Work based learningTA 3 seminar Copenhagen June
2013
Hanne Shapiro
Danish technological institute
Centre for Policy & Business Analysis –
hsh@teknologisk.dk
My presentation
European Policy context
Recent measures
Work based learning- EUThe notion of apprenticeship in a
changing
economy
• Characteristics, implications and
conclusions
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EU Policy context
Societal consequences of the economic crisis
Unprecedented high youth unemployment
rates
Vocational Education and Training (VET) as a
remedy?
Countries with strong, attractive VET
systems, and especially those with
apprenticeship systems, tend to perform
better in terms of youth employment!
EU Policy context
2020 strategy for Smart, inclusive and
sustainble growth
Recognition of other forms of innovation
than STI- but also of skills under-utilsation
VET Excellence- situating VET in the
broader policy agenda – (tension between
social and economic aims)- still low
participation of low skilled in LLL 3.8%
The labour market imperative- regional
economic specialisation- opportunities also
for traditional sectors
Raising qualification levels≠ What
a person can do with these
• The Communication "Rethinking
Education" of 20 November 2012
stresses the importance of VET and of
"dual systems" of vocational education
and training as a key policy priority for
the EU.
• Lessons from PIAAC- Skills utilisation
• Key- competences- professionally
situated
policy measures
• Erasmus For All (E4A): The Commission will secure funds in
Erasmus for All, the proposed new Education and Training
programme for 2014-2020, for the increase of learning and
training periods abroad for VET students, including apprentices.
• Knowledge transfer from well-established dual system countries
towards countries seeking the introduction/revival of the
apprenticeship system through mobility for in-company trainers
and other VET professionals.
• Strategic Partnerships allow VET providers and other VET
stakeholders, notably social partners, to develop and transfer
innovative practices. The E4A Sector Skills Alliances (SSA) may
work on common curricula for apprenticeship programmes to
provide up to date, innovative and relevant skills. Policy reform
support ("prospective initiatives") in areas challenging for a
cluster of countries, such as apprenticeships, will complement
Strategic Partnerships and the use of structural funds.
• Opening Education- l earning spaces- formal, informal- nonformal, why have education reforms to a large extent failed?
Basic Figures
VET in the EU
• Students enrolled in alternance VET (apprenticeships) represent
33% of secondary VET students and 16% of upper-secondary
students.
• 24 EU countries have schemes in place where learners spend
more than 50% of the learning in the workplace
(alternance/apprenticeship).
• In 18 countries alternance models co-exist with VET that is
predominantly school-based but where there are required
periods of time spent in a company.
• In three countries there are no alternance pathways in the
strict sense but school-based VET contains required periods of
time spent on the workplace.
Work based and school based
apprentice schemes
New Skills for New Jobs
Gestaltungs- competences ≠
learning through imitation of crafts meister
Competences Conducive to
Innovation
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Opportunity competence. Entrepreneurship in its essence relates to the
identification of opportunities. Opportunity competence is more than just opportunity
recognition; it focuses on the systematic development of adequate solutions to
complex problems, thus emphasising the ability to view a problem from a different
perspective.
Social competence. This refers to interactions with others. Networks play an
essential role in the entrepreneurial process, fostering the collaborative generation
and development of new ideas. This requires the ability to communicate across
professional boundaries.
Strategic business competence. This competence involves the organisation of
different internal, external, human, physical, financial and technological resources as
well as setting, evaluating and implementing the strategies of the enterprise. These
competences are critical to driving employment growth in a start-up.
Industry-specific competence. This involves domain-specific competence (know-how)
and know-what. To be able to identify and exploit opportunities, entrepreneurs need
knowledge of the market, of clients’ needs, of resources and of competitors. Market
knowledge is constructed by participating in the market and in networks.
Entrepreneurial self-efficacy. This is a broad domain of meta-level competences:
competences which influence other competences positively. This area comprises those
constructs that have close conceptual links with more classical entrepreneurial
psychological constructs. Recent meta-analyses show that entrepreneurial selfefficacy in particular is one of the strongest individual level predictors for
entrepreneurial success
Entrepreneurial Capacity as a key
Competence
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Questioning – Developing a question about a problem, company, or industry, and then
working off that question to come up with new ways of solving it. Example: Peter Thiel
and Max Levchin, founders of Pay-Pal, asked the question “How can we be money to
other people?” This led to the idea of attaching money accounts to email, ultimately
resulting in Pay-Pal.
Observing – Going out and looking at different things: cultures, stores, people, and
then finding a way to adapt what you see to your business. Example: Howard Schultz
travelled to Italy, and fell in love with the atmosphere of romance and the pleasure of
coffee shops, and brought it back to America to create Starbucks.
Networking – Keeping in touch, finding newer, quicker, easier ways to communicate
with associates and/or potential clients. Example: Mike Lazaridis, founder of Research
in Motion, maker of the Blackberry, was intrigued at the fact that coke machines
could communicate to head-quarters, telling them that they needed to be restocked.
He took this idea and twisted it so that people could send information wirelessly
through their mobile phones.
Experimenting – Deconstructing and then rebuilding a product, a process, or an idea,
whether it is yours or a competitor’s, and then testing it in the marketplace. Example:
Michael Dell took what he learned from taking apart computers and applied his
knowledge to his future business, creating the Dell Direct Model.
Associative Thinking – putting new ideas or products together to form one cohesive
conglomerate. Example: Steve Jobs, after taking a calligraphy class, took that and
applied it to computers, creating the great typography of the Macintosh computers
Not a cure for all ailments
• A positive relationship between apprenticeship and
low youth unemployment
• BUT- apprenticeship is not a „cure‟ for high youth
unemployment.
• Apprenticeship is first and foremost about skill
development to the benefit of the individual (
employability) companies, and the wider economy.
• Models that emulate the qualities of apprenticeship
show some success in improving the labour market
transition of young people with poor school
achievements or other disadvantages.
WBL at tertiary Level
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DK : akademiuddannelser typically 21/2 years duration. Compulsory trainee period. 5B on the
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France, app 4% of the tertiary level students are in apprenticeship (data for
2008). Apprentices can prepare either the Higher Technicians’s Certificate
(“Brevet de techniciens supérieurs, BTS”) or the University technological
Diploma (“Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie, DUT”), both related to a ISCED
5B level.
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In Germany, Duale Studiengänge. Combine in-company vocational training with
theoretical studies at a university of applied sciences ("Fachhochschule"),
("Berufsakademie"), or("Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftsakademie") or, since
2009, at a dual university (“Duale Hochschule”). In 2010, 776 different
programmes – fachhockschulen deeply embedded in regional economies- cluster
policies.
ISCED scale Admission requirements: a relevant VET or general upper secondary
education. 12% of the total number of tertiary students were in WBL based HE
in 2011.
Tertiary level WBL
• In The Netherlands, the Associate Degree (AD)
permanent status since 2011. This is a 2-year course that
enables the transition from vocational specialists, workers
and job seekers to higher education. Structural pilotCentres for innovative Kaufmaschaft--• In the UK Foundation Degrees were introduced in 2001.
Combine varying extents of work-based learning with
taught elements within higher education institutions
depending on sector. Foundation degrees are equivalent to
the first two years of a traditional undergraduate degree
within the English system.
• Sweden Kvalificerat Yrkes Utbilding-1-3 years- regional
labour martket focus nationally recognised qualifications.
App 200 different programs at present.
• Italy- advanced apprenticeship- pilot- focus on economic
priority sectors
Changing boundaries and concepts
professional skills?
WBL?
Changing nature of work?
Pathways and connectivity?
Expansive
Restrictive
Dual status as a learner and as an
employee
Participation in multiple
communities of practice
Focusses on knowledge, skills and
competences
Status as an employee dominates
apprenticeship- progression for
career or further education
Organised time to reflect on
practice- theory- prcacticeiterative
Measures to create coherence
between school and work based
learning incl. recognition of prior
learning
WBL specific to the job – closed pathway
Narrow routinised job function
Focus primarily on a narrow set of skills-
Limited opportunities for reflection- poor
connectivity between practice- theory,
reflection changed action
Two separate universes – limited use of
recognition of prior learning, formative
assessment, portfolio….
Benefits
Dual responsibility setting standards
Market defined
Productive benefits
”soft skills, embedded in occupational
profile”
Cost sharing model
Higher social profile
Foundation for return to education
Equity
The importance of mid – level vocational
skills to the economy
Some Critical Issues
Transferability of competences?
Disconnect between school and work
Free Riders
Progression to further E&T- permeability- HE
Biases in access
Early streaming
Risk of cheap labour
Early drop outsGovernance mirrors former industrial
structures-does not recognise impact of value
chains- or service intensity in the economy
Parity of Esteem
WBL
• Across the EU a plurality and variety of legislation and
regulations governing WBL for youth- for adults.
• This legislative/regulatory diversity exists not only between
Member States,
but also between the different types of WBL
• Across the EU it has become increasingly common for WBL to be
integrated into curriculum requirements for both higher
vocational and academic education qualifications and to be
embedded in continuing training.
• But- low participation of low skilled
• Recognition of prior learning not taken to scale
• Lack of permeability between vocational and non vocational
routes-
WBL and the 21st century work
place
• It can easily become routine production rather
than learning through production
• • It may not facilitate well-rounded learning
about work- ( underlying work organisation
practices- Skills utilisation failing in many, lack
of tradition for having apprentices, level of
specialisation)
• Suitable to more stable conditions of skill and
employment?
• Framing complex topics – high abstraction
level?
The future of work is now!
Changed Value Chain, firm inter-dependency
Projet based, Complexity und Specialisation
Employability
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THE HUMAN
SUCCESS FACTOR
Competence: T-Shape
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Growth
Broad understanding and deep overarching
competences
Personality, (Multiple-)Specialisation, Interdisciplinary
Expertise
© Matthias Landmesser, 2013
An integrated learning environment
• Risk of – defecits- skilled workforce• Situating VET as part of economic & innovation
policies
• Seamless services from the college/ local employer
reps- strategic partnering- broader issues
• Flexibility in placements and duration of school
periods
• Contact and support between the school and the
work place during company training periods
• Seamless matching- students- company ( companies
without HRM department)
• Options to align school based education content
with company training – coherence-
Quality
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Assessment and recording achievement approaches that include:
– Formative assessment
– Student digital portfolios
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Measures to match learners and placements;
 Common definition of quality assurance mechanisms that create
coherence across learning arenas
 Competence and outcome based curriculum
 Joint reflection of the achieved quality level and definition of actions
for improvement- at all system levels
Conceptual frameworks for Curriculum development
Trans-disciplinarity
Using Technologies for the real world A
repository of resources for teachers and
students
Students work on- prototypes- and can in a VET
context produce real life solutions
Alternative energy…..
agriculture/food
Water resources,
Transport
STEM- Advanced manufacturing
application to real problems
OER- ICT collaborative communities
Examples
Studio Schools- UK - The Studio School builds on a 917 workday. Enquiry-based learning (EBL) lies at the
heart of the Studio Schools' curriculum model. In
Studio Schools, students will learn the National
Curriculum principally through Enterprise Projects in
their school, local businesses and surrounding
community. To root students’ learning in the real
world most projects will involve external commissions.
So whether it is a health report for their local
hospital or a business brief for a local employer,
students’ learning will be authentic and will actively
involve them in the community- solving challenges that
add value to the community-
Centres for Innovative
Kauftmanschaft
The CIVs offer vocational education at ISCED level 3, and four (five) plus
workforce development
Each centre has a comprehensive offer that matches the specific
industry’s skills and innovation needs Two centers of vocational expertise
(MBO level) have also been established based on a similar model as the
centres of innovative craftsmanship .
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CIV Chemicals Limburg: focuses on advanced chemicals
CVI Chemical Limburg (CIVEC) is a partnership between DSM and
SABIC as main business partners, vocational institutions Leeuwenborch
and Arcus and University College South (Hogeschool Zuid) as
educational partners, and the Province of Limburg as the public
authority involved. They work together with regional SMEs, the
universities of Maastricht and Eindhoven, secondary vocational schools
and other public institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce. The
aim of CIVEC is to guarantee continuity of adequate staff and
innovative capacity in the chemical sector. CIVEC wants to provide an
excellent ‘learn-work-research-environment’ (LWRE) based on direct
interaction between private enterprise and students within an
attractive, innovative physical (Chemelot campus) and online
environment. Theory and practice are integrated in CIVEC in that
students and teachers work on assignments and perform research in
real life pilot plants which are part of the education programme.
Aalto University
Aalto University was established in 2010 based on a merger of three Finnish
universities: The Helsinki School of Economics, Helsinki University of Technology
and The University of Art and Design Helsinki.
The University has established what they call “factories with three
fields of interdisciplinary studies. These are: The design factory,
the media factory and the service factory. The terminology “the
factory” has been adopted because students work with designing
and prototyping actual products and solutions going through the
production steps from real life. The underlying idea is that
students get an opportunity to apply theory in a practical context
by developing a product or a service solution that responds to a
“real life problem” defined by external customers. As such the
model also builds on Nordic traditions about interdisciplinary,
project and problem based education- and open innovation. ”
learning through dedsign for a productive socially responsible
economy”
Key enabling features
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Students work on authentic problems and challenges strongly linked to
social and economic local circumstances
How to make a business plan- or how to understand real problems/needs
- and finding new solutions to these?
Learning through experimentation, production of ”artefacts” and
solutions for a better world”
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ICT and OER plays a central role in accessing quality resources ( global
knowledge base), - critically and creatively navigation in knowledge
sources, in addressing complex problems, learning and enterprising as a
collaborativef effort- possibilities in terms of scaling
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Informal, formal non-formal learning linked
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Public- private – NGO partnerships
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Social- enterprising - rethinking work/ rethinking growth?
21 st Century VET – Reinventing Growth for a
connected socially responsible world
Scoping the external
environment; Identifying
needs/ opportunitiesmobilize resourcesGlobal value chain
perspective
Envisionment prioritisation
through bottom up
approaches- what are the
genuine local assets?
Great global challengesrethinking manufacturing
for solutions that matter
Fx. Great Global Action
Consider scale and
mainstreaming from
the outset
Rethinking local
assets
”Tinkering” for the real world( entepreneurial skills–
technological skills, problem
solving, design to cost,
collaboration, entrepreneurial
capcity- Innovation)
The factory as a learning model
– experimentation. Trial and
error. Production Methaphor
for learning
OER- Source materials:
Ex WWW: Practical actionCREST Global Challenges (
energy, food ,water., health.Social Enterprise- rethinking
public works
Enabling factors
Policy Aligningeconomic, labour
market, voc ed
Institutional
autonomy- multidimensional
accountability
Strategic
linkages and
partnerships the
local communityRecognition of
prior learning