Abstract:

This paper examines the decision making of experienced workers as they navigate the complex process of returning either to education or training to find a new job in a new industry, and in this case study the industry is Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices manufacturing sector in Ireland. It is broadly practitioner based research across a single extended case study as illustrative of real-world phenomena.

It builds on previous research presented at the INTED2022 Conference on New Challenges for Higher Education. The INTED 2022 paper, looked at the metrics individual education providers need to include when looking at the “success” of a programme.

This research is now taking the next step and is focussed on the provisions that Government need to include when setting up the overall design of their reskilling initiatives when they are aimed at moving a significant portion of the workforce from one sector to another.

The paper examines the findings of an extended case study of 3,028 experienced workers, over the 5-year period between 2018 and 2022 inclusive, coming from a variety of educational and employment backgrounds, who have 5 to 25 years of work experience. It looks at how both university accredited courses and shorter skills specific courses, are needed to work in conjunction to successfully move a workforce into a growing sector of the economy which had significant skills shortages that needed to be filled in a 5-year timeframe.

The flexibility and responsiveness of a “reskilling existing workers” route to meet market needs, relative to university courses, college courses and apprenticeships, is of particular relevance to Government and industry for responding to large changes in a workforce, either planned or unplanned, and so research focused on the challenges of implementing a scalable solution, while keeping adult learners' needs at the centre of the provision, is required

The methodology for comparison draws heavily on Bereday’s model of comparative styles and their predispositions (Bereday, 1964), and the decision making is based in the theoretical field of behavioural science theories including Simon, Kahneman and Thaler.

Patterns have emerged from the insights gained, and it is interesting that the outcomes from the reskilling initiative has remained consistent across the adult learners independently of a number of national and global economic factors over this 2018 to 2022 timeframe including:
- Significant changes to unemployment levels in Ireland due to the COVID pandemic
- The substantial growth of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing industry in Ireland, thus creating more jobs
- The increase in the number of funded places on Government reskilling initiatives.

Likewise, whilst these findings have been developed for transitioning into the Pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, the supposition is that they can also be implemented across a broad range of other initiatives for other industries that Governments and Higher Education providers use to transition experienced workers from old declining industries into new growing ones. These findings could therefore enhance the current models used by Government policy makers and industry leaders conducting scenario planning exercises to deliver such strategies, and will add to the tools that already exist for such modeling exercises.

Keywords:

Online learning, government, reskilling, behavioural science, nudge.