Employability enhancement through formal and informal learning: an empirical study among Dutch non‐academic university staff members

TLDR

Learning is generally seen as a way to improve job performance, yet the link between formal and informal learning and employability remains largely unexplored, and evidence supporting the job as a powerful learning site is scarce. This study investigates how formal and informal learning affect employability and seeks to advance theoretical understanding of workplace learning’s role in career development. Using an e‑questionnaire, data were collected from 215 Dutch non‑academic university staff, while accounting for employee characteristics and organizational factors. Results show that human‑resource‑development strategies combining formal and informal learning, especially network participation, predict employability, whereas strategies focusing solely on informal on‑the‑job learning are not advisable. The study is limited to one institutional context, and further research is needed to assess generalizability across occupations and countries.

Abstract

Although learning is generally perceived as a way to improve employees' current job performance, so far, no research has been conducted to explore the possible relationships between formal and informal learning, on the one hand, and employability, on the other. Though contemporary views stress the importance of the job as a powerful learning site, considerable research evidence underpinning these views is lacking. This paper goes into the impact of formal and informal learning upon employability. The influence of employee characteristics and organizational factors is also taken into account. An e‐questionnaire was used to collect data among 215 Dutch non‐academic university staff members. Our findings emphasize the necessity of Human Resource Development strategies that encompass a mix of formal and informal learning opportunities. In particular, participation in networks appears to be an important predictor for employability. With the outcomes of this study, we aim to contribute to the further development of theoretical insights regarding employability enhancement through learning possibilities embedded in the workplace. It seems that strategies that focus exclusively on enhancing informal on‐the‐job learning should not be encouraged. Our study is limited to one context and further research is required to investigate the generalizability of the findings to other occupations and/or countries.