Vocational identities in change in the telecommunications sector

During the last decade the telecommunications sector has undergone an accelerated structural change in work organisation, qualification profiles and the mode of socialisation at work. Telecommunications is taking the lead when it comes to the dynamics of vocational identity transformation. Classical models of vocational identities are declining in favour of a new “negotiator‐network/mobility” mode of socialisation at work. The latter is mainly taken in charge by a new generation of telecom employees who are mobile, flexible and proactive in constructing their own work identities and project‐based work activities. This paper examines the key findings of the FAME project investigation in the telecommunications sector in France, Germany and the UK. The first section focuses on the employers' perception of the contextual background for change. The second section examines employees' responses to these structural changes and new modes of socialisation at work. The concluding section highlights some overall trends and implications.