Researchers have been interested in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) from different viewpoints - the engagement and motivations of students, course completion and retention rates as well as course designs. MOOCs attract a wide range of people from different backgrounds, all of whom have different aims. The main focus of the majority of research on MOOCs has concerned university or further education courses. However, researcher interest in the utilisation of MOOCs for continued vocational training has been low.

The aim of this paper is to discuss how MOOC learning can support the learning of working life skills and knowledge by a workforce. This research focuses on two MOOCs called “Nearly zero-energy buildings” and “Sustainable energy solutions,” which are new EU level topics in the energy and building sector but not yet widely established as courses in education institutions. We are especially interested in students who are employed full-time or part-time and what motivates them, which learning methods, materials and assignments appeal to and benefit them the most. In addition, our aim is to find out what kind of continued vocational training method MOOC is. The data consist of Moodle analytics, student feedback, questionnaire data and interviews with both students and employers. Self-determination theory (SDT) is used as the theory for the study and identifies three innate human needs – competence, relatedness, autonomy – that have to be nurtured from within a learning environment in order to ensure the optimal functioning and growth of students.

Keywords

continued vocational training · engagement · MOOC · motivation · Self-Determination Theory (SDT)