The Handbook of Work-Based Learning

Title: The Handbook of Work-Based Learning
Authors: Ian Cunningham, Graham Dawes and Ben Bennett
Publisher: Gower Publishing
ISBN: 0-566-08541-0
Pages: 297
Price: £75

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This starts with the simple yet profound statement that ‘people learn all the time, every day of their lives’ and goes on to describe why we should take work-based learning seriously. The authors point out that the last decade has seen a shift in government and organisational thinking to ascribe greater value to learning at work, and growing recognition that the organisation that learns effectively is likely to be more successful than one that doesn’t.

As its title suggests, this is very much a ‘handbook’ aimed at a diverse employee population. It is a reference guide to be dipped into as and when the individual employee, line manager or HR professional is seeking guidance on how to get the most out of learning at work.
There is a good balance of concepts to help the reader understand the philosophy of work-based learning, and practical tools to encourage trying things out.

Useful? ****

Well-written? ****

Practical? ****

Inspirational? ***

Overall ****

By Alyson Burn, manager, organisation and people development, Glaxo SmithKline

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