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Occupational expertise has always been constituted and afforded recognition and status in work contexts, however, these contexts are becoming increasingly interconnected and interrelated, underpinned by, 'intangible assets'. To explore this complex process and its implications for vocational education and training (VET), this article uses the concept of expertise as a 'capacity for action' and its emphasis on the communicative dimension of expertise. It explores the implications of these ideas by identifying, firstly, the ways in which knowledge is produced, consumed, adapted, and discarded through work practices and, secondly, how the valuing of expertise arises from the contexts in which its deployed and shaped. The paper concludes with a framework to show how the necessary components for the development of expertise as a 'capacity for action' within VET programmes could be portrayed. It argues that this could offer the means to strengthen the capacity of VET learners (at whatever stage) to both utilise their expertise and understand how it is being recognised and valued.

In a spirit of collegial support, this paper argues that Beckett and Hager's theoretical justification and empirical exemplifications do not do full justice to the complexity of group or team learning. We firstly reaffirm our support for the theoretical argument Becket and Hager make, though expressing some reservations about Complexity Theory, to explain the taken-for-granted assumptions that learning by an individual is the paradigm case of learning and that context plays a minimal role in this process. Drawing on our joint and separate work, we demonstrate that Becket and Hager's argument is less radical than it may initially seem because it is predicated on: (i) cognitive-bounded rather than "distributed" or "extended" conception of mind; (ii) material rather than a "immaterial" conception of activity; and (iii) co-present rather than a "fractional" or "connective" conception of ontology. Despite making this critique, we conclude by making the case that we are adding further substance to Becket and Hager's overarching argument and, in doing so, encouraging them to be more radical about how they conceptualise the complexity of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moulier Boutang's book "Cognitive Capitalism" introduces a radically different conception of the key resources -- 'immaterial labour' and 'capture of externalities' -- for economic activity, compared with the argument in the knowledge economy discourse that professionals manipulate 'symbols'. The paper explores this claim by firstly, outlining the tenets of Moulier Boutang's argument and explaining why it introduces a new conception of value compared with how that concept is normally defined in neo-classic and Marxist economics. Secondly, explaining why client-facing project teams constitute a paradigmatic example of immaterial activity. Thirdly, makes visible the modes of activity which facilitate the capture of externalities by supplementing Moulier Boutang's concept with Boltanski and Thevénot's ideas about different economies or conceptions of worth. Case study evidence of a global engineering consulting company is then used to identify three expressions of immaterial activity -- educative', 'experimental' and 'entrepreneurial' -- that assist engineers to articulate their value to clients. The paper concludes by arguing immaterial activity: (i) constitutes a form of expertise that is very different from the prevailing knowledge economy wisdom that knowledge workers manipulate symbols explicitly or tacitly; and, (ii) problematises the sui generis nature of the global 'employability' skills discourse.

Taking the distinction between the Institution of Apprenticeship, that is, the social partnership arrangements which underpin its organisation, and Apprenticeship as a Social Model of Learning, in other words, the configuration of pedagogic and occupational etc. dimensions which constitute the model, as its starting point the paper: (i) argues the emergence of de-centred, distributed and discontinuous conditions associated with project-work present challenges for extant ideas about apprenticeship as a social model of learning; (ii) explores this claim in relation to Fuller and Unwin's four inter-connected dimensions of apprenticeship as a social model of learning by considering a case study of apprenticeship designed to prepare apprentices to work in the above conditions; (iii) relates issues arising from the case study to research on project work from the fields of Organisational and Cultural Studies; and (iv) based on this evidence base introduces a typology of "Apprenticeship for Liquid Life."

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.

For over a decade policy-makers have claimed that advanced industrial societies should develop a knowledge-based economy (KBE) in response to economic globalisation and the transfer of manufacturing jobs to lower cost countries. In the UK, this vision shaped New Labour's policies for vocational education and training (VET), higher education and skills, and it continues to be influential. Learning for the KBE, according to policy-makers' claims, requires individuals to acquire measurable knowledge or skills in the form of qualifications through formal education and training, which will allegedly improve national economic competitiveness and productivity. This paper argues that quite different conceptualisations of learning for the KBE can be drawn from the fields of economic geography and regional studies; in particular, the "cluster" literature, which analyses the processes which underpin innovation and learning in regional agglomerations of economic activity. The paper argues that the cluster literature can and should be used to open up a debate about the nature, scale and location of the learning processes that support the KBE; the implications of which have not yet been fully appreciated in the fields of VET and skills policy. Moreover, when these insights are combined with those from social theories of learning, a more holistic understanding of how innovation occurs emerges. The paper concludes with some recommendations for the Coalition Government as it develops policies to rebalance and grow the UK economy, and suggests that these recommendations may also be relevant for other countries facing similar challenges.

The paper argues that over the past two decades there has been a paradox at the heart of the literature on the professions: inter-professional work has been a growing feature of work in the global economy since the 1990s, however, this has been rarely acknowledged. The paper addresses this paradox in three ways. The paper explains how changes in the organization of work, from functional differentiation to project-work, have resulted in the increasing prominence of inter-professional working and learning, and uses a case study to illuminate the learning challenges associated with this change. It then explains the way in which debates about the contribution of disciplinary knowledge to professions formation have marginalised discussions about inter-professional work and learning, before identifying a conceptual framework to address the inter-professional learning challenge professionals now face. The paper concludes by outlining ways in which universities and professional institutes could work together to redesign programmes offered for initial professional formation, so they can assist learners to develop the capabilities required for inter-professional working and learning.

The paper analyses a form of interprofessional working and learning (IPWL)--the fleeting spatial and temporal constitution of project teams with little prior history of working together--that is an increasing feature of work in the global economy. The paper argues firstly: (i) this form of working and learning is relatively under-researched in professional, vocational and workplace learning (PVWL); and, (ii) the research traditions--Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Cultural Anthropology/Symbolic Interactionist (CA/SI)--that some researchers in PVWL have drawn on to investigate IPWL do not allow them to capture the cognitive and symbolic complexity of this activity. Secondly, it is possible to reveal the nature of this complexity when the concepts and methods associated with CHAT and CA-SI-based approaches are supplemented with the concepts of "inference", "space of reasons", "restructuring" and "recontextualisation" (Guile, 2010). The paper demonstrates this claim by reinterpreting a classic study of the aforementioned form of working and learning undertaken by Hall, Stevens and Torolba that drew on concepts and methods from CA and SI (2002).

This article argues that once apprenticeship is conceptualised as a social model of learning, then it no longer follows that apprenticeship is an age- or phase-specific model of vocational formation. The article explores this claim through drawing on a case study of the design of a Foundation Degree (FD) in aircraft engineering, which was explicitly designed to support the formation of "new entrants" and the reformation of "career switchers" vocational practice. Using the concept of recontextualisation the article highlights how: (1) the company (KLM) and the college (Kingston) FDs designed the teaching and learning curriculum to facilitate the above goals; and (2) learners used the opportunities provided by these curricula to develop their vocational practice. The article concludes with a number of observations about the conceptual and policy implications of its analysis. (Contains 1 note and 1 figure.)

This article makes a number of interconnected arguments. First, spatially and temporally distributed project teams constitute a new form of interprofessional work and, as a corollary, a new site for interprofessional learning. Second, researchers in cultural-historical activity theory have generated some concepts and methods, for example, "placeless organisations" (Nardi); "object of activity" (Leont'ev); "knotworking" (Engestrom) and "relational agency" (Edwards) that can be used to analyse this new form of working and learning. Third, that when these concepts and methods are supplemented by Guile's (2010) "mediated expressions of learning," it is possible to provide a new conceptual framework to analyse the interplay between interprofessional working and learning. Finally, that this new framework enables researchers to shed light on the mediated relation between reasons, judgement, and action in interprofessional activity. This article explores this claim through an analysis of a critical incident that occurred in an interprofessional team working in the Creative and Cultural Sector in the United Kingdom. (Contains 1 footnote.)

The paper questions the link that policy-makers assume exists between qualifications and access to employment in the creative and cultural (C&C) sector. It identifies how labour market conditions in the C&C sector undermine this assumption and how the UK's policy formation process inhibits education and training (E&T) actors from countering these labour market conditions. It demonstrates how non-government agencies ("intermediary organizations") are creating new spaces to assist aspiring entrants to develop the requisite forms of "vocational practice", "social capital" and "moebius strip" (i.e., entrepreneurial) expertise to enter and succeed in the sector. It concludes by identifying a number of: (a) new principles for the governance of E&T at the national level; (b) pedagogic strategies to facilitate "horizontal" transitions into and within the C&C sector; and (c) skill formation issues for all E&T stakeholders to address. (Contains 2 notes.)

The paper argues that: (1) the demise of "occupational" and "internal" and the spread of "external" labour markets in growth areas of UK economy such as the creative and cultural sector, coupled with the massification of higher education which has created a new type of post-degree "vocational need", means that the transition from education to work should be re-thought as the development of vocational practice rather than the acquisition of qualifications; and (2) in order to re-think transition as the development of vocational practice it is necessary to eviscerate the legacy of the "traditional" conception of practice in UK educational policy. The paper reviews a number of alternative social scientific conceptions of practice, formulates more multi-faceted conceptions of vocational practice, and discusses their implications for UK and EU educational policy. (Contains 6 notes.)

This article explores the extent to which aspiring entrants to the performing arts industry have to develop both the forms of "vocational practice" employers require and "social capital" to enable them to operate effectively in external labour markets (i.e. contract-based and networked-generated work). It focuses on the work of one college--the WAC Performing Arts and Media College--that has developed and designed together with industry partners a programme to help aspiring entrants to enter the performing arts industry. Concepts from social capital and situated learning theory are used to illustrate the way in which WAC: (i) has accumulated the expertise and networks over the years to create an integrated learning teaching curriculum; (ii) uses this curriculum to develop participants' vocational practice and social capital and thus position them to make effective transitions into the performing arts' notoriously tricky labour market. It concludes by highlighting the implications of this analysis for UK education and training policy. (Contains 6 notes and 1 figure.)

This paper analyses a work placement scheme established to create the conditions to: (i) incubate new designs in the jewellery sector in Birmingham; (ii) support a jewellery company compete more effectively in the global market; (iii) assist a newly qualified graduate jeweller to enter the jewellery sector. It introduces a new theoretical framework based on concepts from: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory--"project-object"; Workplace Learning--"vocational practice"; Philosophy of Mind--"space of reasons"; to analyse individual and organisational contributions to workplace learning in this scheme. It identifies the strategies and tactics used by: (i) the organisations involved with the scheme to facilitate the incubation of the new designs, and (ii) an aspiring jewellery designer to create a new product range. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this conceptual framework for debates in workplace learning about: (i) the "front-loaded" versus "practice-based" conceptions of vocational education and (ii) the role of epistemic objects and practices in the development of vocational practice.

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. (Contains 1 figure and 2 notes.)

The paper argues that the emergence of a new mode of production--co-configuration is generating new modes of expertise that EU policies for lifelong learning (LLL) are not designed to support professionals to develop. It maintains that this change can be seen most clearly when we analyse Small and Medium Size (SMEs) enterprises in the creative industries. Drawing on concepts from Political Economy--"Moebius strip enterprise/expertise" and Cultural Historical Activity Theory--"project-object" and the "space of reasons", the paper highlights conceptually and through a case study of an SME in the creative industries what is distinctive about the new modes of expertise, before moving on to reconceptualise expertise and learning and to consider the implications of this reconceptualisation for EU policies for lifelong learning. The paper concludes that the new challenge for LLL is to support the development of new forms of expertise that are difficult to credentialise, yet, are central to the wider European goal of realising a knowledge economy. (Contains 3 figures and 8 notes.)

The first aim of this article is to present a characterization of the techno-mathematical literacies needed for effective practice in modern, technology-rich workplaces that are both highly automated and increasingly focused on flexible response to customer needs. The second aim is to introduce an epistemological dimension to activity theory, specifically to the notions of boundary object and boundary crossing. We draw on ethnographic research in a pensions company and focus on data derived from detailed analysis of the diverse perspectives that exist with respect to one symbolic artifact, the annual pension statement. This statement is designed to facilitate boundary crossing between company and customers. Our study shows that the statement routinely failed in this communicative role, largely due to the invisible factors of the mathematical-financial models underlying the statement that are not made visible to customers or to the customer Enquiry Team whose task is to communicate with customers. By focusing on this artifact in boundary-crossing situations, we identify and elaborate the nature of the techno-mathematical knowledge required for effective communication between different communities in the pensions company, and suggest the implications of our findings for workplaces more generally. (Contains 3 footnotes and 3 figures.)

This paper challenges the prevailing conventional wisdom in the UK that the government is the sole architect of the education and training (E&T) system and that qualifications are the magic bullet for securing employment in the creative and cultural sector. It also argues that if policy-makers are serious about wanting to diversify the occupational profile of the creative and cultural sector to reflect both the multicultural composition of the UK's population and the rising demand for broader creative and cultural products and services, then it is necessary to develop a less qualification-driven and more multifaceted approach to facilitating access and supporting learning and development in that sector. The paper maintains that this presupposes a shift from the current credentialist strategy to develop "creative apprenticeships" towards a strategy that supports people to "be apprenticed" in a variety of ways in the creative and cultural sector. (Contains 6 notes.)

This paper maintains that post Lave and Wenger VET has overlooked the relation between vocational curricula and workplace practice. The paper attributes this oversight to Kant's legacy in the "situated" tradition in VET and critics of that tradition. The paper argues that when Vygotsky's concept of mediation is allied to the recent work of Robert Brandom and John McDowell, it is possible to formulate a non-dualisitic conception of the relation between mind and world that goes beyond the Kantian separation of mind and allows us to grasp the interdependency of theory and practice. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of this philosophical and theoretical claim for vocational curriculum and vocational pedagogy.

Describes how electronic resources can support learning in small and medium-sized enterprises by identifying connections among management strategy, technology deployment, and knowledge creation. Examples of emerging practices in the use of electronic resources are used to develop a matrix that matches type of learning (adaptive, collaborative, reflective) with type of resources. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

Presents a typology distinguishing conceptions of generic skill as (1) the property of individuals versus relationship between individuals and work context and (2) skills used in routine versus novel situations. Asserts that work experiences that develop generic skills must be part of a curriculum that supports the practice of learning through work. (Contains 91 references.) (SK)

Analyzes how students learn and develop through work experience. Presents a typology of work experience that identifies five models: traditional, experiential, generic, work process, and connective. Suggests that connectivity may provide the basis for a productive and useful relationship between formal and informal learning. (Contains 82 references.) (JOW)