What is it about?
In the run-up to the introduction of 'technical education' following the Sainsbury Review, a series of case studies explored work-based learning organised as part of full-time post-16 education in England. The study found significant variations in the arrangements available to organise this activity, as well as in the nature of the learning taking place. Whilst some young people benefited from well-organised placements with specialist learning opportunities, others found themselves engaged in routine activities from which they mainly learnt the social norms of employment.
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Why is it important?
Workplace learning is central to plans for technical education in England. It is often assumed that learning will take place automatically once students are in the workplace. These findings are important because they suggest that technical education will suffer a tension between the potential to offer advanced learning opportunities in some occupational areas and limited opportunities in others. Variations across industries and job roles are no less evident than those in specific organisational approaches.
Perspectives
Having been involved in organised workplace learning since 2005, this study drew my attention to its potential to enhance rather than diminish inequality, even though it is often advocated as a way of drawing disengaged young people back into learning. This will be important in England if there is higher demand than capacity for learning opportunities in technical and professional education. It also sheds a little light on some theoretical approaches which have been used to valorise workplace learning internationally
Dr Bill Esmond
University of Derby
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘They get a qualification at the end of it, I think’: incidental workplace learning and technical education in England, Journal of Vocational Education and Training, October 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/13636820.2017.1393000.
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