Opportunities for Learning and Career Development after IVET: A latent profile analysis

Drawing from research on formal, informal and nonformal learning this paper studies opportunities for learning and career development after initial VET of 762 employees in Switzerland. It is explored, a) whether typical career profiles exist that are characterised by different potentials for learning and career development; b) whether profile membership can be predicted by development-oriented work values and individual resources; and c) how employees in different profiles evaluate their career. Results from latent profile analyses suggested four profiles which differ regarding the opportunities to learn in work, to engage in further training and to advance in the organisation. Individual resources and especially the level of formal education predicted profile membership only weakly. Employees in high potential profiles were more satisfied with their job and career than employees in low potential profiles. The results advance a more integrated view about learning and development opportunities in the early professional career.