eWork and Regional Development: Background

eWork skills and knowledge management

The introduction of ICTs is often associated with changes in work organisation which impact on skill requirements and the skill acquisition process, and which are in turn of vital importance for regional development. In the context of eWork, basic ICT skills (such as use of a PC, mobile devices, standard programmes) are a precondition. More advanced ICT skills (eg software development, web-design, database design, the use of specialised programmes, etc.) can be required depending on the type of work to be performed.

In addition, however, modern working conditions often require further mixes of generalised and more advanced skills and competencies. In a fast changing work environment, with a wide variety of work forms and contractual arrangements, there is an increasing need for individuals to take responsibility for their own work and skills development and to foster abilities like self-organisation and management, inter-personal skills, dealing with unexpected rather than routine situations, greater initiative and self reliance, etc.

Much work is increasingly being organised on a ‘project’ basis, ie individuals or teams are given a specific task or project, some resources, quality requirements and a deadline. How, where and when the work is carried out in detail, as long as these requirements are met, is left to the workers themselves. Coping with the extra responsibility, and perhaps stress, this can cause needs to be acquired as a skill in its own right. Although many work processes remain routine in both traditional and eWork contexts (indeed ICT can, in the best circumstances, take over routine functions leaving workers free to undertake more interesting work), most workers are being exposed to these new demands on their abilities.

The changes associated with the introduction of ICTs thus have a somewhat paradoxical effect on skills and competencies. On the one hand, they contribute to placing more responsibility on individuals to enhance their own skills profiles, especially in contexts where there is more independent working (including at a geographical distance), and each employee has specific responsibility to complete her or his work successfully. On the other hand, the complex nature of new types of work, and the knowledge needed to successful complete it, often requires greater inter-working, co-operation and team work, ie more reliance on others both within and outside the organisation (Millard, 2002b).

Thus, although companies are increasingly pressured to provide continuous learning for individual employees in order match the fast changes taking place in the competitive environment, they also need to enhance ‘organisational learning’, ie the management of knowledge in the company (See the learning region model (OECD, 2001). Only if organisations are able to systematically preserve and exploit the collective and interchangeable know-how of their workforce, thereby reducing the threat posed by departing employees as well as ensuring that the competitive potential of the organisation is fully exploited, will they be inclined to invest in training activities. Thus, knowledge management is closely related to the continuous learning of the workforce (Senge, 1990, and Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995).

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