Search results

This study aims to examine how well print‐literacy support being provided to New Zealand Modern Apprentices (MAs) is supporting their study and practical work.

The authors undertook a qualitative analysis of a database of 191 MAs in the literacy programme, then in 14 case studies completed 46 interviews with MAs, their employers, industry coordinators and adult literacy tutors to obtain triangulated insights into each MA's learning.

A strong sense of disjunction appeared between the work culture and the norms of being print literate which adult literacy tutors worked to draw apprentices into. Interviewees perceived a divide between practice and theory, or “doing the job” and “doing bookwork”, so that MAs were faced with trying to be two different kinds of people to succeed in their apprenticeship.

Future research may explore the ways in which differing value‐sets that apprentices encounter can compete with and undermine creation of knowledge and skills.

Desirably, apprentices' literacy tutors should possess sufficient familiarity with trade terminology and practices to help bridge the divide between trade and print‐literate assumptions and values to the extent possible.

This study questions Lave and Wenger's assumption that mastering knowledge and skill requires newcomers to participate fully within their community of practice. It proposes instead that varying values, which apprentices must come to grips with need to be better aligned with one another.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges faced by tutors who were providing remedial literacy support to New Zealand apprentices.

As part of a wider, triangulated study of employers, tutors, apprentices, and industry training coordinators, the author undertook a qualitative analysis of ten in‐depth interviews with apprentices’ literacy tutors.

It was found that three issues strongly affected what tutors could achieve for their students. First, tutors experienced substantial role ambiguity; second, apprentices were working in oral and experiential modes more than in print‐literate modes; and third, tutors found they had to employ an instrumental approach to their teaching in response to the situation they encountered. For example, this often meant serving as a scribe for their student rather than being able to focus on building the apprentice's print literacy.

It is possible that the difficult situation faced by these literacy tutors may be replicated in similar situations where funding is insufficient to build competence in literacy.

The constraints on what the tutors could actually achieve within tight funding limits meant that most students, while on track to successfully complete their apprenticeship, still remained of low print literacy.

The study reveals how tutors’ instrumental approach ran counter to their traditional ethical stance associated with building empowered, competent citizens who could participate fully in their civic, social and economic settings. It also shows how this literacy support enhanced the apprentices’ confidence, yet they probably became further reinforced in their little‐changed, oral work culture.

This case study of Kano, Nigeria, examines changes over the past four decades in an education and labor market relationship that has evolved since the 10th century. We first offer an analysis of the historical origins of Kano’s current three-layered segmented labor market and its corresponding three distinct, but increasingly overlapping, educational pathways. We then compare the labor market entry pathways reported in 1974 and 1992 by two cohorts of young adult males, the respondents having first been surveyed as 17-year-olds in 1965 and 1979.

Despite higher levels of modern secular education in 1992 for males in all occupational destinations, apprenticeship participation was significantly lower in 1992 only for young men who entered the professional and clerical positions that dominate Kano’s public sector. Islamic training remained universal, and in fact increased significantly in years of participation across all occupational destinations. We next show that the jointly educated young men who were part of the first, more traditional sector of the labor market, were less seriously impacted in their earnings by Nigeria’s turbulent end-of-the-century economy. Finally, we discuss the possible advantages of an apprenticeship system coupled to modern secular education for moderating social inequality and stabilizing economic development in sub-Saharan Africa and other less-developed regions.

In what it innocuously describes as an industrial appraisal of the technical colleges and their government, the Federation of British Industries draws attention to the wide gap still existing between a number of senior technical colleges and the industrial organisations which they are supposed to serve. The gap is there because many local education authorities control the technical colleges through their further education sub‐committees and are reluctant to relinquish the direction of a sector of education where developments bring prominence and importance to the civic life of their towns and counties.

The main focus of this paper is a case study of the progression links onto a new undergraduate business programme (Business Enterprise) that have been established for modern apprentices between Coventry Business School and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Training and Enterprise. The context of the relationship between the two is initially established and this leads to an overview of the findings generated by a research study designed to highlight the views and expectations of major stakeholders in the apprenticeship scheme. In turn, this subsequently leads to an exploration of the implications for the design of higher education programmes targeted at apprentices.

This paper aims to present apprentices’ perceptions of their opportunities for progressing to higher education. Data gained through semi‐structured interviews with apprentices is placed in the context of the current policy agenda to widen participation in higher education and to increase the skills levels of those in employment. These policies are paramount for apprentices, many of whom fit both of these criteria. The research reported in this paper aims to answer the question “Do apprentices perceive there to be barriers in progressing to higher education?”

In total 44 interviews were conducted with apprentices during college placements and further interviews were conducted with apprentices who had progressed to higher education courses (HNC and HND) at the same colleges.

The findings show that employer support, time, finance and apprentices’ perceptions of their own ability are the key factors that determine whether apprentices will progress to higher‐level courses. The research highlights the need for a holistic approach to information, advice and guidance, ensuring that consistent and comprehensive information and advice are delivered to students.

Although the research presented in this paper focuses on the engineering and construction apprenticeships, the implications and findings are also pertinent to other apprenticeship programmes.

This paper will examine the two year modern apprenticeship undertaken by trainees in the English professional football industry.

Representatives of seven clubs were interviewed in the summer of 2005; all of them were responsible for youth development in their club. These interviews were the first of what will be three rounds of a longitudinal study, tracking the progress of some 126 apprentices.

The results of this empirical investigation fall under four headings; the rationale for youth development; the scale of the youth development operation; an analysis of the off‐the‐job training provided and the use of internal labour markets in football.

This paper argues that trainees will typically leave the industry having finished their apprenticeship, with heavily constrained options in the general labour market because the off‐the‐job training that is given to them is not, for the most part, appropriate

Although a number of articles have been published concerning the physiology of training young sportsmen and women, very little has been done by way of examining the resource allocations associated with the training given to young apprentices in one of the UK's key sporting industries.

To explore potential mismatches between stakeholders' perceptions and expectations of key and technical skills needed for an advanced modern apprentice within the UK.

Using data collected from the automotive sector, the template process is used to establish lecturer, student and employee stakeholder group's expectations of a person taking up employment alongside an advanced modern apprenticeship or as an advanced modern apprentice. Perceptions of the extent to which expectations are met and their relative importance are assessed.

All stakeholders acknowledge that a skills gap exists across key and technical skills. However, whilst students focus on technical skills, lecturers and employees place greatest emphasis on key skills and their ability to transfer them.

Although this research is based on the UK automotive sector, the findings emphasise the importance of key skills and understanding as part of students' learning. Research is needed to establish why students appear to undervalue these and establish whether similar patterns exist in other sectors.

The voluntarist approach to UK vocational education and training has, when combined with the need for further education colleges to be economically viable, resulted in courses that appear attractive but do not always meet the automotive sector's needs. Research is needed to establish whether this is occurring across other sectors.

This template process offers a new technique to explore stakeholders' perceptions and expectations. The findings provide new insights into the mismatches between expectations of the stakeholders in vocational education and training.

Provides an overview of modern apprenticeships, setting it within the context of the “skills gap”, particularly in relation to intermediate skills. Includes an outline of how the frameworks are produced and clarifies the distinction between modern apprenticeships and training credits, commonly known as YT. Focuses mainly on the take‐up of the programme in Devon and Cornwall. Discusses four sectoral areas ‐ engineering manufacture, the hospitality sector, construction and agriculture ‐ all major sectors in the region. Presents the responses of young people, employers and training providers and examines the viability of modern apprenticeships as a vocational alternative to full‐time education and its effectiveness in meeting the skills needs of employers.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate an innovative way to train adult apprentices for the construction industry.

The paper emphasizes that, in order to address skills shortages for international construction, training methods must be improved. It looks at the example of an adult apprenticeship scheme in Australia from the perspectives of the apprentice, the training provider and the employer.

The paper suggests that trained adult apprentices with previous experience can be more productive and loyal, and that this scheme has implications for the training of apprentices generally.

To date, the scheme has enjoyed success in Australia and for the provision of tradespeople in the international construction industry.

The paper illustrates how a training partnership has sought to provide necessary and increasingly scarce skills for an international construction organization through an original apprenticeship scheme.