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Technical and Further Education Colleges are the main providers of formal vocational education in Australia. This article investigates the perceived contribution of these Colleges to the development of skilled trade-persons. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from apprentice trade-persons and their workplace supervisors. The study shows that these Colleges do provide an important context that promotes vocational learning for apprentice trades-persons. The major strength of TAFE is the opportunity to practice with teacher feedback, without the press of production. In this context their skills improved and they learnt aspects of their trade that were not learnt in the workplace. The significance of these results is that TAFE colleges are perceived to provide ‘workplace learning’ that is not available to apprentices in particular workplaces. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

[No abstract available]

This article examines the attempt to revive apprenticeship training in Britain in the 1990s in the form of the Modern Apprenticeship. Drawing on historical and comparative examples, it puts this attempt into a broader context. The design of the Modern Apprenticeship is assessed and the operation in practice is evaluated. While some optimistic conclusions are drawn, there are worries in terms of the quantity and quality of training under the initiative. The Modern Apprenticeship is seen as being probably the last opportunity in Britain to revive the employment-based route to initial training.

Programs that incorporate work-based learning (WBL) experiences in connection with school activities are proliferating, yet we know very little about their quality as learning experiences for young people or the costs associated with participating in them. This article examines two programs operating in the same school district, where students receive course credit for participating in WBL. One program provides unpaid internships each year of high school; the other provides paid work experience for one semester. We contrast the kinds of learning opportunities each offers to students, as measured by a student survey and a case study of program operations. We focus on two issues: the quality of students' work experiences in these programs and the relationship between program participation and school learning, including effects on school work and social experiences. We find that students perceive the quality of their work experiences to be very similar across the programs despite differences in the type of work involved and in several structural features of the programs. We find that both programs have weaknesses in establishing connections between school and work and that the number of hours students work negatively affects some aspects of school performance, such as having time to do homework and the desire to stay in school. Our findings raise questions about the value added of WBL, given costs associated with the program design and delivery and, in some cases, with participation.

In this article, John Bishop summarizes research from many sources concerning the current debate over occupation-specific versus general education and training. He argues against a recommendation made by the Economist magazine that government scale back its support of school-based occupation-specific training and instead focus on academic education. Research shows, to the contrary, that productivity derives directly from social abilities (such as good work habits and people skills) and cognitive skills that are specific to the job and occupation, not from reading, writing, and mathematics skills. Old skills are becoming obsolete more rapidly, so new skills must be learned more frequently. This implies a greater overall need for occupational training, not a reduced need. The rise in job turnover has made employers more reluctant to hire inexperienced workers and provide them skill training, so the need for school-based vocational training has never been greater. Occupational turnover has been declining, so the payback period of occupational skills has been rising. © 1998, SAGE Periodicals Press. All rights reserved.

This article takes the passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 as the starting point for a conversation about the readiness of the United States for a structured school-to-work transition system. It examines evidence and issues pertaining to the youth labor market and the need to ensure that an economic imperative does not supersede democratic principles of schooling in visioning the beyond-school experiences of students.

During the vocational training of apprentices in the hairdresser's trade (n=169) and nursing care (n=255) in East Thuringia, an epidemiologic study was carried out between 1992 and 1993. The trainees were interviewed in a standardized way and had to undergo dermatologic examinations right at the beginning of their apprenticeship, six months (for the hairdressing apprentices) respectively twelve months (for the hairdressing and nursing apprentices) after they had started the apprenticeship and at the nd of the apprenticeship. In their case histories, 6.7% (n=17) of the nursing apprentices and 1.8% (n=3) of the hairdressing apprentices showed hand eczema. During the primary examination, 15.3 % (n=34) of the nursing apprentices and 17.8 % (n=30) of the hairdressing apprentices showed hand eczema. During the first follow-up examination the percentage of the persons showing hand eczema had increased to 24.9 % (n=49) respectively 39.5 % (n= 60). The final examination showed a slight decrease in the percentage of hand eczema for both professional groups. Although the majority of patients had regularly used skin care products, there was a high percentage of skin diseases of the hand among the trainees. An atopic skin diathesis (> 10 points according to Diepgen) could be identified as risk factor. Metal sensitization or respiratory atopy could not be associated with the development of hand eczema.

In 1996 the British Labour Party abandoned its commitment to a state-led training policy funded through a levy on business. It adopted a new scheme based on individual plans with minimal public intervention and no levy. Drawing on archival sources, this article examines the development of Labour's policy towards training over the last 15 yr. The authors argue that the new proposals mark the failure of the Party's attempt to locate itself within the mainstream of European social democracy. three factors explain this outcome: the changing nature of Labour's relationship with trade unions; an acceptance by the Party of the UK's uncoordinated market economy; and the decision by Labour to advance an electoral strategy aimed at reassuring business and voters. The Party's effort to meet employers' training policy preferences has decisively shaped the nature of its social democratic commitments.

This article explores the concept of apprenticeship as a model for learning at and about work in the late 20th century. The authors propose that social and activity theories of learning can usefully underpin a reconceptualisation of apprenticeship generally, and the recent British initiative the Modern Apprenticeship in particular. Central to this claim are two growing beliefs: first, that the distinction between formal and informal education is unhelpful because it implies the superiority of learning which takes place within educational institutions over, and distinct from, that which occurs in the workplace; second, that a reconceptualised apprenticeship needs to reconcile the previously polarised positions of learner-centred and transmission approaches to pedagogy. The article concludes by outlining a number of features which a contemporary apprenticeship should include and by indicating the extent to which they are featured in the Modern Apprenticeship. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Hairdressing (n = 169) and nursing apprentices (n = 255) have been included in a prospective follow-up study in the region of East Thuringia. Startingin 8/92, the apprentices have been interviewed and examined in a standardized way rignt at the beginning of their vocational training, after half a year (hairdressers) or one year (nurses), respectively, and, eventually, before graduation. In their case histories 6.7% (n = 17) of the nursing and 1.8% (n = 3) of the hairdressing apprentices reported of hand eczema. The first follow-up assessment revealed hand eczema in 15.3% (n = 34) of the nursing and in 17.8% (n = 30) of the hairdressing apprentices. The final examination after 3 years training gave evidence for a slight reduction in the frequency of hand eczema for both jobs. Although the majority of the trainees used skin care products and protective gloves on a regular base, skin damage was common. Atopic skin diathesis (> 10 points of Diepgen's atopy score) was identified to be a predictive risk factor for the development of occupation related skin problems. However, this could not be found for respiratory atopy and metal sensitization.