communities. From this perspective, personal and organizational well-being depends on active learning.
Creating Healthy Organizations