Amidst concerns over skills shortages, both the current British government and its coalition predecessors have, against the grain of wider austerity measures, invested heavily in the apprenticeship system. The majority of apprentices are, and have historically been, employed within small businesses. However, research suggests that, in the main,…

Mimesis, learning through observation, imitation and practice, is held to be the main contributor to human endeavours. In this article, observation is proposed to be a key feature of trades learning through affording ease of entry into trade occupations' practice communities. Observation provides apprentices with significant socio-cultural and…

This study examines Finnish apprenticeship training stakeholders' perceptions of vocational expertise and experiences of workplace learning and guidance. The semi-structured interview data was collected in 2015 in two vocational fields: the social and health care services sector (five workplaces) and the technology sector (five workplaces). The…

The paper investigates how learning and processes of becoming are shaped and enacted in retail apprenticeship in Norway. The analysis draws upon a qualitative study of managers and apprentices in different retail sub-sectors. The empirical point of departure is managers who, more or less deliberately, throw apprentices into tasks from day one.…

An appreciative lens has been used to explore the question: what is it in the performance of managers, other employees, vocational educators and apprentices themselves, which enables an apprentice to experience a sense of thriving at work? The apprentice is understood to be involved in a process of continually developing and becoming as their…

This study addresses the socialisation processes taking place during the apprenticeship period within the hospitality industry, searching for explanations of drop-out and early staff turnover in the personal, social and educational experiences of the apprentices during their organisational socialisation process and vocational training. Data were…

There is an assumption that e-learning is considered as a valued resource with great potential. This research explores how hairdressing apprentices experience vocational e-learning and makes recommendations on how good practice can be shared. An estimated 35,000 hairdressing and barber salons account for a quarter of a million UK workers and…

Today's healthcare can be characterised by the increasing importance of specialisation that requires cooperation across disciplines and specialities. In view of the number of educational programmes for interdisciplinary cooperation, surprisingly little is known on how learning arises from interdisciplinary work. In order to analyse the learning…

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between learning and gender at the workplace, by means of an empirical study. It is argued that gendered participation is learnt at the workplace and does not constitute a "natural" division. The empirical part of the paper is based on a qualitative study of a bakery in which gender…