Domain 1 – Work and Skills

June 26, 2003

Domain 1 – Work and Skills
Domain Specification
Domain Background
Domain Focus
Work Process
Organisation of the Workplace
Learning for Work
ICT Mediated Learning
Possible Sub-areas
Domain Users
User Objectives, Outputs and Critical Success Factors
eEurope Relevance

See Work and Skills Good Practice in the Beep Knowledge System

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Domain Specification

Domain Background

The Work and Skills domain is part of Four Core domains of the BEEP project, relevant to the eEurope Action Plan. It shares the same platform with ‘The Digital SME’ underwork and commerce in the New Economy.

The domain looks at an individual’s skills and working environment and how they interact within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry.

The link between work and skills in the ‘New Digital Working Life’ can be explored in socio-economic sectors such as:

Diversity in Working Life
Work Organisation
Work Environments
ICT Management
New Media Industry Development

Domain Focus

The domain will observe and register the various roles of ICT in influencing skill acquisition for work, work organisation and the subsequent ‘side-effects’ this has on work performance. The domain will therefore cover and focus upon two major issues:

The effect of ICT on acquiring and delivering work-related skills and training
The effect of ICT on the conduct and organisation of work

The following are the main area this domain intends to cover, followed by a more specific list of possible sub-areas.

Work Process

The degree to which ICT can influence work processes depends, to a large extent, upon the work processes of an individual work place. Work environments that largely depend on collaborative activities, intensive co-ordination and communication between it members will benefit more from ICT than from highly independent and individualistic modes of work. ICT also enables work flexibility by making mobile work more efficient. The advantages within ICT have encourages radical new ways of organising enterprises as well as work groups within enterprises. ICT can now be deployed to re-organise communication structures, knowledge-share practices and the re-design of decision-making structures. ICT also affects some kinds of ‘outsourcing’. Many kinds of transactions can now be undertaken from thousands of miles away without necessarily losing the co-ordination and interaction needed between the various members of a work team.

Organisation of the Workplace

This domain focuses upon the way in which ICT is being deployed to widen and enhance access to, and re-organise, the ‘workplace’. ICT is expected to widen access to workplaces by engendering an automatic environment that allows people to converse, collaborate and interact, regardless of their geographical location. The latest computer and Internet technology provides a seamless, single environment that integrates collaborative tools such as text, audio and video conferencing, information sharing, whiteboarding and joint documentation preparation. This will benefit disabled groups and those groups with temporary difficulties (such as single mothers, mothers at home or residents of rural areas) and also groups scattered across different time zones and geographies. In otherwords, a work place can now expand virtually to embrace ‘dispersed’ team working.

Learning for Work

Within this sector, the emphasis is on the delivery of learning through the use of ICT (i.e. ICT Mediated Learning), especially with regard to continued education and adult training. ICT allows flexibility in acquiring new skills, with particular regard paid to content selection, time and place. Employees can combine full time employment with full time training, when enrolling on an Internet based training/education programme. The flexibility in relation to time and distance in the delivery of education and training for workers provides both the workers and employers with enhanced opportunities for continued training and learning. In addition, ICT Mediated Learning (Internet based) provides the opportunity for customised training. The employer and employee are no longer limited to local training providers and can now draw on trainers from all over the world.

ICT Mediated Learning

A set of criteria necessary for success has been identified in the literature on ICT Mediated Learning. These are criteria related to the technical mode of delivery such as access, costs, teaching functions, interactivity and user-friendliness, organisational issues, novelty and speed. Other aspects relating to the instructional mode of delivery (non technical) such as teachers, learners, course content, learning resources, teaching methods, teaching techniques and teaching devices are deemed as necessary. In addition, other aspects not directly related to the technical or instructional mode of delivery will be also be accounted for. These are aspect relating to the work environment, such as commitment to continuous learning, collaborative learning (sharing of skills and techniques), and complementary between actors within the work organisation (interdependency). The individual’s conditions for learning are affected by his/her motivation as well as for ICT uses. Furthermore, motivation for ICT Mediated Learning is affected by the individual’s familiarity with the particular ICT solution in work.

Possible Sub-areas

Cases, projects and programmes that demonstrate good practice models may share certain similarities with other domains. The following sub-domains have been identified for specific areas of interest under the work and skills domain.

Key Area	Success ICT cases/projects involving Work and Skills in the sub-domain area
Work Organisation	Authority/Control, Planning, Staffing, Contacts with customers, Development, Work rotation, Co-ordination, Functional responsibility, Continuous improvement, Exclusion, Flexibility
Work Environments	Occupational Health and Safety, Practical/technical design of the workplace, IT equipment at the workplace, IT software at the workplace,
Diversity in Working Life	Workforce diversity, Workplace diversity, Democratic access to decision making, Sharing of knowledge and experience, Empowerment, E-learning, Flexibility – (role, function, hours of work), Attitude, Awareness of skills in different groups/cultures
ICT Management	Project management, Business and enterprise development, Financial accounting, Research and marketing, Human resource management, Corporate culture and identity
New Media Industry Development	E.g. Sohonet, file transmissions network serving the movie industry.
Training	Staff training and skills development, continuous professional development

Domain Users

The object of Work and Skills domain is to build an extensive body of supporting evidence for the usability, exploitability and general usefulness of BEEP’s tools and methodologies. This evidence will come from a number of cases, studies and projects covering sectors such as:

Isolated Distance Learners
Resource Centres
Academic Workplace Learners
Corporate Organisations
SMEs
Public Services including NGOs

In general, three broad groups of users are targeted in this domain:

Employees, self-employed and employers making use of distance and flexible training and learning services and looking for best practices. Small and medium size organisations in particular are typical users of such services.
Employers in all walks of life, especially large and geographically scattered organisations or organisations with geographically scattered operations, looking for best practices, in implementing and using ICT for new work arrangements.
Organisations with geographically scattered organisational structures and operations looking for best practice and example in using ICT to organise a geographically stretched workplace.

The users listed above can be from a variety of sectors including the following:

Academic Users’ Group
Corporate Users’ Group
SMEs
Public Services
Non-Governmental Organisations
The New Media Users’ Group

Stakeholders could include:

Central Government Policy Advisory Committees
International Consultants
International Aid Agencies

User Objectives, Outputs and Critical Success Factors

Objectives	Outputs	CSFs
General upskilling of employees to enhance performance	Training programmes delivered under flexible conditions - time and space Provision of upgraded technological facilities	Employer’s support to continuous learning through providing time and financial resources Employer’s commitment to continuous learning- e.g. through linking learning achievements to performance goals Employee’s appreciation of continuous learning Flexible working hours and arrangement
Remedy skills shortage in certain areas of expertise	Customised training programmes in areas of strong needs Teleworking facilities to enable work on distance and hence access to remote pools of workers	Flexibility of the training provider Employee’s interest in picking up the type of skills needed Technological facilities allowing for efficient distance communication and interaction Training in management of virtual teams
Efficient knowledge transfer and communication with off-site workers	Set-up of internal communication and information systems (e.g. Intranet, SAP, Lotus Notes, etc) Virtual workplace (e.g. a web-based interactive forums, a desktop video conferencing facility, etc)	Training of employees and staff on the use of newly introduced information and communication systems Investing in needed technology to enable and realise a virtual work environment (palms, laptops, remote access to internal networks) Specific project management techniques (e.g. a strict time plan and well-defined goals) for virtual project team
Improving access to human resources	Enabling independent access by disabled workers to workplaces through for e.g. a web-based interactive forum, a desktop videoconferencing facility, etc Providing special ICT skills to disabled employees and employees with other mobility restrictions to enable remote access to the workplace	Investing in needed technology to enable and realise a virtual work environment (palms, laptops, remote access to internal networks) Specific project management techniques (e.g. a strict time plan and well-defined goals) for virtual project teams Commitment to workforce diversity by employers and employees Investment in training for virtual teamwor
Management of dispersed team working	Installing Remote Access Systems Video conferencing, virtual meeting places	Investment in training for virtual teamwork Investment in secure networks
Recruitment	Website for advertising current openings and recruitment campaigns	Constant update of website information Prompt reaction to incoming applications and inquiries Elaborated information about the skills needed, tasks involved, and remuneration package
Improve work performance	Set up of an Intranet system Flatter organisational structure	A committed management to a flatter organisation Employees orientation to new technology and organisational structur

eEurope Relevance

Key objective	Action lines	Actions	Beep domain coverage
A cheaper, faster and secure internet	Easy and faster access to a baseline resource of ICT solution providers	Improved access to qualitative sources of information within the ICT/IST knowledge society (providers and users)	Partial coverage by Work and Skills domain
Investing in people and skills	Increase in the acquisition of ICT skills in institutions and the workplace	Provision of new learning skills in the use of ICT Development of generic educational and training courseware for European learning citizen Development of IT infrastructure that can facilitate these actions	Direct coverage by Work and Skills domain
Stimulate the use of Internet	Availability of 'user friendly' interactive system within the member states	Provision of ICT equipment, software and contents for use by all irrespective of physical or mental impairment	Partial coverage by Work and Skills domain