Trainers’ learning conditions, informal and formal learning and barriers to learning

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study is to unveil how professional trainers and training managers describe the learning conditions of their workplaces, what informal and formal learning activities they intend to accomplish and what barriers to learning at work they encounter. Design/methodology/approach Barriers to learning in the workplace fall under individual, team or organizational aspects that hinder the initiation of or interrupt successful learning, delay proceedings or end learning activities much earlier than intended. Professional trainers (N = 16) and training managers (N = 10) participated in this interview study. Their answers were recorded, transcribed and analyzed via qualitative content analysis. Findings The participants assessed their work tasks as highly complex and balanced between new challenging tasks and routines. Their formal and informal learning activities were also fundamental to maintaining high performance. The trainers described a broad range of situations in which they suffered barriers to learning at their workplace, with most identifying external learning barriers such as vague supervisor requirements or disruptions from others. Originality/value The results of this study describe workplace complexity, which offers stimuli for learning through learning conditions, possibilities to engage in learning and also barriers to learning. To understand workplace complexity, all of these dimensions have to be understood and addressed.

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