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This paper provides an account of the everyday workplace learning of cycle technicians. Derived from an ethnography of working cultures and practices at a bike shop in the North of England, this paper rests on a critical reading of Communities of Practice theory in order to explore the complex and heterogeneous learning of cycle technicians. Drawing on a series of vignettes constructed from the ethnographic data, the paper demonstrates the variety of experiences of both formal and informal learning that characterise the trajectories of new cycle technicians as they enter the industry. In addition to providing an account of a qualified and specialist workforce that is under-represented in extant research literature, the paper also provides an exemplar for ethnographic research as a vehicle for exploring working practices through a Communities of Practice lens, using the paradigmatic theoretical elements of the theory. The paper concludes by arguing that for cycle technicians, and perhaps other occupations as well, Communities of Practice theory can generate rich and complex accounts that do justice to the richness and complexity of the craft and practice being observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares within-country programmes of initial vocational education and training (IVET) in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany and their outcomes. Specifically, it aims to analyse and compare the labour market success of graduates of different tracks at the ISCED 3 level in both early and later stages of their careers. The comparison is based on the analysis of PIAAC 2013 OECD study data. A composite multidimensional indicator was constructed to measure labour market success and subsequently used as a dependent variable in regression models. The results indicate that in the systems with dual IVET at the ISCED 3 level (Germany and Austria), graduates are indeed more successful at the labour market than their counterparts with other ISCED 3 tracks. However, their advantage diminishes in later stages of the career. Additionally, in Austria, the success of dual education young graduates is mediated by individual characteristics. In the system with only school-based IVET (the Czech Republic), this track does not guarantee substantively higher labour market success for young graduates compared to other ISCED 3 tracks and also to those with lower education. Czech apprentices in the later stages of career succeed even less than those with below ISCED 3 education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses attempts to renew apprenticeship over the last three decades in three liberal market economies – US, England and Australia. We conceptualise institutional renewal as entailing both revival, or growth in apprentice starts, and extension, or widening its occupational base. The paper contributes to the literature by considering reasons for the attempted renewal and offering an assessment of the outcomes of renewal. It also contributes to research at the intersection of institutional and comparative training literature by developing the concept of institutional renewal and applying it to apprenticeship. It is concluded that in quantitative terms renewal had some success in England and Australia, but the effect of intervention is more uncertain in the US. The paper also identifies a paradox that policies to promote apprenticeships have undermined the quality of training in England and Australia, leading to questions about the sustainability of renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil faces complex challenges regarding the need to pursue economic growth coupled with the inclusion of diverse segments of society, including people with disability. This paper seeks to highlight historical aspects about the insertion of people with disability in the Brazilian labour market, to secure the need for public policies to guarantee the rights of persons with disability, to reveal some steps the country has taken in this direction, especially in the intersection between vocational training initiatives, mainly in apprenticeship programmes, and the labour market. The paper also highlights some contradictions and obstacles in this path as well some measures adopted for a possible overcoming and development in the inclusion of people with disability in the labour market through vocational education. Adopting bibliographical research regarding people with disability and apprenticeship programmes, we concluded VET programmes for this group helps everyone involved, promoting diversity among the labour market and improving organisational culture of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marked and persistent gender segregation in apprenticeship has been well documented. The social construction of 'male' and 'female' jobs is a key factor in the gendered patterns evident in career choice. Research on young women who have chosen careers in male-dominated occupations risks constructing them as 'Other', typically concluding that rather than challenging the gender binary, the women would reinforce it, echoing 'tomboy' identities according to which girls are aligning themselves with boys whilst devaluing femininity. Based on biographical interviews, this paper explores the role of gender in the career decision-making of one German and one English woman motor mechanic apprentice. It illustrates the strongly normative but highly contextual nature of gender as the two women negotiate identities in their quests to live 'liveable lives'. It will be argued that the rich and multi-faceted experiences of these two young women belie stereotypical accounts of gender, suggesting acceptable ways of being in male workspaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An apprenticeship levy was introduced in England in 2017 to help the government meet its target of 3 million apprenticeships between 2015 and 2020. Training levies have been, until recently, something of an anathema in public policy circles in England with most having been abolished by the mid-1980s as the government moved towards creating a flexible, de-regulated labour market. So why would an apprenticeship levy now produce better results? In this paper, we analyse in-depth employer interviews carried out in 2016 to identify possible impacts of the levy on businesses' approaches to apprenticeships. We consider whether, ex ante, the levy was expected to result in: more apprentices being trained; reconfiguration of existing training structures into apprenticeships; employers 'gaming' the system, with levy funds being used but not producing real gains in training; or, employers writing off the levy. These findings are presented alongside data on apprenticeship starts since the levy's introduction. We discuss the dramatic fall in apprenticeship starts relative to pre-levy numbers. Given the latest figures and our ex ante study of employers, it appears as though even such wide-sweeping change to the programme may do little to overcome longstanding, low levels of employer demand for apprenticeships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, the contours of skills formation systems are traced back to early struggles over control of apprenticeship. This paper uses a curriculum lens to examine two distinctive policy moments in the history of formal apprenticeships in South Africa and to trace the legacy imprint of direct and indirect race-based exclusion as well as the imprint of educational deprivation in social class terms. The policy trajectory shows how an apprenticeship curriculum that had to cater for White working-class youth with low educational credentials led to a steady erosion of the formal knowledge component of the curriculum in favour of practical workplace experience. Alongside race-based exclusion, a neglect of science-based knowledge emerges as a lasting curriculum legacy of apprenticeship trajectories under conditions of segregation, Apartheid and their colonial precursors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the effect of a secondary job on the intention to quit an apprenticeship in Germany. For the empirical approach, the representative German, firm-level study 'BIBB Survey Vocational Training from the Trainees Point of View 2008' conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) is used. In this study, 5901 apprentices were interviewed during their second year of apprenticeship. To date, literature on early contract cancellation in Vocational Education and Training uses income itself as a determinant, but neglects the consequences of low income during apprenticeship, such as the need for a secondary job and possible secondary-job-related burdens. The probit regressions show a higher intention to quit if apprentices require a secondary job to cover their living costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

An apprenticeship in media production in England is at the centre of this case study exploration. The context is exemplified by the organisation of the process of production around project teams and the development of project-based working cultures. Given these developments, the working conditions and learning opportunities presented to apprentices can be characterised as de-centred and distributed. This contrasts with the characterisation of apprentices’ learning as novices who develop expertise in stable, well-bounded vocational communities. Through an analysis of young apprentices’ journeys, we argue that despite the challenges presented, the case study exemplifies the extent to which the apprenticeship is capable of innovation in project working as opposed to full employment conditions. Through its focus on media apprentices’ journeys, this paper makes visible the specific experience of learning in project working, distributed and de-centred working conditions. We conclude by referring to an ideal typical conception of the model of learning underpinning the apprenticeship which may be useful as an heuristic tool for others involved in designing and/or researching apprenticeships in project working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successive governments have pledged to enhance the quality of apprenticeship in Britain so as to achieve ‘parity of esteem’ with academic study. Yet, at the same time, the discourse of the academic-vocational divide has dominated the academic, policy-maker and practitioner debates. This paper draws on two recent studies designed to explore the learner identities of apprentices on different apprenticeship programmes: motor vehicle maintenance (level 2) and engineering (level 3). Through this work, we are able to explore the role of the academic–vocational divide in identity construction and to challenge assumptions about vocational learners. It will be argued, that, far from being ‘naturally practical’, the young people draw on normative discursive categories in their construction of continuous identities. The findings raise important questions about the UK apprenticeship system as currently conceived, while at the same time drawing attention to the possibility for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite expending a great deal of public money, and after many government-led ‘reforms’ to develop an apprenticeship system that rivals those found in other countries, the apprenticeship system in England still faces a number of challenges and failings, not least in the private training market. This paper explores the landscape of private training provision in the context of the most recent apprenticeship reforms and its implications for independent training provision. Reviewing the proposed shift from the provider-led to an employer-led system we suggest that the government is overestimating the readiness of industry to lead apprenticeships in England and will still rely heavily on private training provision. We propose that a high-quality system of apprenticeships requires refocusing from a single-actor-led to a multiple-actor-led system based on good relationships between ‘strong’ actors with shared cost and responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Canada, youth apprenticeships have been promoted as an educational alternative that leads to the development of valuable skills, allows for the opportunity to earn an income while learning and helps youth to gain a head start into lucrative, creative and in-demand careers. Yet, these programmes have remained rather marginal and continue to be perceived as being of lower-status compared to traditional post-secondary educational pathways, such as those leading to university or community college. In this paper, we draw on interview data with former youth apprentices in the province of Ontario to explore their reasons for entering apprenticeships in high school, their experiences in them and their own perceptions about the status and social recognition of apprenticeships. We suggest that policies regarding apprenticeship programmes in Canada need to expand their focus. While emphasis is currently placed on recruiting students by highlighting relatively utilitarian benefits, we argue that more focus needs to be placed on the training offered to apprentices including the commitment of employers to provide quality training on the job, the integration of classroom and on-the-job training and the opportunity for apprentices to move from partial to full participation in communities of practice. [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]

Germany's apprenticeship system is and has always been considered to be the major sub-system of VET. In this context, the debate circling around the European and German Qualifications Framework (EQF and DQR) has become one of the central issues of VET research and policy. Tasks take on a concrete shape if (a) a serious approach is adopted towards the ideas underlying the European Qualifications Framework; and (b) if consideration is given to the 'construction sites' typical for the German VET system as a whole. This paper intends to sharpen VET policy awareness for the problem of dealing with those unresolved German VET issues within the context of the development of the DQR. A comparative view includes Austria and France as two countries with diverging learning cultures in VET from the German case, but obviously with more 'European' imprints within their respective VET systems. It can be shown that there is an interrelation between the attention apprenticeships as such receive against the background of European ideas such as 'progression', 'permeability' and 'lifelong learning' (LLL), including the implementation and use of 'hybrid qualifications'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years Norway and Switzerland have introduced local training agencies (TAs), local intermediary organisations consisting of firms involved in apprentice training. In both countries, the starting point for the formation of the TA was roughly similar: enabling more firms to participate in apprentice training. Despite similar tasks, TAs have developed differently in the two countries. In Norway TAs have evolved as general-purpose tools in the governance of apprentice training while in Switzerland they are restricted to small niches. The article investigates these different outcomes using theories of intermediary organisations in the governance of collective skill formation systems at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2001 there has been a renewed government focus on skills development and its relationship with combating unemployment in Ghana. Technical and vocational education and training (hereinafter; TVET), delivered through public and private schools, vocational training institutes and informal apprenticeship training, continues to be seen as an important link to work. Rising concern over the large number of junior high school graduates that are unable to access further formal education and training has led politicians and policy makers to demand a National Apprenticeship Programme and ambitious plans are being put in place to move towards a more regulated, or formalised, informal apprenticeship system. This article examines these plans and argues that the government needs both to consider fully the ramifications of their proposed activities under the National Apprenticeship Programme, as well as learn from previous programmes in Ghana (and elsewhere) that have attempted to upgrade informal apprenticeships. [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]

In discussions of work-based learning in anglophone countries, a relatively new question concerns different learning opportunities for differentially positioned novices in the workplace. Basil Bernstein relates learners' positioning with respect to knowledge and within a community of knowers to variations in a discourse underlying and regulating the transmission. This article describes modalities of pedagogic practice in companies that give rise to such specific positionings of learners and discusses their relationship to a pedagogic discourse for company learning. It does so using the case of German company vocational education in the 'dual system', where a distinct macro-social pedagogic discourse underlies and regulates the transmission in companies. The data are drawn from problem-centred interviews with dual system graduates and analysed from a social-realist stance in relation to Bernstein's 'framing'. Although for Bernstein, who draws predominantly on school-based research, the control over 'framing' is always with the transmitters, this article points to instances of acquirers taking control in the data and traces them to the particular pedagogic discourse underlying German vocational education. The article points to further research possibilities with the goal of reconstructing, in a rule-directed way, an implicit discourse underlying company learning that lacks explicit macro-social discursive regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to investigate the learning strategies vocational students use to become part of a work community, and how these strategies are related to the formation of a vocational identity at the workplace. Conducting qualitative interviews, data were collected from 44 industrial programme students from six upper secondary schools. The findings revealed five recurrent strategies used by the students for learning vocational identities as industrial workers. The students took individual responsibility for their own learning, asked questions to gain deeper vocational knowledge, searched for role models in the work community, positioned themselves as a resource to the work community, understood and used humour and jokes in order to become a member of the community. The conclusion is that the students actively develop learning strategies to adapt their behaviour to the norms and ideals of the industrial work community. In the process of develop the vocational identities as industrial workers, the students’ vocational habitus is transformed to better fit the industrial work community. The integration of the notions of agency and habitus demonstrates the dynamic nature of students’ participation in work communities; simultaneously, the students reproduce social structures that promote vocational identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper secondary vocational education in Denmark is based on the apprenticeship model, which is recognised as a valuable route to employment for young people, who are not aiming for higher education. However, the apprenticeship model has a major weakness: it does not provide eligibility for higher education. The purpose of this article is to examine this problem in a historical perspective. The article builds on a combination of policy studies, statistical cohort studies and interview studies. First, the article explores why progression from apprenticeship to higher education has become a major policy problem in Denmark. Secondly, it explores political initiatives taken to ‘build bridges’ to higher education. Thirdly, it examines the development of technical higher vocational education, which has been a main destination for the former apprentices. Lastly, it examines changes in the transition patterns from apprenticeships to higher education in recent decades and examines why the transition rate has declined. Explanations for the decline are identified at the structural, the institutional and the individual levels. It concludes by pointing at a dilemma behind the policies pursued: Trying to strengthen the links from apprenticeship to higher education involves a risk of weakening the current strong links to the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study addresses the socialisation processes taking place during the apprenticeship period within the hospitality industry, searching for explanations of drop-out and early staff turnover in the personal, social and educational experiences of the apprentices during their organisational socialisation process and vocational training. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, the first carried out 5–7 months after starting the apprenticeship and the second after 20–22 months The informants,N = 11, were of ages 17–19 years. The apprentices held high expectations to their own professional development, to be treated with respect and care, followed up and included in the group. Not all expectations were met. Unfortunately, unacceptable treatment, lack of challenging and varied tasks of interaction with the supervisors and of inclusion and follow-up from the employer, were reported, increasing the likelihood that they would change their career due to negative experiences from the learning processes. The findings challenge the industry, the schools and their interaction by showing the need for providing positive experiences and changing the educational philosophies and practices applied for apprentices in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The UK government aims to increase both the number, and also the status, of workers with intermediate-level skills, with a view to creating a ‘modern class of technicians’ who can help to bolster economic growth and prosperity. This article considers the prospects for such a policy by focusing on one particular, but neglected, group of technicians, namely those who work in university laboratories and workshops. Data from English universities are used to shed light on the recruitment, training, skills, qualifications and career prospects of technicians. Factors shaping employer decisions about recruitment and training are examined, in the context of broader human resource management arrangements and the development of a new technician registration scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We evaluate the effect of the Apprenticeship Bonus, an employment subsidy programme, on early apprenticeship dropout. Eligibility for the programme is restricted to school leavers who have actively looked for an apprenticeship to start immediately after leaving school, but were unsuccessful in finding one. Our analysis is based on rich survey data that were collected specifically for this study. Using this data, we describe the characteristics of school leavers who looked unsuccessfully for an apprenticeship directly after leaving school and analyse the effect of the subsidy on the probability of apprenticeship dropout. Even though the subsidy provides strong incentives to discourage dropout, we do not find significant effects of the programme. Our findings suggest that financial incentives are not effective in increasing the probability of people finishing vocational in-firm training successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is the first study investigating New Zealand’s early legislation in apprenticeship from the perspective of historical institutionalism. It shows that, between 1865 and the 1940s, New Zealand’s apprenticeship system was less liberal in character than it is today, because a collective skill formation regime, involving dual training, was built up. As apprenticeship legislation neither developed as a response to employers’ skill needs nor was promoted by trade unions as a means of labour market control, it was mainly state intervention which brought New Zealand on this track. As a least-likely case of collective skill formation, New Zealand corroborates the view that state intervention and the emergence of a cross-class support coalition are crucial for the creation of collective skill formation institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Vocational education and training in Denmark is based on the dual system and the apprenticeship model and in many ways constitutes a success story. Since the 1930s, the social partners have had a decisive influence on the VET system through the principle of occupational self-governance, and this is a major reason why the dual system has survived until today. Although none of the system's stakeholders seriously question the value of apprenticeship, it is confronted with two major challenges that pose questions as to whether apprenticeship can remain the basis for vocational education in the future. The first challenge relates to whether companies can provide a stable supply of training placements of sufficient magnitude. The second challenge relates to whether occupational self-governance can survive the pressure from growing government intervention aimed at integrating the VET system within general educational policy. In order to answer these questions, the first part of this article examines how the Danish dual system came about as part of a historical process. In the second part of the article, the challenges confronting the VET system are examined in order to assess the future of a VET system based on apprenticeship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unique features of the 2006 census, as well as 33 employer interviews, provide an opportunity to test key assumptions in Canadian apprenticeship policy. Apprenticeship is widely understood to be a crucial contributor to the national skills supply, but also an institution critically vulnerable to market failures, mainly due to the insecurity of private contracts for training. The census data reveal a low overall incidence of apprenticeship certification among trades workers, revealing a trades labour market substantially dependent on uncertified labour. Strong inter-occupational differences in the certification rate make it unlikely that participation is impeded by a uniform set of contracting problems. At the firm level, the interviews reveal substantial diversity in employers' training practices, levels of investment, and modes of engagement with the apprenticeship system. Consistent with recent literature in the political economy of skills, the present findings support a view of apprenticeship as an institution centred on collective action rather than private contract. They suggest that current Canadian apprenticeship policies offer indiscriminate subsidies with negligible and potentially negative effects on private skill formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on pedagogical aspects of initial vocational training in the context of the Swiss VET system. Even though apprentices are usually the responsibility of one main supervisor within companies, a number of other colleagues, experts and fellow apprentices interact with them as they engage in productive tasks. In that context, the article examines how first-year apprentices are guided and supported by experienced workers in the workplace, and how this guidance and support are distributed collectively in work teams. Drawing on an ethnographic and discursive methodology borrowing concepts and tools from various trends in applied linguistics, the article analyses empirical material consisting of videotaped interactions between apprentices and workers recorded in productive conditions. Two case studies related to distinct workplaces are discussed. They illustrate contrasting conditions experienced by apprentices when joining the workplace and provide evidence for the configuring role of guidance and supervision in vocational learning. The findings suggest that particular attention should be given to the pedagogical quality of guidance in the workplace to improve the overall efficiency of the dual apprenticeship system and to foster smooth and consistent transitions into work experience for novice apprentices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the concept of the apprenticeship seems to be universal, its institutional form and status differ around the world. This article discusses informal apprenticeship training as it occurs among car mechanics in the informal industrial complex of the Suame Magazine, Kumasi, Ghana. Using on-site research and theories of social learning and material culture, it focuses on the material aspects of the apprenticeship training and shows that materiality is, in multiple ways, a crucial aspect for both the content and learning practices of the apprenticeship system. The material nature of the Suame Magazine forms a strong learning environment and the status of apprentices is also directly related to the mastering of specific car parts. Moreover, the increasing use of electronics in vehicles demands a different curriculum for apprentices. The role of materiality in social learning is an apparent, though understudied, element in apprenticeship systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]