The professional's opinion: Suggestions for improving the corporate education training process in Software Engineering

TL;DR

This study explores software engineering professionals' suggestions for enhancing corporate training by identifying key themes like practical relevance, organizational support, and social interaction, emphasizing systemic improvements.

Contribution

It provides qualitative insights into specific organizational and pedagogical improvements recommended by professionals to better transfer learning into practice.

Findings

Five key themes for improvement identified

Systemic interventions needed for effective learning

Practical relevance and social exchange are crucial

Abstract

Technology organizations continuously invest in professional development, but face difficulties in transferring learning to project practice. This exploratory qualitative study investigates which improvements software engineering professionals suggest for organizational learning processes. 174 open-ended responses were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: practical applicability and alignment with needs; pedagogical quality and organization; time and structural conditions; incentives and institutional recognition; and interaction, mentoring, and social exchange. The results indicate that improving learning requires systemic interventions that integrate practical relevance, structural support, and a favorable institutional culture.