work-related informal learning

knowledge at work

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workplaceskills.ca The Centre for Workplace Skills is co-led by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and the Canadian Labour Congress and funded by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.

Work- related Informal learnIngReSeaRCh and PRaCtiCe in the Canadian Context

Christine WihakThompson Rivers University

Gail hallCAPLA Coordinator, recognitionforlearning.ca

This publication was prepared by Christine Wihak of Thompson Rivers University and Gail Hall, CAPLA Coordinator for recognitionforlearning.ca for the Canadian Council on Learning’s Work and Learning Knowledge Centre. Financial support was provided by the Canadian Council on Learning. This publication is issued by the Centre for Workplace Skills as a reference source on the topic of work-related informal learning. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this document are those of the au-thors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Canadian Council of Learning nor those of the Centre for Workplace Skills.

The Centre for Workplace Skills is an independent, national organization that brings together business, labour and other groups with an interest in workplace skills development in order to promote effective practices in workplace learning. The Centre is co-led by the Canadian Labour Congress and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters.

A copy of this publication is available on the Centre for Workplace Skills’ website at www.workplaceskills.ca. For information regarding this publication please contact [email protected].

©2011 Centre for Workplace Skills

All rights reserved. This publication can be reproduced in whole or in part with the written permission of the Centre for Workplace Skills. These materials are to be used solely for non-commercial purposes.

ISBN # 978-0-9868998-0-5

Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français sous le titre apprentissage informel lié au travail : Recherche et pratique dans le contexte canadien au site web www.competencesmilieutravail.ca.

3Work-related Informal learnIng

Employers, workers and labour unions, educators, governments and civil society recognize that work-related informal learning plays a large role in the day to day lifelong learning activity of adult learners, and in the learn-ing and skills development activities that are essential to organizational success.

Research about informal learning has been steadily growing to promi-nence, thanks in part to the efforts of many Canadian researchers and organizations. However, while our theoretical knowledge about infor-mal learning has made great strides over the last number of years, it is clear that approaches to actively promote, support and evaluate work-related informal learning are only starting to take root in Canadian workplaces. Further, while formal and more structured approaches to workplace training tend to be more visible to workplace decision mak-ers, few understand and actively support the mutually reinforcing rela-tionship that exists between formal and informal types of learning.

4 Centre for WorkPlaCe SkIllS

Canada faces a number of economic and workforce development challenges. The solutions to these require key decision makers to look closely at the role informal learning plays in work-related learning, and how it can be supported in practical terms.

the ReSeaRCh ChallengeIntroductIon

//// Concern with lifelong learning in the work-place has grown worldwide in response to glo-balizing forces and technological change.//// In early conceptualizations of lifelong learn-ing, learning was presented as something that people needed to be encouraged to do. Later it came to be viewed as natural, pervasive, and part of an on-going process. This shift in the under-standing of the nature of lifelong learning has brought informal learning to the foreground of lifelong learning discussions.//// Rapid technological change, evolving skills requirements, and changes in the nature of work and production represent longer-term trends in which informal learning may play an increasingly important role.//// In the shorter term, concerns about skill shortages might drive organizations to exam-ine their need to develop talent and knowledge “from within” through all means available. At

the same time there may be a need to ensure that workers, particularly those in periods of dif-ficult job transition, can capture the benefits of their accumulated but unrecognized skills and knowledge, much of which may have been ac-quired informally.//// To develop an evidence base that could re-spond to the information needs and the chal-lenges faced by workplace learning decision makers, the Canadian Council on Learning’s Work and Learning Knowledge Centre (WLKC) commissioned a synthesis research project on “work-related informal learning in Canada.” The research was conducted by the Canadian As-sociation for Prior Learning Assessment, with Dr. Christine Wihak as the lead investigator and Gail Hall as the leader of stakeholder consultations that supported this research. It is published by the Centre for Workplace Skills as a key resource on workplace skills issues.


//// Conceived as the first step in a longer-term effort to mobilize and disseminate knowledge about informal learning, this project sought to bring together the best and most recent evi-dence that would help to underline the impor-tance of informal learning in the workplace, and the day-to-day practices that are used to sup-port, assess, evaluate and recognize it.//// While it seeks to capture the best current evidence, WLKC’s research has shown that there are a number of key information gaps that have yet to be filled. These point to a number of gaps in different areas in the cur-

rent research record, at least from the point of view of those interested in actively support-ing informal learning as practice or policy in Canada. Further, workplace decision makers, in particular employers, unions, governments and educators, will require solid evidence on issues such as the quality of work-related informal learning, and its contribution to productivity, labour market outcomes and individual well-being, if they are to develop a clear picture of the value that work-related informal learning can bring to their most significant workforce development concerns.

This document provides an overview of a synthesis research report originally commission by the Canadian Council on Learning’s Work and Learning Knowledge Centre and is published by the Centre for Workplace Skills.

The research project was managed by Bonnie Kennedy of the Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA). Christine Wihak, Thompson Rivers University, was the lead investigator, and Gail Hall, CAPLA Coordinator, recognitionforlearning.ca, led the stakeholder consultations that informed this research project. John Bratton, Thompson Rivers University, acted as Consultant to the project. Lyra Warkentin and Lauren Wihak were research assistants to this project, while Seonaigh MacPherson provided editorial services.

Please note that for the sake of space, citations are not included in this summary. Complete references will be provided in the publication of the full report.

the ReSeaRCh ChallengeIntroductIon


//// The term informal learning is often used to refer to learning that is neither formal learning (occurring in the context of the formal educa-tion system) nor non-formal learning (occurring through planned, structured training or educa-tion outside of the formal education system). In this perspective, informal learning occurs some-where other than a classroom or training venue.//// Despite the efforts of many researchers to create one, there is no consensus on the precise meaning of “informal learning.” In a major UK

effort led by Helen Colley of Manchester Met-ropolitan University to review competing defi-nitions of informal learning, researchers con-cluded “that there could be no way of imposing a once-and-for-all definition that would have any credibility across all sectors.” Instead, they suggested that the “challenge is not to combine formal and informal learning, but to recognize that they are always combined, and to then un-derstand the implications of their particular bal-ance in any learning situation.”

toWaRdS a WoRking definitionof

“The challenge is not to combine formal and informal learning, but to recognize that they are always combined, and to then understand the implications of their particular balance in any learning situation.”

Helen Colley et al (2003)

“ Informal learnIng”


//// As an analytic method to investigate learning in any context, Colley and her colleagues pro-posed four aspects or attributes of learning, each of which can range along a continuum from for-mal to informal in any particular situation:

Process: how the learning process is con-trolled, supported and assessed.

Location & setting: whether the environ-ment is designed for learning, production or some other purpose such as socializing (e.g. water cooler).

PurPose: whether learning is a primary or secondary focus of activity and whether the purpose is controlled by the learner or an external authority.

content: whether the learning outcomes are highly specific and involve abstract knowledge and advanced technical skill or whether the learning outcome is develop-ment of an everyday, practical skill.

//// The scheme developed by Colley and her col-leagues offers a practical tool to look at learning in a given workplace and see what happens when it is made more or less formal. For example, when an organization introduces a planned mentoring initiative, both the process and purpose aspect of the learning have become more formal than in a spontaneous or voluntary mentoring situation.

We know more than we can tell

While some unconscious learning can be made con-scious through reflection, much expert knowledge cannot be articulated. Focusing on the consciousness aspect of learning has important implications for both the assessment of learning and the design of interven-tions to increase learning.

A focus on unconscious learning would lead to chang-es directed at the learning environment rather than the individual learner. For example, changing the art displayed in an office environment could convey im-portant motivational messages to employees without their conscious awareness of this as “learning.”


how do people learn?

//// Many different informal learning strategies were discussed in the literature. Among the more common were:

Trial and error • Self-directed learning • Net-working • Coaching, Mentoring • Perform- ance planning • Using computers or the internet (searches, blogs, resources, emailing) • learning by watching, getting help from others • attending conferences or conven-tions • Reading professional journals or mag-azines • Self-paced study using books, video tapes or computers • attending lectures, seminars or special talks • Team meetings for problem solving, creating new approaches.

//// Peter Jarvis, an influential British educator and researcher, developed a conceptual model of how people learn that describes learning as occurring through multiple, interacting routes. The model, described in the red box on the fol-lowing page, includes both non-reflective and reflective learning, and acknowledges that non-learning can also be the response to new situa-tions or information. //// Non-reflective learning results in the non-in-novative reproduction of knowledge. Reflective learning offers the opportunity for innovations in knowledge to occur, though it can also be

tyPeS of infoRmal

learnIng & learners

Michael Eraut of the University of Sussex posed three important questions with regard to work-related learning that are helpful in establishing a typology of informal learning:

How do people learn? //// What do they learn? //// What factors affect the quality of learning in terms of the personal characteristics of learners and the characteristics of the workplace learning environments?

used to acquire a pre-existing knowledge base. And the idea of “non-learning” recognizes that although a learning opportunity may be present or available, a person may not learn.

What do people learn?

//// The National Adult Learning Survey in Eng-land indicated that the most common reasons learners give for engaging in job-related infor-mal learning were skill development, career de-velopment, and increased job satisfaction.//// The Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL) survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Education and Work at OISE (University of Toronto) is the only large scale study of work-related informal learning to address what peo-ple learn at work and spans a broad range of occupational groups.

What factors affect quality of learning?

occupation level and educational attainment of learners

//// The National Adult Education and Training Survey, the National Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey and the WALL survey collected informa-tion on a variety of different learner character-istics. Looking only at participation in informal


Understanding Jarvis’ Model of how people learn

Researcher and PLAR expert Christine Wihak used Jarvis’ model to analyze the work-related informal learning of cross-cultural counsellors and found it very useful for finding commonalities in their individual experiences.

Their “non-reflective” learning activities included seeking immersion in Inuit culture (preconscious learn-ing), learning from cultural authorities by listening to stories told by Inuit Elders as well as seeking cultural knowledge from Inuit and non-Inuit mentors (memorization), and learning traditional land skills through imitation and practice (non-reflective skills learning).

Their “reflective” learning activities included journaling or having discussions with colleagues (contemplation), adapting their professional counselling practice in culturally appropriate ways (reflective skills learning), and developing new ideas and theories of counselling through testing them in practice (experimental learning).

learning (i.e. not the quantity or quality of learn-ing, but simply the number of people who had engaged in it), the survey found that workers of all types are involved. //// The WALL survey suggested that a person’s occupational level and educational attainment, which tend to be closely related, may have some effect on participation rates in informal learning and on the learning strategies a person uses. People with higher occupational status and edu-cational attainment report higher levels of par-ticipation in informal learning and use a wider range of strategies, notably those involving read-ing. These findings suggest that workplace liter-acy efforts would have an important impact on participation in work-related informal learning.

workplace learning environments

//// Learning in the workplace is a social – rather than just an individual – phenomenon. This is clearly the case in team-based work arrange-ments where learning is explicitly a social or col-lective activity, but it also applies to many less structured forms of informal learning, from the types of group learning that take place through labour union activities to the most spontaneous water cooler conversations.//// Many researchers believe we need a better understanding of how different work environ-ments encourage or discourage learning. A 2001 study by Marilyn Laiken of the University of Toronto and her colleagues looking at how four different organizations “embedded” learn-ing in ongoing work processes showed that three factors were essential in creating a good workplace learning environment:

Creating a values-based shared vision of both the •organization’s goals and its internal functioning

Reflecting this vision in practice•

Continuously evaluating progress•

//// Here, an obvious connection exists between the idea of a workplace that supports learning and Peter Senge’s idea of a “learning organiza-tion.” But according to Tara Fenwick at the Uni-versity of Alberta, research on work-related in-formal learning has been focussed on individual learning while research on learning organiza-tions has focussed primarily on the organization as a whole. More efforts need to be made to bridge these two areas of knowledge.

The 2004 Work and Lifelong Learning Survey found that workers engaged in informal learn-ing in the following areas:

The gathering of new general knowledge•Teamwork, problem-solving or •communication skillsNew job tasks•Computers•Health and safety•Employment conditions or workers’ rights•Organizational or managerial skills•Politics in the workplace•Budgeting or financial management•Language and literacy•


large scale survey findings

//// A number of large-scale surveys addressing informal learning have been published since 2000. In Canadian studies, including the Survey of Self-Employment (Delage, 2002), the National Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (Rubenson, Desjardin, & Yoon, 2007) and the WALL survey (Livingstone & Scholtz, 2006) the percentage of people who reported participating in informal learning in the previous year ranged from 80% to 93%. When the National Adult Education and Training Survey asked respondents about their participation in informal learning only in the pre-vious month, however, only 33% reported doing so (Peters, 2004). The wide range of these figures indicates just how much the survey method may be affecting the estimation process.//// Nonetheless, the very large difference be-tween the annual and monthly participation rates suggests that much remains to be done to make informal learning a regular feature of most people’s working lives.

Canadian case ctudies of informal work-related learning

//// Canadian qualitative research on work-re-lated informal learning offers detailed informa-tion on how people are learning, what they are learning, and factors that affect learning. These studies span a range of different types of firms such as: large firms in the energy sector, phar-maceuticals, government, banks; small firms in diverse sectors such as agri-foods, manufac- turing, entertainment, health care, hospitality,

of Work-related Informal learnIng In canada

retail, communications, banking and transport, and; community sector organizations.//// Case study research in Canada has also looked at the informal learning practices of a wide range of occupational groups. This includes: industrial workers, managers and supervisors, profession-als, trades people, teachers and training profes-sionals, IT workers, accountants, and nurses. //// Some studies have focused on particular work-force segments, such as unionized workers, con-tingent workers, and recent immigrants. Many of these have underscored the important role that informal learning, in particular the role of men-toring, plays in labour education, and have also drawn attention to the effects that power rela-tions in the workplace can have on learning.

Several of these studies are focussed on particular sectors, occupational groups or occupations. The following key general observations can be made:

Management expectations about learning influ-•ence employees’ participation in informal learning

In many different occupational groups, work-relat-•ed informal learning may be undertaken either for positive reasons (curiosity, professional or career de-velopment) or negative ones (problems or crises)

Employees may resist sharing their informal work-re-•lated informal learning when they anticipate a nega-tive response from management and/or co-workers or foresee a negative impact on labour relations

Employees use informal learning both to acquire •job-related skills and knowledge and to learn how to manage relationships with superiors and co-workers, including union-related learning

CaSe StudieS & otheR evidenCe


WoMeN iN The iT SeCToR

//// Butterwick et al. (2008) conducted a major study of the role of informal learning for women employed in information technology (IT) work. Since most of the study’s participants lacked for-mal credentials in computer science or informa-tion technology, informal learning was essential for their continuing career development. Not only did they need to acquire the continuously changing technical knowledge required for their profession, they had to learn to negotiate the gender politics of a male-dominated field. //// Their informal learning strategies included trial-and-error, observation, and asking questions. They sought out mentors and coaches and involved themselves in peer networks. They made use of technical materials, such as help manuals, chat rooms, and list-serves. “Lunch and Learn” sessions for information-sharing were particularly valued for employees in workplaces that provided them.

NURSeS iN a MaNaGed CaRe eNviRoNMeNT

//// White et al. (2000) examined nurses’ infor-mal learning within the context of a managed care environment. Although informal learning is widely prevalent in the health professions, these nurses used it specifically to acquire new ways to practice within a very different environment. Their informal learning involved learning to ne-gotiate different roles and relationships with physicians, clients, and colleagues. //// An important finding of the study was that the managed care environment disrupted nurses’ traditional informal learning practice of learning from colleagues, since the new systems involved stripped down staffs who worked at greater dis-tances (spatially) from each other. Nurses work-ing in call centres were particularly isolated and reported that training promised to replace col-legial informal learning was not provided.

informaL Learning: evidence from canadian case studies

The following pages contain case study sketches of work-related informal learning that have been the subject of research in Canada. These represent only a few of the case studies exam-ined in WLKC’s synthesis research project on work-related informal learning.


kNoWledGe WoRkeRS iN The PhaRMaCeUTiCal SeCToR

//// Belanger and Lariviere (2005) looked at in-formal learning in two large private pharmaceu-tical firms and two small firms. The qualitative study looked at organizations that supported formal and informal learning for Research & Development (R&D) teams composed of highly educated professionals. These organizations provided R&D employees with many opportu-nities and resources to deploy a wide range of informal learning strategies. //// The authors identified seven key practices that the companies used to support informal learning for their R&D professionals: access to relevant documentation (e.g. scholarly journals); mechanisms for information exchange, consul-tation; career development plans for individual employees; providing work environments to facilitate “inter-learning”; focus on innovation; encouraging initiative in daily problem-solving; supporting participation in specialized external, professional networks.

SChool-To-WoRk TRaNSiTioNS

//// LeMaistre and Pare (2004) investigated infor-mal learning while following the school-to-work transitions of individuals in the helping profes-sions of education, social work, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. //// For these new professionals, informal learn-ing was essential for them to map their recent theoretical knowledge into day-to-day practice. Although this process was necessary, they need-ed help from more experienced practitioners within their workplaces to “recognize how the abstractions of theory… come to life in practice.” In a second report, LeMaistre, Boudreau, and Pare (2006) described how these more experi-enced practitioners learned to become effective as mentors, supervisors, and assessors of new professionals. For the senior practitioners, the reason for engaging in informal learning was to meet the often-conflicting standards expected by licensing bodies, university departments, and the workplace. Interestingly, the researchers rec-ommended more formal education.


//// The Manitoba Centre for Education and Work carried out surveys with managers and in-depth interviews with entry-level employees in Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) in a variety of sectors in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. //// According to this 2004 study, “employees found most learning to be reactive to a given problem or situation.” Employees initiated cross-learning opportunities (learning about other employees’ jobs) in order to be more effective in their own jobs and to give “them the advantage when promotions arise or sick leave positions be-come available.”//// Employees’ strong motivation to learn was indicated by the fact that they engaged in in-

formal learning despite it not being recognized in any systematic way. Cross-training was not offered, cross-learning was not formally en-couraged, and engaging in self-initiated cross-training could even be experienced as threaten-ing to co-workers.//// The study also found that workers found a way to do a job more effectively and efficiently, but kept the knowledge hidden from manage-ment because it was against policy. Keeping knowledge to themselves also gave the workers more control over their workplaces. These find-ings highlight the importance of distinguishing motivation for learning from motivation for sharing the learning.

iNfoRMal leaRNiNG iN MaNiToba aNd SaSkaTCheWaN SMeS


CoPiNG WiTh NeW TeChNoloGieS

//// Mitchell and Livingstone (2002) conducted an ethnographic case study of bank employees who were involved in implementing a new soft-ware system for financial services. //// It appeared that these workers were moti-vated to learn informally because the time al-lotted to use more formal, self-directed train-ing materials like computer-based training software was inadequate. In order to perform their day-to-day tasks and cope with the stress of the new system, the workers had to learn informally from each other. //// Although the employer had introduced computer-based self-study materials, the em-ployees organized informal learning groups to help each other master the formalized training materials. They continued to use other informal learning activities, such as asking each other for help, seeking out a coach or mentor, or self-organized cross-training. Furthermore, they re-ported a strong preference for informal learning activities over more formalized training.

iNfoRMal leaRNiNG & laboUR edUCaTioN

//// Gairey et al. (2006) explored the importance of informal learning within the context of un-ion involvement in anti-racism initiatives. It used Colley’s continuum approach to tease out how informal learning about racism was intimately connected to and interwoven with more formal training courses on the topic. //// Participants in the study, who were attend-ing an anti-racism training course in a residen-tial labour education setting, shared meals and social events outside the classroom. Informal discussion of material introduced in the formal classroom setting contributed a great deal to the participants’ learning. The researchers not-ed the conflicting messages being conveyed by the low participation rates of visible minority and Aboriginal union members in the anti-racism courses.


//// Colley’s formality/informality continuum ap-proach to work-related learning suggests that making a separation between informal learning and formal and/or non-formal learning is not a fruitful way to think about workplace learning. The important question is how to find the right balance between formality and informality in any given learning situation in a way that is respon-sive to learner needs and available resources. //// Canadian research on workers’ learning sup-ports the idea that workers use a continuum of learning opportunities to reinforce their learn-ing. For example, in-depth interviews conducted as part of the WALL survey found that most participants saw “their formal education, adult courses and informal job-related learning as complementary and at least potentially interac-tive.” The National Adult Education and Training Survey made similar observations from a cross-sectional study. “Of all workers who engaged in self-directed learning during the four weeks prior to the survey, fully 87% had also partici-pated in formal training… .”//// The research also suggests that informal learning has an important relationship with liter-acy training, with various studies suggesting that

participation in literacy training can spark greater participation in informal learning. There is also an important relationship between informal learn-ing and employment or career transitions, as life transitions tend to be associated with more active participation in informal and formal learning.

Measuring informal learning & performance

//// Few studies have attempted to measure the quantity or quality of knowledge or skills workers acquired informally, or the impact that informal learning has had on organizational outcomes. Indeed, a 2002 study by French researchers Guil-laume Destre and Christophe Nordman com-mented on the difficulty of measuring informal learning and its contribution to productivity; the social nature of informal learning may make it difficult to assess to what extent a worker has engaged in it.//// Measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) of informal learning can be equally fraught with challenges. As learning episodes are often spon-taneous and episodic, it is difficult to pinpoint the cost of a worker’s time spent on learning.

the RelationShiP of infoRmal leaRning

to other types of learnIng


Immigrants transitioning back into their chosen occupation or profession in Canada have been found to depend on, and benefit from, a combination of formal and informal learning opportunities.

Lei Wang at the University of Manitoba (2006) examined three Manitoba educational initiatives designed to transition new immigrant bank clerks, engineers, and doctors into their former professions.

Of the three, she found the program for bank clerks was the most successful in that it offered the widest array of formal to informal supports, including mentoring and on-the-job training. The engineering and medical professions were constrained by professional associations and re-credentialing standards that re-stricted the full participation of the respective workplaces. In contrast, the banks recognized the enhanced customer service and international outreach capacity offered by internationally trained and multilingual personnel, and so tended to invest more in the transitioning process.


Supportive practices

//// Research studies have identified a number of different types of supportive workplace prac-tices that encourage informal learning. //// Interviews conducted on behalf of the Work and Learning Knowledge Centre with a number of Canadian workplace learning stakehold-ers showed that Canadian organizations use a number of practices, identified in the research literature, to support informal learning. These are listed in the textbox on the right.//// Across all stakeholder groups — whether they represented business, labour, professional asso-ciations, training organizations, career counsel-lors, immigrant serving agencies, or others — the most frequently used strategy was “coaching / mentoring,” while the least used strategies were “providing wikis, blogs, e-bulletin boards, chat rooms, etc for sharing work-related learning” and “offering placements in other parts of the organization.” //// Stakeholders also identified indirect supports being used in their organizations. This list in-cluded: tying pay to informal learning; creating events and spaces where informal learning is shared; encouraging teamwork; annual work planning days focussed on sharing, brainstorm-ing, and problem-solving, encouraging staff members to volunteer with community organi-zations; professional portfolio development, and; having prior learning assessment and rec-ognition (PLAR) policies.

infoRmal leaRning:

from theory to practIce

Canadian workplaces adopt a variety of prac-tices to support work-related informal learning. These are just a few examples:

Coaching & mentoring•

Employee development plans•

Providing library/ internet access to external •information sources

Providing on-line Help, FAQs, and/or •technical manuals for different jobs

Providing wikis, blogs, e-bulletin boards, chat •rooms, etc. for sharing work-related learning

Telling stories about the organization: •challenges, problems, solutions

Encouraging question-asking about all •aspects of the organization

Offering placements in other parts of •the organization

Providing training to develop learning •strategies, i.e., “learning how to learn” skills (e.g. on-line research skills)

//// It also became clear that many workplace stakeholders did not think of the supports that they were providing as supports to informal learn-ing. Making this sort of awareness more explicit might lead to the development of practices that are even more supportive of informal learning.


assessment tools

//// Stakeholders expressed frustration with how difficult it can be to assess informal learning and a lack of awareness of available assessment tools. This indicates a potential need to provide more information about the pros and cons of assessing informal learning and the tools avail-able for this purpose.//// Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR) of informal learning is one practice in-creasingly being used by Canadian post-second-ary institutions, professional regulatory bodies, and employers. Meanwhile, the Workplace In- formal Learning Matrix (WILM) developed by the Centre for Education & Work is a tool devel-oped in Canada that specifically assesses infor-mal learning in the workplace.

informal learning, social networks & e-learning

//// As mentioned before, many research studies have underscored the social dimensions of learn-ing, and the importance of learning from co-workers. The importance of professional networks to learning has also been the subject of research.//// Past surveys, such as the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, have shown that the most fre-quently used forms of informal learning tend to be solitary activities. But the same survey also showed that socially-oriented learning activities, such as “learning by watching” and “getting help from others” were also quite common. Data from the Adult Education and Training Survey further reinforce the notion that informal learning is most commonly reported as a soli-tary and self-directed activity.//// The advent of Web 2.0 technologies, many of them based on models of social network-ing, has the potential to accelerate the quan-tity of informal learning being done in a shared or “social” manner. Yet the available evidence suggests that training professionals do not ex-tensively use blogs, wikis and websites for their ongoing informal professional development.//// There is only a sparse Canadian evidence base on informal e-learning for work. Evidence from a 2006 members’ survey by the E-Learning Guild in the United States suggested however that the use of e-learning technologies designed to sup-port or enhance informal learning was becom-ing increasingly popular. Few of the stakeholders consulted for the WLKC’s research study were us-ing interactive web-based learning tools.

infoRmal leaRning:

from theory to practIce


//// While business and labour may be involved in many initiatives that support informal learn-ing, they do not appear to be talking about them as “informal learning.” According to the Conference Board of Canada survey of Canadian businesses, “Only 28 per cent of respondents set aside funds to support informal learning, and few respondents have a good sense of when, where and how informal learning takes place within their organizations.” //// Stakeholders from business and labour groups rated the importance of informal learning lower than did respondents from other sectors. For the present, informal learning appears to be more of a concern for academic researchers and training professionals than for business and labour.//// As for government, Canada lacks an inte-grated national policy to support adults’ life-

long learning, including work-related informal learning. Creating such a policy would require the co-operation of both federal and provincial policy makers. Informal work-related learning would probably be one aspect of such a life-long learning policy, rather than a stand-alone policy area. //// In contrast to Canada, the European Union has adopted an articulated and overarching lifelong learning strategy. The third strategic objective of this policy addresses the relation-ship between education/training and the wider world, with a specific sub-objective that con-cerns strengthening links with working life. To support the policy initiative, Eurostat and CRELL (Centre for Indicator-based Research in Lifelong Learning) have worked on assessing and bench-marking self-directed (informal) learning.

labour, employer and government approaches to work-related informal learning


Academics in Canada at many universities and policy research groups have become increasingly involved in researching the field of work-related informal learning. The PLAR community has a high level of engagement with the question of informal learning. Practitioners in career counselling, employment counselling, succession planning, professional development, and lifelong learning are also active with regard to promoting and recognizing informal learning.

mappIng the f Ield of practIce

//// There is less documented evidence of en-gagement with informal learning amongst em-ployers and unions. Although these stakeholders are undoubtedly involved with the question of work-related learning, they are not specifically focused on promoting and supporting it. //// At this point, it would appear that only iso-lated employers have taken a strong interest in

“informal learning” as such. Many other employ-ers may, however, be supporting work-related informal learning under the “learning organiza-tion” or “lifelong learning” convention. //// For unions, informal learning is a contentious issue, since it raises the possibility of appropria-tion of workers’ knowledge for management benefit without appropriate compensation.


keyknoWledgegapsThere are a number of areas in which further research and information would be of great benefit to workplace learning decision makers in Canada.

Development of a shared vocabulary for informal •learning

Greater recognition of the inter-related nature of •all workplace learning, whatever the degree of formality or informality

Better measurement of how people are learning •at work and how much they are learning

More information on effective informal learning •strategies for specific types of workers

More information on how learners’ personal char-•acteristics affect informal work-related learning

More Information on the relationship between •work environments and informal learning

Increasing awareness of tools for assessing infor-•mal learning and work environments

Addressing the question of how informal learning •affects work satisfaction, worker retention, performance and productivity

Policy options for Canada that would facilitate the •development of actual policy or policy framework

These areas are:


furthering knowledge exchange on work-related informal learning

//// WLKC’s synthesis research on work-related informal learning aims to provide an evidence base for further knowledge exchange on this topic with key workplace decision makers that can raise awareness of the importance of infor-mal learning and the value that it may represent for individuals and organizations alike.//// Ideas about specific forms of knowledge ex-change that use the growing evidence base on in-formal learning will help to guide the WLKC in its ongoing engagement with key audiences about the importance of informal learning. The follow-ing information is also offered to other learning advocates interested in playing a role in dissemi-nating knowledge about informal learning.

key messages

//// The research commissioned by WLKC points to a number of key concepts or themes that could be used to develop key messages for com-munications products or engagement activities aimed at workplace learning decision makers such as employers, labour unions, individual learners, educators and trainers, career counsel-lors and governments.

key messages might focus on:

Learning as a “continuum,” and the inter- •relatedness of informal and formal learning

How to identify what and how people learn •informally

The value of informal learning to both learners •and to workplaces, and the importance of supporting it

How to increase and support work-related •informal learning

How to recognize others’ work-related informal •learning, i.e., how to acknowledge, value and reward it

Identification of gaps in our knowledge, and •further research of value regarding work-related informal learning

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Stakeholders’ roles

//// Communicating with diverse audiences about informal learning and work requires an under-standing of the roles that various stakeholders play in relation to work-related informal learning.

Stakeholders play a central role in:

Developing awareness and identifying learning•

Supporting and recognizing learning•

Facilitating learning, and •

Assessing and evaluating learning•

//// Recognizing these roles is crucial in devel-oping knowledge exchange products and ini-tiatives that assist various groups in accessing, using and promoting evidence and information about work-related informal learning.

Key Audiences to Engage on Work-related Informal Learning

Employers, managers and self-employed•

Labour Unions and Labour Educators•

Human resource management practitioners•

Business/industry associations or •organizations, including sector councils

Professional associations or organizations, •including certifying bodies

Career/employment counsellors•

PLAR practitioners and credential •assessment agencies

Private trainers, corporate trainers, •community trainers

Policy-makers and program deliverers•

Adult educators•

Immigrant service agencies•

Academic and other researchers•

E-learning providers and groups•

Strategies for engaging key audiences and stakeholders

//// Considerable scholarly research on the nature and importance of informal work-related learning in Canada has accumulated in recent years. This information needs to be put into the hands of employers, unions, trainers/educators and others, in user-friendly formats.//// Below are the recommended tools for aware-ness building and knowledge exchange activi-ties. These are grouped into four main levels or types of knowledge exchange activities or publications.

key knowledge exchange actions on work-related informal learning

General awareness short messages

//// Describe types of informal learning, its rela-tionship to formal and non-formal work-related learning, etc. Facts and figures and short case studies indicate possible benefits and how learn-ing can be supported.

possible products or initiatives

Short “Did you Know?” items of facts and •findings from the research that can be used as banner-type messages in newsletters, web-pages, conferences, etc.

1-page “interest items” to be used in newsletters •and on web-pages that provide specific findings on how/ why people use informal learning, and the value of informal learning


descriptive research findings

//// A more intensive sharing of evidence to en-courage general audiences to reflect on infor-mal learning on key topics.


Presentations on research findings, including •stakeholders as presenters with direct experience with informal learning

Stimulating “communities of interest” •

“Checklists for reflection,” that could help indi-•viduals and workplaces become more aware of informal learning

Writing case studies in a story-telling mode •using examples from research.

Articles for association, corporate and •professional newsletters and trade magazines.

Short blogs on association, corporate or •organizational websites

Web casts related to research findings, with •interactive discussion and questions.

A web-based listing of tools/resources available•

audience-specific products

//// Targeted to specific groups such as business associations, HR practitioners, labour unions, professional associations, etc. Tailors evidence and case study findings to the needs of particu-lar groups, and includes reflective questions to encourage discussion about how findings can be adapted into practice.


Adaptation of all methods discussed here for •specific audiences, sectors, occupation groups etc., highlighting relevant case studies

Audience-specific questions to be used in articles •and in-person knowledge exchange activities so people consider evidence in the context of their own environment

Gathering further relevant case study information•

//// Use successful formats to engage owners and managers in short interactive sessions at breakfast or lunch.

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information for policy and program development

//// Discussion of the incidence, use, and value of informal learning and its place within the larger context of adult learning and lifelong learning. Can be used (a) to advocate for improved policy and program development of adult learning and (b) in employment and immigration policy and program development.


Presentations and papers to raise awareness, sup-•port and recognition of informal learning

Ensuring policymakers are invited to participate in •multi-stakeholder knowledge exchange events


//// A knowledge exchange forum on work -related informal learning was held in Ottawa, Ontario on December 5, 2008 as a follow-up to the research and stakeholder consultation project. The forum brought together experts with decision makers in order to discuss key messages and the necessary challenges to address as well as how to engage workplaces in investing in informal learning. //// The session featured four short plenary pres-entations by experts in the field as well as several case studies to provide concrete examples of the benefits of informal learning in the workplace. These were followed by roundtable discussions that mixed groups of decision makers in order to answer specific questions regarding the im-portance of informal learning and how to best support and encourage it.//// Out of the roundtable discussions came sev-eral specific actions that decision makers could take in order to make the case for informal learning in their particular communities.

actions included:

Encouraging federal and provincial governments •to support informal learning

Supporting small and medium sized enterprises •to invest in informal learning initiatives

Expanding the use of PLAR to encourage learners •to engage in informal learning

Providing employers and workers with tools, •resources and other supports that will enable them to measure and capture what they are learning informally

Sharing “best” practices among organizations •in order to create workplace cultures that encourage learning

Unifying messages from different sectors of the •labour movement that acknowledge the value of informal learning within unions

Disseminating academic research on informal •learning through more popular vehicles in order to reach a larger audience

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