The Learning Intentions of Low-Qualified Employees

In the continuously changing society and knowledge-intensive economy, the demand for the recurrent updating of competencies is coming to the fore for all employees, including low-qualified employees. Employees are considered low qualified when they do not have a starter qualification for higher education. Although many educational studies have focused on fostering learning under favorable circumstances, learning under less favorable circumstances—such as fewer career prospects and restricted possibilities for professional and personal development associated with low qualifications—has received fairly little attention. Participants in this cross-sectional, survey-based study were 246 low-qualified employees from eight different organizations. Results of the multilevel analyses show gender differences and differences between employees with different types of employment contracts. In addition, the seniority of employees showed a negative relation with learning intentions. Finally, learning intentions were positively predicted by self-directedness, financial satisfaction, and perceived support for learning.

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