Search

Little has been published in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) literature on the topic of pre-apprenticeships, which are a loose type of preparatory courses for apprenticeships available in some trades. Nevertheless, pre-apprenticeships have been in existence for several decades. With continuing concern over skill shortages in Australia, the research study on which this paper is based investigated the role of pre-apprenticeship courses in addressing skill shortages in the electrotechnology, automotive and engineering trades, some of the largest ‘traditional trades’ in Australia, and those with sizeable numbers in pre-apprenticeships. The principal objective of the overall study was to determine whether the use of pre-apprenticeships increased the size and suitability of the supply of entrants to the traditional apprenticeships and whether pre-apprenticeships do or might increase completion rates in apprenticeships. The paper uses findings from the study to develop a typology of pre-apprenticeship courses, proposing two fundamental orientations and discussing whether different orientations towards pre-apprenticeships are compatible with one another. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a journey undertaken by literacy tutors who were caught between incompatible values and needs in building apprentices' literacy. The highly literate tutors were committed to teaching critical literacy. They believed that improved literacy could support learners' aspirations to advance their prospects at work, build their connections within their community and improve their health. Hence, the tutors aimed to guide their learners into membership of an imagined community of fluent readers. They found, however, that the apprentices, along with their managers and training coordinators, saw literacy as instrumental rather than a desired outcome in its own right. Essentially, achieving a sufficient level of literacy was needed for the apprentices to become members of workplace communities of practice. Tutors then questioned their prior assumptions about the intrinsic importance of literacy, slowly accepting a dichotomous way of thinking where industrial ways of learning and knowing were predominant. Tutors' realisation that apprentices already possessed embodied and oral literacies helped them to support the apprentices in escaping (though not leaving) workplace contexts that were becoming increasingly document-driven in character and featuring rising expectations of improved print literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace relations like any social relation first and foremost have a moral dimension. Thus, if vocational education sees one of its major goals in helping apprentices to deal with moral issues, one of the core objectives in vocational education is the support of the apprentice’s development of moral judgement competence. Since Lawrence Kohlberg has provided his cognitive-developmental approach we know a lot about moral development. But we know little about the influence of social environment on moral cognitive structures. With this paper the author intends to explore questions concerned with the developmental conditions of moral judgement within apprenticeship. To do so, the paper firstly provides a theoretical approach on certain social conditions for moral development; secondly gives some empirical evidence for this approach concerning data raised in context of a longitudinal study in Germany; and thirdly suggests some ideas for using this approach within the vocational education system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Apprenticeship plays a key role in the preparation of skilled trades people and as a pathway into labour markets. In the face of scarcity of resources, effectiveness and efficiency of apprenticeship become important. Attrition and retention in apprenticeship constitute important indicators of efficiency and effectiveness of the training system and are therefore legitimate issues of concern and investigation. This paper examines the reasons for non-completion of apprentices in automotive trades of the informal sector prior to Ghana’s introduction of a National Apprenticeship Programme seeking to formalise the current informal apprenticeship system. The paper also reports on non-completers’ desired interventions that could help prevent early exit. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 60 non-completers obtained through a snowballing process, either face-to-face or by telephone. The four largest urban centres in Ghana, namely Accra (and neighbouring Tema), Kumasi, Takoradi and Cape Coast were covered. Frequently mentioned reasons for non-completion included financial hardships, not getting on well with the boss or other people at the workplace, wrong career choice or loss of interest in the trade, being treated as cheap labour or being exploited, getting a new job, and bullying. To prevent early exit, the non-completers surveyed proposed some interventions that included financial support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper arises from my PhD thesis on the learner biographies of retail and motor vehicle maintenance apprentices in Germany and England which explores the interrelationship of social structures and individual agency in identity formation over time and in particular learning environments. The paper reports initial findings, focusing largely on the English case study of motor vehicle apprentices. It challenges common assumptions of young people in vocational education in England as second-chance learners being socialised into pursuing low-status occupations and invites reflection on the particular model of apprenticeship in England and its role in shaping young people's identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines research undertaken at a Northern UK university in partnership with a local further education college. The research was underpinned by reference to national policies, government strategies and the findings of others in the field, and involved the collection and analysis of interview and questionnaire data from apprentices and employers; an examination of the local and regional skills profile; liaison with the sector skills council; and the development of a new form of qualification. The outcome of the research was the development of a pilot Higher Level Apprenticeship scheme as a progression route for Level 3 Motor Vehicle apprentices, which combined both academic and professional qualifications and which met the identified Level 4 needs of this group of learners. This research has highlighted not only the need for a new form of work-based progression but has also recognised the direction which such a programme should take as an employer-led and customer-driven course, thus providing wider relevance across the higher education sector than simply its application to its local setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a view of the experiences of former high school apprentices in Canada. Conceptually, we draw on the work of Bourdieu with particular attention to vocational habitus, as well as feminist writers who discuss the gendered construction of skill and gender relations in the workplace and family. Empirically, we present our analysis of survey data from 173 male and female apprentices in two provinces and interviews with female apprentices in Alberta. Our data provide insights into youths’ school experiences as well as their subsequent trajectories and plans for the future. Findings suggest that female youth relied more than young men on the support of families and external influences in choosing a trade. Young women in female-dominated trades faced different but no less significant challenges than those in male-dominated trades. Women who succeeded in completing apprenticeship training did so because of their family habitus and expansive training experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The credential landscape of vocational and higher education in the UK has expanded in recent years, alongside a rise in the number of students undertaking qualifications and a steady increase in tuition fees. The transition from an apprenticeship to higher education is one example of the progression from vocational to higher education. However, the ways in which this pathway is navigated according to the students who have followed this route have received little attention. This paper focuses on the examples of four students in England who each progressed to higher education with different qualifications. Drawing on Archer’s concept of reflexivity, the analysis revealed three important factors for negotiating transition. These were firstly the credential landscape itself, secondly how their employer perceived higher education qualifications and thirdly how higher education institutions perceived vocational qualifications. The findings illustrate how students confronted and overcame the various constraints and barriers in order to pursue higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent research has shown that the UK's Advanced Apprenticeship Programme (AAP) struggles to develop the forms of 'vocational practice', that is, a combination of knowledge, skill and judgement, employers are looking for in the creative and cultural sector. Employers' reluctance to get involved with the AAP does not mean that they are uninterested in training. They are concerned that the UK's Department of Education and Skills promotes the AAP to serve 'educational' goals (i.e. route for academic progression), rather than functioning as a genuine attempt to develop the sector-specific vocational knowledge and skill that they feel it is important for apprentices to develop. To understand why many employers distance themselves from the AAP, the paper compares and contrasts the AAP with the 'Technical Apprenticeship', which has been developed by Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with regard to the different notions of skill formation, skill transfer and employability. It concludes by raising a number of questions and issues as regards: (1) the future development of apprenticeship in the creative and cultural sector in the UK and internationally, and (2) the concept of vocational practice in Vocational Education and Training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The findings reported in this article are based on qualitative research that explored the views and experiences of key stakeholders, including employer-bodies, training providers, employers and apprentices of Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) in retail. The study identifies fundamental barriers to the successful implementation of MAs in this sector. These are related to the culture of the sector, including the mobility of young workers, who frequently change jobs, and the preoccupation with serving the customer, which can restrict and fragment training and development opportunities. The stresses and strains of this working environment do not provide conditions that support the use of MAs. The paper explores some of the steps that could be taken in order to increase the demand for training and more generic skills among employers. However, it concludes that government initiatives such as MAs alone will not change employers' attitudes towards training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The learning of apprentices is always embedded within the overall learning culture of an enterprise. The structures for learning, as well as the attitudes, values and beliefs of the members of the organisation in respect to training, influence the ways in which apprentices are socialised and prepared for the labour market. This qualitative case study focuses on the experience of apprentices within a large communications enterprise in Switzerland. It provides insights into an innovative learning culture and reflects on attitudes, values and practices of apprentices, work advisors, coaches and vocational education and training (VET) managers that support and encourage independent learning, benefitting both the organisation and the individual apprentice. The study shows which factors contribute to a positive learning experience for apprentices and how these support the development of competences that are essential in the modern workplace. They include taking initiative, acting autonomously, communicating challenges and seeking advice, critical thinking, self-management, ability to work in different teams and the apprentices' management of their own learning processes. In addition, a number of innovative structural practices that shape the learning culture of the enterprise and serve as framing conditions within the socialisation process of the apprentices have been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An appreciative lens has been used to explore the question: what is it in the performance of managers, other employees, vocational educators and apprentices themselves, which enables an apprentice to experience a sense of thriving at work? The apprentice is understood to be involved in a process of continually developing and becoming as their social identity as a tradesperson emerges. Previous researchers have noted how learning to both ask for, and offer, help is a key competence that successful apprentices develop during their training. This helps to focus attention on the social context of the apprentice’s experience. This study suggests that when managers, vocational educators and apprentices engage in behaviours that promote affiliation they have the opportunity to develop not only more meaningful relationships but also to experience a sense of thriving at work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents findings from an investigation into the experiences of a single cohort of students, studying on a BA (Hons) degree in Britain. It examines the students’ attainment on the degree and relates this to their profile on entry, examining their previous work experiences taken as part of a vocationally focused entry qualification, and compares their progress to other students entering the same course of study with non-vocational traditional academic qualifications. The investigation assesses whether, if at all, students’ pre-entry experiences have an impact on their eventual qualification. The work then follows a sample of this cohort after they graduate and enter the world of full-time work or postgraduate study, relating these experiences both to their pre-university work experiences and qualifications, any part-time employment whilst at university and/or any work experience which they may have undertaken as part of their undergraduate studies. In essence, the investigation assesses whether work experience impacts on the final awards of students and/or upon their ability to find suitable careers as postgraduates. It uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the impact of previous work experience and/or vocational training and experience on eventual outcomes for the students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article seeks to add to current policy and debate on apprenticeships and youth transitions more widely by reflecting back upon the historical experience of the apprenticeship model. The research comprises in-depth interviews with 30 people who undertook apprenticeships in a range of trades in Great Britain in the period 1944-1982. The discussion focuses upon the socialisation aspects of apprenticeship and concludes that a key feature of good apprenticeships in the post- war period was that they offered a sheltered and extended period in which the young person was able to grow up and become job-ready. Reconstructing the social, industrial, familial and community conditions that made this possible is very difficult in the contemporary period, although further work in oral history has considerable potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors consider two quality‐related aspects of large employers’ apprenticeship programmes. The first is their contribution to national educational objectives, including the creation and strengthening of ladders of vocational attainment. Such ladders already exist in apprenticeship’s traditional domains, but the prospects for their wider development appear unfavourable. Few employers support an increase in the educational contribution of apprenticeship, whether technical or general, even in sectors in which that contribution is currently minimal. The second issue is the extent of the employer’s responsibility for its apprenticeship programme, which is often seen as important for training quality. No simple relationship is present across employers and sectors between the outsourcing of programme components and such attributes as apprentice recruitment, apprentice status and the employer’s investment in each apprentice. Within traditional sectors, however, sponsorship by a large employer means a substantially greater investment in each apprentice than that by a specialist training provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers teaching and learning as a collaborative enterprise in the workplace. The empirical data have been extracted from a field study among apprentices engaged in electromechanical vocational training and education in a major Danish industrial company. Typically, studies of apprenticeship learning do not view aspects of teaching as decisive parts of workplace learning. In this article, I will pin down the specific character of collaborative teaching and learning in the workplace, and compare this with the features of a teaching situation in school with a teacher transmitting knowledge to the pupils. While instruction at school is organised as part of a specifically planned teaching situation, the instruction in the workplace is a more loosely organised part of the joint activity structure of the daily work tasks. The conclusions reached in the article should be useful for the conceptual understanding of instruction and teaching in workplace learning, as well as for policy makers and professionals responsible for the design of apprenticeships and workplace learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK Government's recent emphasis on the graduate workforce raises the profile of work placements within higher education. Anecdotally, the authors find that students on their optional bioscience sandwich degrees benefit academically from placement experience but there is little supportive evidence of this in the literature. To investigate rigorously the link between sandwich placement and academic performance, two cohorts of bioscience students (n = 164) were described in terms of gender (male = 0, female = 1), pre-university qualifications (HESA score), academic performance (%) for each year of degree study (first, second, and final), and mode of study (non-placement = 0, placement = 1). Multiple regression analysis yielded the following predictive equation where all terms were significant: Final % = 28.80 + 2.97 (gender) + 0.14 (HESA score) + 0.44 (Second%) + 3.82 (mode). On average, placement students gain an advantage of nearly 4% in their final year performance. Given that the final year contributes 75% towards degree classification, over a quarter of placement students may benefit from the independent effect of mode of study by crossing a threshold into a higher degree class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]