The role of participation in training in the relationship between informal learning and its antecedents

Abstract

We investigated the relationships between Participation in Training, Informal Learning Behaviours (ILBs), and their dispositional (Readiness to Learn) and situational (Workplace Interaction and Autonomy) antecedents. Aiming to produce findings with greater reproducibility and generality, we used secondary data from 34 countries participating in the first cycle of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, but we also compared these countries. We randomly selected a sample of 504 respondents from each country who were divided equally into training and non‐training participant groups. Then, we aggregated the sample of all countries (n = 17,136). The group that participated in training achieved higher mean ILBs with lower variance. In the aggregated sample, Participation in Training moderated only the relationships between ILBs and their situational antecedents. Workplace Interaction and Autonomy were more strongly associated with ILBs among non‐training participants. Moderation findings differed among countries. Aspects of job design should be considered—in addition to the skills developed in training—to improve the use of learning opportunities at the workplace. This implication is based on diverse education levels, occupations, age groups, and countries, better supporting global policies. Autochthonous features that may moderate the prediction of ILBs deserve further investigation. Specific training and other dispositional and job design predictors should be longitudinally investigated in the future.