The contradictory location of high school apprenticeship in Canada

Youth apprenticeships in Canada: on their inferior status despite skilled labour shortages

“…If anything, such a limited view on apprenticeships and employment in the skilled trades actually serves to highlight its perceived inferiority over other forms of post-secondary education and employment, which are integral parts of prominent public discourses about knowledge-based economies. Trades work thus occupies a contradictory location in relation to these discourses (Taylor 2010). More important, therefore, would be public debates about the value of different types of skills and employment and how those who develop skills in alternative pathways such as apprenticeships fit into occupational and organisational cultures and hierarchies.…”

“…In addition to earning while learning, entering an apprenticeship was seen by several youth as an opportunity to substitute the drudgery of school-based, academic learning for on-the-job, practical training: The division between book learners and hands-on learners, theoretical and practical knowledge, is reproduced in the comments of youth apprentices (Taylor 2010). In fact, many of our participants highlighted precisely what is often considered a negative aspect of trades employment -physically challenging labour -as a key reason for becoming apprentices:…”

“…Although these programmes have led to a modest increase in the number of young people entering apprenticeships, there is a long way to go before they become as popular as college and university pathways. Completion rates continue to be low, and apprenticeships have remained a form of post-secondary education that are generally perceived as important, but perhaps better suited for those 'less ambitious or talented' and thus off the radar for many Canadian families and young people (Taylor 2010). In this paper, we draw on interview data with youth who began an apprenticeship in high school in the Canadian province of Ontario, to ask why young people do enter apprenticeships despite their marginal status.…”

Perpetuating education–jobs mismatch in a high school internship programme: an ecological model

“…While educational streaming is less overt than in the past, historical divisions between 'academic' and 'vocational' curricula persist with 'vocational' courses seen as more appropriate for non-college-bound students (Taylor 2010). It appears that, without intending to, the HIP reinforces privilege within the secondary school system.…”

The vocational curriculum in the lower secondary school: material and discursive practices

“…The recent Wolf report (2011) into vocational education in England acknowledged the importance of vocational subjects within schools, but also argued for restricting their coverage within a core curriculum for 14-16 year olds. This ambivalence towards vocational learning is echoed elsewhere in the international literature, with some arguing that vocational subjects only tend to segregate young people further along socio-economic lines (Polesel 2009), may have a historical stigma attached to them (Taylor 2010) and are often seen as a poor alternative to work-based training (OECD 2010).…”