Informal learning in corporate workplaces

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the informal learning of two principal HRD practitioners working at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games construction sites, highlighting tensions between individual experience and the workplace. The article is based on an interpretive study in which findings are “counterpointed” by postmodern and critical perspectives. Key questions include these: Why is informal learning, at this particular moment, an important research focus in HRD? What are the problems of defining informal learning? How does one learn informally, and what affects it? The article concludes by rethinking informal learning and discussing implications for future HRD research and practice.