Reconstructing apprenticeship for the twenty-first century: lessons from Norway and the UK

Abstract

The paper is a comparative study of the attempts made to revitalize apprenticeship in the UK and Norway in the 1990s. It begins by outlining a cycle of repeated policy failure to develop a high-quality work-based route in the UK and highlights a set of underlying problems that Modern Apprenticeships (MA) failed to resolve and which remain largely un-addressed by the Labour government's current reform proposals. These include: the limited educational breadth provided by 'key skills'; policy makers' preference for an expanded post-compulsory education system such that the work-based route comes to be seen as 'the provider of last resort' for the socially disaffected; and weak employer engagement indicative of the low demand for skill across large parts of the UK economy.The paper then compares these with the main problems and challenges facing the Norwegian '2+ model' of apprenticeship, introduced in the mid-1990s as part of 'Reform 94'. In an attempt to move beyond of cial evaluation reports, the research draws upon interviews conducted in 2000 and 2001 with Norwegian policy makers, teacher unions and county education of cials along with senior management, teachers and apprentices at seven upper secondary schools. The paper identi es several problems facing the Norwegian apprenticeship model including the overly theoretical nature of the rst two school-based years, issues of student motivation, uneven teacher engagement with the pedagogic goals of Reform 94, resource constraints, and the institutionalized separation between school and workplace. An assessment is then made of the relative prospects for revitalizing apprenticeship in the UK and Norway. The conclusion reached is that, in the face of two very different sets of problems and constraints, the prospects may still be somewhat brighter in Norway.

Does the Concept of Apprenticeship still have Relevance as a Model of Skill Formation and Vocational Learning in Contemporary Society?

“…For the sake of learning itself, apprenticeship is capable of motivating young people who do not continue their education in schools to learn (Payne 2002), and the skills and knowledge taught may be transferable within the industry.…”

“…As the apprenticeship system contains the work-based learning element it helps learners move from school to work (Payne 2002). However, it may be difficult to meet the needs of both employers and learners (Payne 2002).…”

OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training: A Learning for Jobs Review of Mexico 2009

“…In Norway, extensive dialogue with employers and trade unions was crucial in the preparation and implementation of a major reform of VET in 1994 (Payne, 2002). Similarly, social partnership is embedded in the institutional structure of apprenticeships in several European countries (Ryan, 2000).…”

“…Similarly, social partnership is embedded in the institutional structure of apprenticeships in several European countries (Ryan, 2000). Conversely, in the United Kingdom weak employer engagement in VET has hindered the implementation of apprenticeships (Payne, 2002;Ryan, 2000) and has been an obstacle to effective policy development in VET (Gleeson and Keep, 2004). Stronger employer engagement is also a pre-condition to the implementation of other recommendations contained in this report: the development of high quality workplace training (see section 2.2) and progressively creating a vocational qualifications framework, recognised by employers (see section 2.4).…”

The Norwegian competence reform and the limits of lifelong learning

“…In pursuing its vision of lifelong learning, Norway initiated reforms to all levels of its education system in the 1990s (see Payne 2000Payne , 2002 and, since 1999, has been involved in the implementation of a major tripartite reform of adult and continuing education and training, the so-called Competence Reform. If ever there was a country where one might have expected a major adult learning initiative to have really taken root and succeeded, then Norway would probably be at the top of many people's lists.…”