Abstract
In the context of an ongoing turbulent economic climate, skills development, qualification enhancement and ‘lifelong learning’ figure high on policymakers’ lists of potential remedies to the UK’s competitive malaise. With large numbers already ‘beyond the reach’ of educational institutions, the workplace is regularly highlighted as an important site where people can learn new skills, reach their potential and ultimately help ensure that the UK enhances its productivity. The UK is not alone in espousing this approach; indeed, across the European Union (EU) the transition from a manufacturing base to a ‘knowledge economy’ has seen much of the continent’s political elite, across the political spectrum, espouse the need for a ‘learning society’.
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Eraut, M. and Hirsh, W. (2007) The significance of workplace learning for individuals, groups and organisations (London: SKOPE).
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© 2013 Steven Roberts
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Roberts, S. (2013). We Know What They Earn, But What Do They Learn? A Critique of Lifelong Learning through the Lens of Workplace Learning at the Bottom of the Service Sector. In: Brooks, R., McCormack, M., Bhopal, K. (eds) Contemporary Debates in the Sociology of Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137269881_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137269881_5
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