Examines whether Britain's Training and Enterprise Councils are the best way to forge consensus on Modern Apprenticeship. Concludes with the need for a greater role for industry-based organizations and dialog about what training policy should be. (SK)

Drawing on recent work extending Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and activity theory, the article proposes that apprenticeship be reconceptualized as a more inclusive social theory of learning. Suggests the need for new criteria for reflexive learning. (SK)

The new youth training initiative in Britain is termed "modern apprenticeship." However, the history of the decline of apprenticeship over the last 30 years raises questions about whether this model can be reinvented to meet contemporary workplace needs. (SK)

Issues confronting the German dual system of vocational education and apprenticeship include financial restructuring and pressures for differentiation and flexibility. Continuing vocational training is facing problems of quality, access, and funding. (SK)

A survey of 97 apprentices and interviews with 16 apprentices and 8 supervisors in a technical and further education (TAFE) college in Australia found that apprentices felt less pressure to perform and more freedom to learn at their own pace. However, supervisors criticized the self-paced approach, competent/not-yet-competent assessment method,…

"Modern Apprenticeships" for young British school leavers have a flexible timespan and funding from local Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Study of six TECs found that funds for the program varied widely and were minimal compared to other government programs; employers do not have resources to accommodate apprentices; and the…

Interviews with 16 apprentices and 8 trainers focused on the extent to which they perceive the workplace as a learning environment. A clash between production and learning goals meant learning was undervalued and incidental to the process of production. This jeopardizes the development of continuous learning attitudes. (SK)

The distinction between formal and informal education is unhelpful. A reconceptualized concept of apprenticeship should reconcile the polarization between learner-centered and transmission approaches to instruction. (SK)

Interviews with 40 cooking apprentices, and teacher and employer comments, showed that many small-business owners are not concerned with employee learning or with how to create a learning environment. Many teachers had little or no contact with employers. Students lacked opportunities to practice under the supervision of workplace specialists. (SK)

In Australia, apprentices and trainees can choose training providers using public funds to finance training. User choice raises policy issues in several areas: access in remote locations, impact on equity groups, competitiveness of training markets, and tensions among stakeholders (government, employers, providers, apprentices). (SK)

A case study of Modern Apprenticeships in manufacturing companies partnered by two British further education colleges identified similarities and differences to traditional apprenticeships and changes in the role of colleges. (SK)

Interviews and focus groups with 32 apprentices, 21 employers, and 6 teachers in Australia's construction industry showed that on-the-job learning was perceived as more real and focused on "how"; off-the-job learning was less pressured, broader, more theoretical, and concerns with "why." The different contributions each made to…

Vocational educators (n=12) in an Australian boys' school's apprenticeship program viewed vocational education pragmatically and were concerned that their courses and students were perceived as inferior. They predominantly used a project-oriented approach and a facilitative teaching style. (SK)

As engineering technician training developed in New South Wales in the 1950s-1960s, technical educators were marginalized by power struggles over apprentice recruitment and the complications of industrial legislation. However, educators and professional associations took a leadership role in the development of technician training in the metal…

The British government's Modern Apprenticeship initiative has the following features: adoption of the best aspects of traditional apprenticeship, links with National Vocational Qualifications, breadth, and industry ownership. Key issues in the design of learning include holistic approaches to the attainment of occupational competence; effective…