Upskilling i föränderliga yrkesroller : En studie om kvalitet i arbetet med kompetensutveckling

Sammanfattning: As the world rapidly changes, the relative competence within organisations is quickly diminishing. Recent research reveals that the half-life of knowledge ranges from two to five years, depending on the industry, with technology-driven sectors in the frontline. Given the fact that knowledge today quickly becomes outdated, researchers estimate that organisations need to allocate up to ten times more time to learning, than they currently do. Simultaneously, studies indicate that a majority of employees express dissatisfaction regarding competence development in the workplace, with only a small portion of invested time leading to actual upskilling. In the light of that, this study aims to explore potential quality issues in the field of competence development within professions characterized by increased complexity and rapid changes. Conducted within a department of a company in the financial sector, this study maps and visualises existing practices, employees’ perceived need of competence development, as well as identifies strengths and weaknesses from a quality perspective. The theoretical framework of the study includes well established models and principles within quality management and competence development, integrated with recent research.  Following the investigation, five quality issues have been identified, including a lack of consensus regarding the upskilling-process, an imbalanced stakeholder strategy, a number of obstacles to everyday learning, time constraints, and a lack of incentives for the top management to lead change. The final chapter of the study presents five proposals of improvement based on the conducted research, aiming to help the specific department, along with other organisations facing similar challenges, in achieving quality in their continued work with competence development.