DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS AND FLEXIBILITY IN FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE: A STUDY WITH ASSISTANTS IN ADMINISTRATION OF A FEDERAL UNIVERSITY

Functional flexibility. Skills development. Training of servers. Learning at work.

The research has as general objective to analyze the policies and practices of UFRN in the development of skills related to flexibility in the functional performance for the Assistant position in Administration, considering the current context of extinction of technical-administrative positions and not replacement of workforce due to difficulties in public tenders, and new legal requirements for training civil servants, related, for example, to the preparation for internal and external changes and for replacements in service, a scenario that reaches federal universities. The study can be classified as exploratory, documentary, case study, of an applied nature and of mixed methods, with qualitative predominance. In the first stage of the research, documentary sources were used as a data collection instrument, allowing the initial immersion in the researched environment through the identification and analysis of UFRN's strategic documents. The second stage of the research was directed to the collection of primary data, by conducting interviews with the development and training managers of people at the institution, as well as the application of a questionnaire with the Assistants in Administration. For the treatment of the data obtained, methodological triangulation was used as a strategic procedure. As a result, it was found that UFRN has been discussing the topic of functional flexibility within the strategic policies of recomposition of the technical-administrative workforce, in line with the new scenario of limitation of servers; that these discussions and actions are in a maturing stage and involve the completion of some studies related, for example, to the dimensioning and balancing of servers, and to the updating of the skills mapping; that there is a lack of internal training for strategies that prepare the Assistant in Administration to respond to needs related to flexibility in functional performance; and that the offer of an activity that involves learning at work in an intersectoral perspective would have the potential to support initiatives for institutional adaptation within the new context, also taking into account the new National Policy for People Development.