This study aims to analyse the relationship between the design and implementation of an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) in Mathematical Literacy (ML) (reskilling) program and the development of teacher identities. This study confirms that teacher learning in an in‐service context is a social process that demands a social‐cultural perspective and therefore Wenger’s theory was used in this study. This study illustrates that teachers’ participation in an ACE ML community of practice involved the complex intersection of various components of learning: meaning (learning as experience), practice (learning as doing) and community (learning as belonging) when development of teacher identities takes place. The course was also designed in such a way as to promote a changing way of being. The emerging identities were different in each individual as identity is influenced by the past, the present and the future according to Wenger. The study reveals that when meaning of the subject ML is gained, the meaning can be translated into changed classroom practice. These result in fostering a specific identity influenced by the ACE ML course’s attempts to support the development of understanding in relation to the meaning of ML. This leads to a change in classroom practice and ultimately a change in teachers’ way of ‘being’. This resonates with Wenger’s claim that the four learning components are deeply interconnected and mutually defined. The new trajectories that teachers developed can be grouped into three categories: • Where teachers back grounded their previous identities and fore grounded their ML identities. • Where the teachers added their ML identity to their existing identity, leaving them with a dual identity, the one they had before their involvement in the ACE ML course and the ML identity. • Where those teachers whose existing identity stayed strong, and their ML identity was still developing or was less strong.

The world is changing at an unprecedented speed, rapidly altering the skill requirements for employees in organizations. Through the lens of semi-structured interviews conducted with twelve employees from HR, AI, and IT, this case study examines current practices, prevalent challenges, and future expectations regarding GAI integration. Employing an inductive approach steeped in grounded theory coupled with thematic analysis, the research identifies two pivotal themes. Firstly, it underscores the urgent necessity for continuous reskilling and upskilling initiatives, particularly within the rapidly evolving landscape of information technology. Secondly, it highlights the imperative for strategic interventions to overcome GAI's intrinsic limitations to foster its successful integration within organizational frameworks. The theoretical underpinning of this research draws upon a comprehensive framework that synthesizes concepts from the Resource-Based View of the Firm, Organizational Learning Theory, Human-Computer Interaction, and the Technology Acceptance Model. Through this integrative lens, the thesis clarifies the complex dynamics accompanying the incorporation of GAI into organizational learning initiatives. The findings not only unveil the various opportunities that GAI presents but also delineate the strategic imperatives essential for its successful integration. This study contributes to the existing literature by offering nuanced insights into the perspectives of HR professionals, IT specialists, and AI experts on deploying GAI for reskilling and upskilling endeavors within IT departments.

The construction industry is facing problems with labour shortages. These problems have occurred because of a declining image, leading to fewer applicants to vocational schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges that small organisations in the Swedish construction industry have to face when conducting reskilling programs. In addition to this the study also wanted to explore if there are any potential solutions to help mitigate the impact of these challenges. The goal of this study was to explore the gaps left by previous research and by that contribute with valuable research. The area that this study aims to help explore is how reskilling can be used in a labour-intensive industry, in this case, the construction industry. The study also wanted to explore reskilling from the perspective of smaller organisations in Sweden. A case study was performed at a small flooring company in Sweden to achieve this purpose. Two forms of data collection methods were completed to gather the primary data for the study. The first data collection method consisted of observations from the case company. Secondly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with several stakeholders in the construction industry, both at the case company and with experts outside the case company. This data was gathered to answer the following research question: RQ1: What are the challenges to reskilling programs in the Swedish construction industry? The challenges found by this study could be divided into three aggregate dimensions: Before, During and After. These aggregate dimensions were chosen to help properly show what challenges reskilling programs face during different phases of the program. / Byggbranschen står inför en brist på arbetskraft. Detta problem har uppstått dels till följd av en sämre bild av branschen, vilket har resulterat i färre sökande till yrkesutbildningar. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka de utmaningar som små organisationer inom den svenska byggbranschen måste möta när de genomför omskolningsprogram. Utöver detta undersöker studien även om det finns några potentiella lösningar för att mildra effekten av dessa utmaningar. Målet med denna studie var att utforska de luckor som tidigare forskning lämnat och därigenom bidra med värdefull forskning. Området som denna studie avser att undersöka är hur omskolning kan användas inom en arbetsintensiv bransch, i detta fall byggbranschen. Studien ville även undersöka omskolning ur perspektivet av mindre organisationer i Sverige. En fallstudie genomfördes på ett litet golvföretag i Sverige. Två former av datainsamlingsmetoder genomfördes för att samla primärdata till studien. Den första datainsamlingsmetoden bestod av observationer från fallföretaget. För den andra metoden användes semistrukturerade intervjuer med flera intressenter inom byggbranschen, både på fallföretaget och med experter utanför fallföretaget. Denna data samlades in för att besvara följande forskningsfråga: RQ1: Vilka utmaningar finns det för omskolningsprogram inom den svenska byggbranschen? Utmaningarna som identifierades i denna studie kunde delas in i tre övergripande dimensioner: Före, Under och Efter. Dessa övergripande dimensioner valdes för att tydligt visa vilka utmaningar omskolningsprogram står inför under olika faser av programmet.

Before the start of the industrial revolution the workplace has been ever changing with introduction of technologies. With the adoption of automation and artificial intelligence this marks an acceleration shift compared to the past. Where the need for technological, social, and emotional skills will rise while demands for physical and manual skills will fall. Investments in retraining the workforce to close the potential skills gap related to automation and digitalization is getting an increased business priority. The preferred ways of learning have changed over the last few years, stepped outside of the classic classroom trainings into the rapidly growing of online tools. The aim of this thesis is to know whether gamification can support reskilling of people, through the use of a digitally gamified learning experience. Through a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews this thesis found that digitally gamified learning experience increases the will to learn new skills. It also showed that using a digitally gamified learning experience the time spent on task increased when learning a new skill.

The labour market is currently experiencing a growing skills gap due to the digitalisation of society. The consequences of the skills gap are a scarcity of competent workers and upcoming challenges due to changed market demands. One solution to this is reskilling programs or bootcamps that in a short time frame reskill attendees to enable them to change their occupation. As reskilled individuals finalise the reskilling programs and change occupations questions rise of what parameters in the organisational environment that help them in their integration and competence development. This study has the purpose to investigate this issue by examining the research question: What is the role of the organisational environment when integrating a reskilled person into their new occupation to continue lifelong learning?. The results are given by a thematic analysis of qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews of respondents that have attended a reskilling bootcamp called the Software Development Academy. Moreover, a theoretical framework containing Communities of Practice is applied in the analysis to categorise the organisational environments. The findings highlight that the organisational environment has a significant role on the reskilled employee’s success in their new occupation. Organisational environments that have tendencies of communities of practice and a positive attitude towards interactions among co-workers have a positive effect on the reskilled employee. Finally, the study provides a list of managerial recommendations that can help the reskilled employee to succeed in their new workplace. / Arbetsmarknaden upplever för närvarande en kompetensklyfta som skapats på grund av digitaliseringen i samhället. Konsekvenserna som uppstår av denna kompetensklyfta är ökad brist på kompetenta arbetare samt kommande utmaningar på grund av förändrade marknadskrav. En lösning på detta är omutbildning med hjälp av program eller bootcamps som på kort tid omskolar deltagare för att göra det möjligt för dem att ändra sitt yrke. När nyutbildade individer slutför omskolningsprogrammen och ändrar sitt yrke uppstår frågor om vilka parametrar i organisationsmiljön som hjälper dem i deras integration och kompetensutveckling. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka detta ämne genom att svara på forskningsfrågan: Vilken roll har den organisatoriska miljön när man integrerar en omskolad person i sitt nya yrke för att möjliggöra livslångt lärande? Resultaten ges från en tematisk analys av kvalitativa data som samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter som har deltagit i ett omskolningsbootcamp som heter the Software Development Academy. Dessutom tillämpas ett teoretisk ramverk som innehåller Communities of Practice i analysen för att kategorisera de organisatoriska miljöerna. Resultaten framhäver att den organisatoriska miljön spelar en stor roll för den omskolade medarbetarens framgång i sitt nya yrke. Organisationsmiljöer som har tendenser av Communities of Practice och en positiv inställning till interaktioner mellan medarbetare har en positiv effekt på den omskolade medarbetaren. Slutligen presenterar studien en lista över ledningsrekommendationer som kan hjälpa den omarbetade medarbetaren att lyckas.

Le Programme des aides familiales résidantes (PAFR) a été en vigueur de 1992 jusqu’au 30 novembre 2014. Il s’agit d’un programme fédéral canadien par lequel des femmes originaires des Philippines en majorité et ayant obtenu un diplôme d’études postsecondaires migraient partout au Canada. Sous ce programme, celles-ci se retrouvaient avec un statut de migrante temporaire. Elles avaient la possibilité d’obtenir leur résidence permanente après avoir complété 24 mois de travail en tant qu’aides familiales. Elles devaient travailler au domicile privé d’un employeur dont le nom était inscrit sur leur permis de travail, chez qui elles avaient aussi l’obligation de résidence. En travaillant en tant qu’aides familiales résidantes, ces femmes étaient et sont toujours placées dans une situation de déqualification professionnelle inévitable qui semble se prolonger à long terme. Cette situation est notamment attribuable à la non-reconnaissance de leurs qualifications étrangères ainsi qu’à la structure du PAFR. Cette recherche porte donc sur le parcours de requalification professionnelle de ces migrantes, que certaines utilisent comme stratégie pour remédier à cette situation. En plus de s’intéresser à leur période de travail en tant qu’aides familiales résidantes, cette recherche étudie le parcours de requalification professionnelle en quatre étapes : la décision de participer à la formation ; le choix de l’orientation professionnelle ; le déroulement des études ; l’accès à un emploi correspondant à la formation. L’objectif est de connaître l’impact qu’aura le passage de celles-ci par le PAFR, sur leur parcours de requalification. Les résultats obtenus à l’aide de onze entretiens semi-dirigés, avec des femmes étant venues à Montréal par le programme, montrent qu’à long terme, le diplôme obtenu localement peut améliorer une situation professionnelle, mais ce n’est pas une garantie. Des obstacles comme l’isolement ainsi que l’impossibilité pour ces femmes de se construire un capital financier et social persistent et affectent toutes celles ayant migré sous le programme, qu’elles aient fait un retour aux études ou non. / The Live-in caregiver program was in place from 1992 until November 30st 2014. The program is a Canadian federal program whereby women native mainly from the Philippines and who have obtained a post-secondary degree, have migrated across Canada. Under this program, they were granted with the temporary migrants status. They had the possibility of a permanent residency after having completed 24 months of employment as a caregiver. They had to work at a private residency where the name of the employer was indicated on their work permit, where they were required to live. By working as a caregiver, these women were and are always placed in a situation of professional deskilling that seems to extend in long-term. This situation is due partly to the non-recognition of their foreign qualifications and LCP structure. This research therefore focuses on the course of professional requalification of these migrants, that some of them use as a strategy to remedy to the situation. In addition to looking at the period of work as live-in caregivers, this research studies the course of their professional requalification in four stages: decision to undergo training, career choices, training process and access to employment related to that training. The objective of this research is to explore the impact that their path under the LCP will have on the course of their professional requalification. The results obtained from interviews with women having come to Montreal by the program indicate that in the long term, the degree obtained locally can improve their professional situation, but it’s not a guarantee. Obstacles like the isolation created by the LCP and the impossibility for these women to build financial and social capital, affect all of these women, women who have returned to studies and those who have not.

In the Western world, and specifically in New Zealand, a major impetus for retraining has arisen quite recently and gone largely unnoticed. The new social phenomenon, retraining in the sense of education for occupational change, is examined in this study. Alongside the three traditionally recognised groups of adult learners: those learning for leisure; second chance learners who have been previously educationally disadvantaged; and upskillers who seek to enhance their existing credentials through further tertiary education; is a fourth; the reskillers, those who are seeking education for occupational change. Women are shown to be pioneers in leading social change in this area of retraining. The key questions investigated in this thesis concern the existence of this new phenomenon in New Zealand; whether it is national or worldwide; and whether its origins are local or international. Whether there are distinctive characteristics to the manifestation of this phenomenon in New Zealand is investigated by examining current policy and practice. Additional questions concern whether there are feature of New Zealand employment or education which make upskilling and reskilling more or less likely in this country; the significance of women being the first to take up education for occupational change and what can be learnt from comparison with other countries specifically the Netherlands and England. Education takes place within a set of intersecting socio-political contexts. In the modern world these are simultaneously international, national, local and institutional. They impact on participants in a course of study yet are not often manifest to the individual. 'Learning for life’ is a significant area of both international and national socio-political concern, manifesting itself in a significant set of public discourses and in social phenomena which, as in this case of education for occupational change, are little researched or understood. The historical evolution of public policy relating to adult learners, internationally, and in New Zealand, is documented, with a particular focus on the period from the 1960s onwards. The major theoretical and ideological constructs are outlined and critiqued particularly with reference to public policy in New Zealand. Analysis shows an inexorable shift over time away from knowledge and skills attained through praxis, to knowledge and skills attained through formal institutionalised learning. At the same time as this change was taking place, participation rates in first secondary, and then tertiary, education rose. Concurrently more and more women entered tertiary education in order to make their way into an increasingly credentialised workforce. It is suggested that, credentials are used for screening purposes in addition to providing individuals with knowledge and skills needed for the occupations they enter. Case studies are used to illustrate and document these changes. Policies relating to learning for life are examined with reference to three different countries: New Zealand, England and the Netherlands. Provision of tertiary education for adults is investigated, and then illustrated through the coverage provided by institutions in three cities, Christchurch, Leicester and Utrecht. These studies show that different countries are subject to international geo-political and ideological forces but respond to them in locally and historically determined ways. The case study/qualitative analysis of the Christchurch Polytechnic’s Next Step Centre for Women and the New Outlook for Women courses illustrates the ways in which the twists and turns of public policy in New Zealand over thirty years have affected women wishing to seek education for occupational change. A quantitative study of mature students and their motivations for returning to study at the Christchurch Polytechnic allows for the impact of public policy and institutional provision on a group of mature individuals to be assessed. The study concludes that education for occupational change appears to be more advanced in New Zealand than in the European countries chosen for comparison. This may result more from individual initiative and the conditions which promote this, than from state policy direction or institutional provision. Policy consequences are proposed on the basis of these findings.