Flexible information workers: training and equal opportunities

Describes the extent of flexible working practices in library and information services (LIS) in the UK, drawing on a recently completed study. Outlines concerns about training expressed by managers in case study organizations and in the literature. Investigates gender and equal opportunity implications in training flexible workers when LIS continue to be dominated numerically by women, yet hierarchically by men. Discusses examples of gender‐based discrimination in training provision and allocation taken from the literature in women’s studies and business studies. Considers the potential of National Vocational Qualifications and the Library Association’s framework for continuing professional development in relation to flexible workers. Outlines the British Library Research and Development Department‐funded study investigating training for flexible LIS workers.