This paper aims to present a human resources development (HRD)-informed framework for digital capability development, grounded in a multi-method case study from the NSTA. The project sought to identify and examine the factors influencing the uptake of digital capability development in the NSTA, a regulatory body operating within the UK oil, gas, hydrogen and carbon storage industries.
The project investigated factors influencing uptake of digital capability initiatives through a review of practice, an organisational survey, semi-structured interviews and a focus group.
Findings were reviewed against the future digitalisation skills roadmap to develop the digital capability development model, which conceptualises digital capability development as the interaction between organisational context, individual meaning-making, social learning infrastructure and learning design – all supported by leadership. The study also demonstrates that informal social learning structures, including peer networks and digital champions, play a significant role in translating formal learning into workplace practice.
This paper contributes to HRD scholarship through its original insight into the development of digital capability and technology adoption perspectives through a more socially and organisationally embedded understanding of workplace learning and digital transformation.
