Health and social care needs are expected to increase in Europe and the rest of the world after 2020 (http://ec.europa.eu). The numbers of people older than 80 and young persons with various disabilities will increase. Strategic development of skills in organizations is a key issue in ensuring continued quality in social care and services. Learning stops at individual level, rather than progressing into transformative and organizational learning that would help organizations develop. In a local area with 100,000 inhabitants in Sweden, a total of 339 employees in elderly care completed a questionnaire examining instrumental, communicative and transformative learning at individual and organizational level, and how the knowledge was applied in practice. The study was based on Mezirow’s (2000) Transformation theory.
The results showed that individual learning was more effective than organizational. Instrumental learning was more effective than transformative. Most knowledge was applied at individual level rather organizational. Employees want more space for critical reflection at work, and there is a need for systematic and more standard methods of working with skills enhancement in management. The discussion concerned the relationship between instrumental, communicative and transformative learning, practical application of knowledge, and critical points/mechanisms that would smooth this transition. Proposals were given for further research into learning/application and approaches for developing skills in organizations