The role of the company in generating skills

Cedefop — European Centre For The Development Of Vocational Training

Description

The learning effects of work organisation: Belgium
Vocational training
Education policy

Sujets

• Continuing education
• Vocational education
• Belgium

Informations

• Publié par: CEDEFOP-EUROPEAN-CENTRE-FOR-THE-DEVELOPMENT-OF-VOCATIONAL-TRAINING
• Nombre de lectures: 14
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

0) The role of the company
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The learning effects ο
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European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training O H- The role of the company in generating skills
£ The learning effects of work organisation
φBelgium
Authors: E
2 Jacques Delcourt
Mk Bernard Fusulier
jJ Department of Sociology/Institute of Work
OCatholic University of Louvain
LJ Pol Debaty
FOREM
in collaboration with Q_
Christian Maroy O Department of Sociology/Institute of Work
Catholic University of Louvain LL
LU August 1993
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First edition, Thessaloniki 1997
Published by: ü
CEDEFOP — European Centre for the Development
of Vocational Training
Marinou Antipa 12, GR-57001 Thessaloniki
Tel. [phone]; fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Internet: http://www.cedefop.gr
The Centre was established by Regulation (EEC) No 337/75
of the Council of the European Communities, last amended
by Council Regulation (EC) No 251/95 of 6 February 1995
and l n (EC) No 354/95 of 20 y 1995. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1997
ISBN 92-828-2376-8
© European Communities, 1998
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Italy FOREWORD
Numerous continuing vocational training studies at both the national and Community
level, especially those carried out by CEDEFOP on continuing training policy in large
enterprises, have revealed the expanding role being played by enterprises in the devel­
opment of human resources. This trend - which some see as heralding the emergence of
a new division of responsibilities between those involved in training and production -
undoubtedly calls into question their existing relationship and respective activities.
These studies also imply that, when it comes to strategies for developing human re­
sources within enterprises, formally organized continuing training is only one of the op­
tions available for generating the "new" skills and competences considered necessary by
enterprises. There are now organizational models geared to providing apprenticeship
opportunities by exploiting the training impact of work situations, thus enabling a dialectic
to be established between "formal apprenticeship" and "informal apprenticeship" (via
work organization and cooperation between employees in the production and innovation
process).
While they may make converging structural trends apparent, these new organizational
models take on different forms and need not necessarily have any general application.
The considerable difference between the contexts in which these models emerge means
an analysis needs to be conducted of the relationship between an enterprise and its en­
vironment if there is to be an understanding of how the organizational models fit into the
social context and what the scope and limitations are in a transfer of such models.
The primary objective of the present series of studies being undertaken by CEDEFOP in
nine countries1 is to establish the impact of developments in work organization on the
skilling process and, more especially, to pinpoint the links between these developments
and opportunities for formal and informal apprenticeships. These studies also enable
light to be thrown on the nature of skills and competences which can emerge in the con­
text of new types of organization and allow assumptions to be made about the impact of
these developments on training systems.
A twin track analysis is pursued below. At the macro level, an attempt is made to
"reposition the enterprise in the chain of skill generation" and to provide an interpretation
of the mutual links between initial training, continuing training, the labour market and in­
dustrial relations. At the micro level, the aim - based on enterprise case studies - is to
throw light on the various aspects of organizational innovation, developments in skills
and the on-the-job apprenticeship process, in particular work-based and work-influenced
forms of apprenticeship and how they relate to formal apprenticeships. In each country,
enterprises were required to have a "marked and relatively stable level of organizational
innovation" to qualify for case study selection.
The present report deals with both these aspects without necessarily looking at all the
cases studied. These are the subject of an analysis examining how the macro level in­
teracts with the micro level which is presented in the summary that concludes this report.
Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom Finally, a cross-sectional analysis based on the national studies identifies the converging
and diverging developments which emerge in relation to their social context, notes the
impact of theses on the training systems and raises questions in respect of
social dialogue and training policy decisions. This analysis is the subject of the summary
report on "The role of the enterprise in the generation of skills: the training impact of work
organization", published in the CEDEFOP Document series.
Our warm thanks go to those responsible for the studies at the national level and to all
the members of the research teams and companies involved in their successful conclu­
sion.
Fernanda Oliveira Reis Frédérique Rychener PREFACE
The present publication only includes certain aspects of the work carried out in Belgium
as part of CEDEFOP's European research programme entitled: "The company's role in
the skilling process and the training impact of work organization". The complete theoreti­
cal and methodological arguments together with all the case studies and the results of
analyses are contained in two research papers submitted to CEDEFOP in August 1992
in respect of companies in the French-speaking part of Belgium, and in December 1992
int ofs situated in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium.
The following conducted the research:
The societal context Jacques Delcourt (UCL)
Marie-Pierre Seron (UCL)
Case studies in the Dutch-speaking community Pol Debaty (FOREM)
Claudine Tilkin (FOREM)
Case studies in the french-speaking community Bernard Fusulier (UCL)
Scientific collaboration Christian Maroy (UCL) CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 9
PART ONE - NATIONAL STUDY 11
1. REMINDER ON FUNDAMENTAL INTERDEPENDENCE 13
2. THE EXTRANEOUS CHARACTER OF A MAJOR PART OF THE
BELGIAN ECONOMY
3. DIFFERING SITUATIONS ACCORDING TO REGION 1 5
4. CONTINUING VOCATIONAL TRAINING: A GROWTH AREA6
4.1 The development of part-time secondary education
4.2e wide choice of post-secondary training courses8
4.3 Some provisional remarks 21
5. DEVELOPMENT OFTHE LABOUR MARKET2
5.1 Summary of the main trends
5.2 From skills to competences among operators
5.3 An ageing working population4
6. THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCES: A MAJOR SOCIAL GAMBLE 26
PART TWO - CASE STUDIES 27
SECTION 1 -THE DUTCH COMMUNITY9
1. THE COMPANIES STUDIED
1.1 The "Flemish" style of business
1.2 Multinational and small to medium-sized business 30
2. THE "CHOCOLATE" CASE 3
2.1 Formal training1
2.2 Informalg -the supervisor2
2.3 Study of the social climate
3. THE "PADAIRE" CASE3
3.1 Description of the company
3.2 The organization of a production line4
3.3 Formal training 35
3.4 Continual assessment
3.5 Head and arms4. THE"SUDCASES" CASE 35
4.1 The product6
4.2 The production line
4.3e cells
4.4 Recruitment7
4.5 Formal training
4.6 The engineers
4.7 Social dialogue 38
4.8 Conclusions
5. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE COMPANIES 39
5.1 Skilled work
5.2 From concept to finished product - development of a strategy 3
5.3 New organization 40
5.4 Formal and informal training1
5.5 Versatility2
5.6 Shop floor, cells and production lines3
5.7. Elitist companies
SECTION 2 - THE FRENCH COMMUNITY5
1. INTRODUCTORY NOTES: FOCUS ON SKILLING "POCKETS" IN
THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
2. COMPANY PROFILE- LIGHTING BELGIQUE 47
2.1 Description of the company and the organizational changes 4
2.1.1 Background 4
2.1.2 Historic development8
2.1.3 General description of the production process9
2.1.4 Organizational changes 53
2.2 Training provision
2.2.1 The training practices relating to the GIPS project 5
2.2.2 Methods of training for total quality
2.3 The training impact of work: spotlight on the production cells 60
2.3.1 Description of how the assembly workshop operates
2.3.2 Some topics arising from the work context 62
2.3.3e of the effects of organizational changes6
2.3.4 Training impact: starting point for a more systematic analysis8
3. COMPANY PROFILE OF S.B.BELGIQUE 71
3.1 General description of S.B
3.1.1 The company's i