Changing the way we work

All workplaces are sites in which people learn. To state such a fact still seems fairly revolutionary given that many employers and policymakers tend to restrict the meaning of job-related learning to formal episodes of "training" that can be counted and costed. This view is rooted in a wider perception prevalent in society in general that learning only takes place in classroom-type settings. In this article, the authors argue that improving the way jobs are designed and work is organised (in both public and private sectors) has to be a major part of the UK's plans for economic recovery and growth. Learning should not be seen as something separate from work. By reorganising working practice to recognise that all work involves and generates learning, people not only improve opportunities to learn, they also prepare the ground for economic recovery