How do flexible contracts impact on training opportunities?

Abstract

Flexible working is not a new phenomenon and there has been extensive research conducted on the implications of flexible working, from both the employer and employee perspective. Research which has looked at the training for flexible workers found that employees on flexible contracts not only receive less training, but also experience less intensity of training. There is a dearth of international research that has looked at the training opportunities of flexible library and information workers, and there has been no research that has looked at this in the New Zealand context. This research sought to establish the ways in which flexible contracts influence training opportunities in special and polytechnic libraries in New Zealand. The research took a mixed methods approach and involved conducting a quantitative survey of polytechnic and special library managers who employed three or more staff and qualitative interviews with polytechnic and special library managers from the central to upper North Island who employed three or more staff. Results indicate that flexible workers in New Zealand receive fewer training opportunities and lower levels of training intensity than their full time permanent counterparts, and that the type of training, contract type, and organisational training policies influence the likelihood of flexible workers receiving training. Employee attitude, the value of training to the organisation, employment status, access, and organisational policies were all factors that managers identified as influencing the training opportunities of flexible workers