Partnership and Collaboration in Work-Oriented Learning in Higher Education (original) (raw)
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The paper reports on preliminary findings from an EU funded project on collaboration and partnership between external stakeholders and universities to deliver work-related learning to adults with existing labour market experience in order to increase skills and competences for the knowledge economy as envisaged in Agenda 2020. The paper engages with debates on the professionalization of vocational education and consequently the vocationalisation of
Learning for real: work-based education in universities
… Knowledge, The New Vocationalism and Higher …, 2000
This chapter examines work-based learning as an encapsulation of working knowledge. The focus is on university education in the United Kingdom and the challenges that the introduction of work-based learning alongside more traditional forms of study pose to their academic ...
2011
In the UK, as elsewhere, employers are urged to invest in workforce development to increase competitiveness DIUS 2007). Policy makers have argued that demographics in the UK require the existing workforce to be 'up-skilled' through part-time and work-based learning (WBL) including via new vocationally-based foundation degrees (FDs). However, in a climate of financial constraint, higher education (HE) is increasingly viewed as an investment in the skills of the workforce or individual, raising questions regarding the effectiveness of that investmentparticularly given evidence that increasing the supply of HE level skills may not be sufficient to improve an organisation's productivity and performance . Recent analyses recognise that demand for new skills, deriving from work design and opportunities to deploy skills are critical factors. Consequently, we need greater understanding of the relationship between learning practices, the context of the workplace and the potential role of HE WBL in skills utilisation.
Work‐based learning at higher education level: value, practice and critique
Studies in Higher Education, 2010
Since the 1980s there has been significant growth in the engagement of higher education with workforce development, with among other things the emergence of a distinct if varied area of provision commonly referred to as work-based learning. Recent examination of practice and literature indicates a growing sophistication in the way that work-based learning is being theorised and facilitated in higher education, with its gradual emergence as a distinct field of practice and study supported by relevant pedagogies and concepts of curriculum. Tensions continue to exist between the demands and opportunities provided by the workplace and the need to develop capable practice, support personal development and maintain academic validity; however, universities are beginning to engage with these issues at a deeper level than that suggested by simple notions of employer engagement and skills development, and the evidence indicates that well-designed work-based programmes are both effective and robust.
A manifesto for higher education, skills and work-based learning
Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
Purpose This paper is prompted by recent professional and political events and specifically the politically oriented “Manifesto for Work” recently published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The purpose of this paper is to propose a manifesto for the broad professional sphere of higher education, skills and work-based learning. Design/methodology/approach This paper utilises a unique form of political ideology critique, applied to the CIPD’s manifesto for work, to propose alternative directions for practice, research and policy. Findings This paper highlights four key areas which need further research and development in the area of higher education, skills and work-based learning. These are discussed in relation to: overhauling corporate governance; inclusive workplaces, flexible working and disadvantaged groups; investment in skills, lifelong learning and well-being; and re-balancing working practices and rights. Research limitations/implications This ...
International Education Studies
The aim of establishing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) marked the development of the Bologna process since its beginning, while it exercised a decisive influence on the content of the higher education policy initiatives undertaken over the years. One of the most important goals of the relevant policy making was to bridge the university-to-labour market gap and to improve the employability of graduates. Such aims require a consistent and multidimensional cooperation between higher education institutions and the social partners, mainly employers, from which significant benefits may derive for all parties involved. As a result, many types of work based learning have been promoted in higher education with the most prominent of them being the student work experience programmes organised by universities in collaboration with enterprises. The paper analyses the guidelines provided by the EHEA framework with regard to the cooperation between universities and the social partners. ...
Industry and Higher Education
This article offers an early assessment of the extent and scope of participation by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Degree Apprenticeship (DA) provision for meeting the broader workforce development objectives of the UK Government. While the take-up of DAs by HEIs and businesses has been undeniably lower than the publicly declared Government targets, the issues seem to be related to matters of institutional ‘stickiness’ in HEIs and implementation practicalities for businesses. The article reflects on the institutional dynamics involved in HEIs’ collective shifting of their practice in response to Government intervention to associate funding with HE–business collaboration. The authors’ observations are drawn from the experience of one HEI; they adopt an auto-ethnographic perspective to reflect on the role of the DA model as one way of stimulating how HEIs can work with businesses to co-design workforce development initiatives and offer ideas for future development.
2016
With Welsh Government and European Structural Fund (ESF) support, Welsh universities have been incentivised to engage regional employers in ‘upskilling’ working adults and encourage non-traditional routes into higher education. Participating universities have provided short accredited courses through work-based learning projects in subject areas identified as having skills deficits. Such instrumental curricula brought with them the need for tailored pedagogies and assessment strategies to support the achievement of higher education credits for these non-traditional university students. It is here that the link to the thesis’ theoretical framing is established. It draws on sociological curriculum theory that distinguishes and assigns power differentials to curriculum and which cautions against an overemphasis on skills-based knowledge within vocational curriculum. The premise is proposed that the knowledge type inherent to these work-based learning courses is very different to mainst...