The development of employability skills in novice workers

This research study aimed to find out how teenage workers developed their employability skills in their first formal jobs. With young people commencing formal part-time work as early as 13 or 14 years of age (and even younger in some cases), it follows that employability skills are not necessarily developed at school, even if it were accepted that the school curriculum should include such matters as a priority.

Thus the project set out to document the processes by which first-time workers develop these skills while at work. During mid-2002, case studies were carried out in 12 Australian enterprises (including three group training companies) of varying size, and drawn from different industry areas. The enterprises were located in four states: New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland, and included examples of novice workers who were part-time student workers as well as school leavers in their first jobs. Industry areas chosen were indicative of those employing the majority of novice workers, and included fast food, retail, electrical, electronics, hairdressing, hospitality, administration, local government, manufacturing and newspaper delivery. In each case study, the following staff were interviewed: senior managers and/or human resource management staff, site managers, supervisors working with novice workers, novice workers themselves, and co-workers working alongside them.

The research questions were as follows:

• Why is it that some organisations recruit large numbers of novice workers and how do such employers view young workers?
• What processes are in place at corporate, managerial and supervisory levels to train these novice workers in employability skills?
• How do novice workers themselves view, and engage in, learning about employability skills though employment?
• What are some good models of employability skills training and how can the processes of employability skills training be communicated to, and utilised by, other employers who currently have less tolerance for young people and less expertise in developing employability skills?

The list of employability skills and attributes identified in 2002 by the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry 2002) was used as the basis for the research.

This report includes individual reports on each of the 12 case studies. A number of the case studies, including the three group training companies, included more than one site.

Why do employers recruit novice workers?

Although the reasons varied among enterprises, the following were the main findings of the study relating to the reasons why companies liked to hire novice workers:

• Low cost: Industrial awards and enterprise agreements allow for lower wages for workers up to the age of 18.
• Enthusiasm: Novice workers possess youthful exuberance which lifts morale in the workplace as well as presenting a good image to customers.
• Mouldability: Novice workers do not bring bad habits with them and can be trained in company procedures and socialised into company mores.
• Technological skills and up-to-date knowledge: Novice workers have good computer skills, and (for apprentices and trainees) bring up-to-date techniques and knowledge from their off-the-job training.
• Fresh views and ideas: Novice workers offer different ways of looking at workplace issues.
• Community obligations: Employers wish to 'do the right thing' by giving young people a chance.
• Industry obligations: Employers wish to maintain industry skill levels by bringing on new workers.
• Enterprise skill mix: Novice workers fill low-skill jobs.
• Operating hours: Novice workers (especially student workers) are available for non-standard working hours.
• Tradition: Some employers have a long tradition of employing apprentices.
• Physical fitness: Novice workers have stamina and are able to do hard physical work.
• Organisational image: Novice workers present a youthful image which is an important marketing tool.
• Staff development: Supervision and training of novice workers provides valuable experience for existing staff.

The employers' views of novice workers were more positive than those found in other research. There was also more of a sense of obligation to the community and the industry in their hiring decisions than has been reported in the literature (except for the apprenticeship literature). Many of the managers and staff interviewed expressed great satisfaction in the fact that they took on raw teenagers and turned them into effective workers.

Some employers preferred to recruit young people with fairly well-developed employability skills, while others, particularly those recruiting younger teenagers, accepted that their new staff would have very low levels of skills.

Employers found a number of positive attributes among their novice workers but also some negative attributes. Some found that novice workers had difficulty adjusting to full-time work after being accustomed to a school environment. The length of the working day and the lack of structure at work could create problems. Younger part-time student workers sometimes had difficulty in viewing work as a serious activity as opposed to a setting for social interactions. For some young people, personal matters such as transport problems, relationship difficulties and occasionally drug or alcohol difficulties, impinged upon work to a greater extent than employers would have liked.

Novice workers were often shy and were unwilling to ask questions, they did not understand the impression they were making on other workers, and they sometimes lacked basic skills like the need to keep the working environment clean.

Teamwork and communication were the most commonly valued employability skills, while reliability, a sense of humour and enthusiasm, were the most commonly valued attributes.

What processes do organisations use to develop employability skills?

This question was answered at two levels: firstly, within the systems in place through which employability skills were developed, and secondly, through an analysis of the techniques used by individual managers and workers in their interactions with the novice workers.

The formal processes were as follows:

• recruitment and induction
• buddy systems
• mentoring
• organisational socialisation
• valuing of training of all types
• placing novice workers with supervisors who had been trained in managing novice workers
• staff meetings
• staff assessments and performance appraisal systems
• mistake management
• conflict resolution
• disciplinary approaches
• rotation of tasks
• respect for the contribution young people could make
• allocating increased responsibility
• badging.

Individual interactions were also important in encouraging the development of employability skills. All those working with novice workers needed to be aware of the way in which they dealt with these young people. Simple strategies such as including them in conversation, including them in social activities, and showing interest in them as individuals all assisted. Managers could assist by setting clear limits, praising, giving negative feedback in a non-threatening manner, and working alongside novice workers until they felt confident. Managers mentioned that they needed to set a good example and needed to show the novice workers different ways of working to enable them to develop confidence and learn how to learn from different staff.

Most of these approaches were not used solely to develop employability skills. The processes were primarily used to develop workers' technical skills (that is, to enable appropriate performance of job tasks) and had a secondary role in the development of employability skills. With workers who had not worked before, however, more emphasis was placed on some of these approaches because such workers needed more assistance in learning how to operate in a workplace setting.

How do novice workers learn employability skills?

Novice workers themselves used a range of approaches to develop their employability skills. They asked questions, practised active listening, sought out more helpful staff as mentors, developed working relationships with managers and mixed socially with other staff. They also sought to make a good impression, smiling a lot, getting to work early, asking for extra tasks, seeking feedback, and learning when to offer suggestions and when to keep quiet. They developed systems for organising their work and took advantage of off-the-job training opportunities. Novice workers who had failed were generally those who had not prioritised work above home life, and who had been afraid to ask questions for fear of appearing stupid.

Although the project only set out to examine workplace issues, other factors which assisted in the development of employability skills were mentioned by those interviewed. These included school and extra-curricular activities which had been undertaken before starting work (or in the case of student workers, concurrently with work), as well as three major facilitators: group training company staff, parents, and training providers (where formal contracts of training were involved).

Good models of employability skills development

The six most effective models examined in the study were:

• Comprehensive training systems: systems for developing technical skills were also generally effective in developing employability skills.
• Regular team meetings: these involved new workers in the organisation and could also be used specifically to address employability skills issues relating to all staff not merely new staff.
• Performance management approach: the performance management systems for junior staff foregrounded employability skills, and the performance indicators for managers foregrounded their role in developing employability skills in novice workers.
• Third-party approach: exemplified by, but not restricted to, group training companies, third parties could provide an additional source of employability skills development as well as intervening in difficult situations.
• Buddying or mentoring systems: pairing the new worker either with a co-worker or a more senior member of staff was highly effective, as long as the partner was selected carefully.
• Supportive environment: whatever formal systems were in place, one of the most important features of a workplace where employability skills were well-developed was its supportive nature. Tolerance and respect were the two key factors.

The report proposes three further models, which might be useful in adding to the models already being practised:

• A 'work experience' model: preparing employers for a novice worker in much the same way as they are prepared for work experience would assist the employer in understanding what a novice worker's needs were and how employability skills could most effectively and most speedily be developed.
• Individual induction programs: encouraging employers of novice workers to develop six-month plans for their new staff would enable a range of experiences and opportunities for feedback to be planned.
• Project learning: engaging novice workers in authentic but small projects, which are of immediate use to the workplace, could improve novice workers' confidence.

In addition, structured training for supervisors, buddies and co-workers dealing with novice workers would be valuable. Such training needs to include information on what it is like to begin working life, as well as suggested processes for assisting the development of employability skills. It was noted during the research that staff working with novice workers reported a range of methods by which they had learned to undertake the role effectively, but there was little standardisation of learning procedures, except in large companies which routinely recruited large numbers of teenagers.

Why are workplaces important?

Although employability skills may be developed through a range of activities and at a variety of locations, there are reasons why workplaces are appropriate, and even vitally important sites for their development. Employability skills are developed throughout a person's working life and hence employers need to view the process of employability skills development as a whole-of-workforce issue. The range of employability skills possessed by young workers starting their first jobs varies greatly. Some may have well-developed skills and others, sometimes through no fault of their own, poorly developed skills. Employers need to be prepared for the full range, particularly when they are recruiting younger teenagers, and in a tight labour market where they cannot 'pick and choose'. Employability skills are context-bound, in that different industries and employers value and weight the skills and attributes quite differently. The worth of employability skills can only be fully appreciated in the workplace where the consequences of such skills can be seen.

Finally, there was little indication from the research that employers desired novice workers to be any different from the way they were already. They accepted that, in employing a teenager who had never worked before, they would have to put some effort into making the employee a functioning worker. The report is therefore not advocating any radical departure from existing practice, but merely an extension of such practice to more workplaces. The report also offers a number of suggestions for formalising many of the strategies which already exist.