The main thrust of the research effort into workplace learning has been to identify the characteristics of workplace learning as experienced by the learner. The impact of the wider organisational process in which that learning is embedded have been played down. This paper, building on the work of Koike and Darrah, uses research conducted in a major multinational corporation (MNC) in South-East Asia, to explore the impact of the wider organisational structures on the process of learning. The model it develops not only shows how these processes impact on workplace learning but also helps explain why workers acquire different levels of skill.