Affiliations: LATI – Paris Descartes University / CREAPT,
Boulogne-Billancourt, France | CNRS – LISE / CREAPT, Paris, France | Département d'ergonomie, Ecole Nationale
Supérieure de Cognitique – Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux, Bordeaux,
France
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Catherine Delgoulet, LATI – Paris
Descartes University / CREAPT, 71, avevue Edouard Vaillant, 92 774
Boulogne-Billancourt cedex, France. Tel.: +33 1 55 20 57 08; E-mail:
catherine.delgoulet@parisdescartes.fr
Abstract: Objective: This paper presents a research project focused on the
induction of newly hired employees in the construction sector in France, a
sector in which employers report difficulties in retaining newly hired
employees. The objective was to identify the diversity of new workers'
employment status, and to understand what happens after they are hired, with a
particular focus on the ways in which skills are acquired and passed on by the
various protagonists. Participants: 25 employees, all men, voluntarily
took part in this study. They were all employed, in various worksite jobs,
under unlimited term contracts. Methods: Interviews were recorded with
each participant. They were analyzed using a thematic analysis method with the
aim of reconstituting newcomers' career paths. Results: Although the new
employees have four different types of employment status, the way in which they
learn the job is both relatively uniform and rudimentary. Skills are acquired
in an opportunistic manner, often at the initiative of the newly hired
employee, with older employees lacking the resources and the time to pass on
their know-how. Conclusions: These findings raise issues related to
workplace safety and organization – the dual focus of the debate on conditions
conducive to skills transmission.
Keywords: New and experienced workers, activity, transmission, learning strategies, ergonomics
