Abstract
Apprenticeship is probably not the first approach to human resource development (HRD) that many contemporary managers and trainers would naturally refer to or even consider using as they seek ways in which to build workforce capacity. It can be dismissed as an anachronism in the light of the emergent discourse about the so-called knowledge economy and knowledge workers, as well as calls for greater occupational boundary crossing and multi-disciplinary/multi-skilled approaches to work. Knowledge workers are presumed to enter the workplace fully formed, armed with theoretical knowledge and (possibly) some work experience from their university degrees. In contrast, apprenticeship is positioned within an initial vocational education and training (IVET) paradigm and as a journey towards intermediate level expertise. Hence, for some, apprenticeship is an institutional arrangement between the state, employers and (sometimes) trades unions to train young people. For others, apprenticeship has echoes of a medieval world of individual craftsmen (sic), such as carpenters, goldsmiths and stonemasons who earned a living from their skills and formed guilds to control entry into their craft.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bensman, J. & Lilienfield, R. (1991) Craft and Consciousness, Occupational Technique and the Development of World Images, 2nd edition, New York: Aldine De Gruyter.
Braverman, H. (1974) Labor and Monopoly Capital, New York: Monthly Review Press.
Casey, C. (1995) Work, Self and Society: After Industrialism, London: Routledge.
Felstead, A., Fuller, A., Jewson, N. & Unwin, L. (2009) Improving Working for Learning, London: Routledge.
Fuller, A. (1999) Qualifications, Adults and Social Change, unpublished PhD thesis, London: Institute of Education, University of London.
Fuller, A. & Unwin, L. (2004) Expansive Learning Environments: Integrating Organizational and Personal Development. In H. Rainbird, A. Fuller, & A. Munro (Eds.), Workplace Learning in Context, London: Routledge.
Fuller, A. & Unwin, L. (2010) ‘Change and Continuity in Apprenticeship: The Resilience of a Model of Learning’, Journal of Education and Work, 25 (5): 405–416.
Hughes, J., Jewson, N. & Unwin, L. (Eds.). (2007) Communities of Practice: Critical Perspectives, London: Routledge.
Kielhofner, G. (2002) Model of Human Occupations: Theory and Application, 3rd edition, Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: Learning as Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Reich, R. (1991) The Work of Nations, London: Simon & Schuster.
Sennett, R. (2008) The Craftsman, London: Penguin.
Warhurst, C., Grugulis, I. & Keep, E. (Eds.). (2004) The Skills That Matter, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wilkinson, F. (2002) Productive Systems and the Structuring Role of Economic and Social Theories, Working Paper No. 225, Cambridge: ESRC Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 Alison Fuller and Lorna Unwin
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fuller, A., Unwin, L. (2016). Applying an Apprenticeship Approach to HRD: Why the Concepts of Occupation, Identity and the Organisation of Workplace Learning Still Matter. In: Shipton, H., Budhwar, P., Sparrow, P., Brown, A. (eds) Human Resource Management, Innovation and Performance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137465191_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137465191_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-56307-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-46519-1
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)