ABSTRACT
Organizations are dependent on the level of knowledge and expertise of its employees especially in jobs critical for future growth and success. The purpose of Chapter 8 is to examine the intentional learning strategies created to develop individual employee’s technical proficiency as well as more general competencies that lead to a well-rounded individual who can succeed in the workplace over the course of a career. First, strategies for accelerating learning of newcomers are described as newcomers need to get up to speed quickly on a job for the organization to get immediate value out of the investment of recruitment, selection, and initial training costs. Best practices based on research evidence around job orientation, socialization practices, and guided instruction such as apprenticeships and on the job learning and training are described. The second section examines the intentional efforts to have people gain knowledge and skills through learning experiences such as job rotation and self-directed and informal learning approaches. Given that longer-term developmental strategies are needed to move individuals towards expertise in their career, the chapter identifies key levers to accelerate individual development over time. The chapter ends with a discussion of self-development and career management strategies that have been found to help individuals keep pace with the changing realities of the workplace.
