Work-Based Learning for Skills Development – Special Reference to Asian Job Market
Introduction
Training employees in the workplace where they get
real experience and expertise is one way to create professional workers
(Minton and Lowe, 2019). If work-based learning and formal off-the-job learning
in a classroom atmosphere are integrated, occupational training services would
be more effective. Countries have prioritized work-based learning systems
worldwide as a way to educate their workforce (Minton and Lowe, 2019)
The video describes how the Bangladesh government's skills development reforms, rooted
in the 2011 National Skills Development Policy (NSDP), are being enforced. It
would promote large-scale investment in the business sector and public-private
collaborations, which are crucial to meeting current and potential labor market
demands and reducing the skills gap. For Bangladesh to step away from the
'low-skill, low-wage balance' to a 'higher skill, higher wage virtuous circle'
to become a middle-income economy, this in turn is crucial. The initiative
would help the government improve the capabilities of potential workers and
increase the skills of current staff in order to lead to faster development in
target sectors. A further focus will be put on reinforcing the production of
skills in Bangladesh and on facilitating the transition to a sector-wide
approach (SWAp) by developing a single finance mechanism and improving the
overall cohesion of the currently decentralized system.
Video 1. Professional skill trainings for Bangladeshi’s youth
Figure 1. Work-based learning practical training work
Work-Based Learning
Work-based learning applies to all kinds
of learning that exist in a real-world environment, both original and
continuous. It provides individuals with the skills they need to find and hold
jobs effectively and to advance their careers (IAG-TVET, 2017). When it
is well incorporated into the education and training system and integrates
aspects of workplace learning with classroom-based learning, it is especially
effective. All work-based learning systems share two characteristics: a clear
interaction between the employer and the learner, and an on-the-job learning
aspect (IAG-TVET, 2017).
Work-based learning also involves a
standardized traineeship contract in most developing countries that provides
young people a structured on-the-job learning scheme, combined with structured
off-the-job learning at technical and vocational education and training (TVET) the institution (Veal and Dunbar,
2018). The nation, employers, and apprentices
themselves provide funding for apprenticeship programs. (IAG-TVET, 2017).
In developed nations, this form of work-based
learning supports only a relatively small number of young people. In an
unstructured manner, the vast majority learn informally from their boss on the
job, with learning frequently interspersed with unskilled, menial activities.
The value of qualification and validation, which works against the pupil, is
typically absent in these "informal apprentices." (Veal and Dunbar, 2018).
Work-based learning is not simply a
chance to observe and develop any knowledge of the workplace (Veal and Dunbar, 2018). Instead, it is the primary mode of learning for an
employer with a student who has a contract, written or oral, as opposed to
being registered with a training company full time (Veal and Dunbar,
2018)..
Importance of Work
based learning
Work-based learning will have a good
learning climate to make sure that the skills learned in the job market are in
demand. Employers benefit from using it as a platform for training and as a way
to benefit from learners' positive production. As the cost is usually shared between
learners and employers, the country benefits from an increase in skilled labor
without heavy government investment. Learners benefit not only from
industry-relevant training, but also from increased career opportunities,
social integration, and an easier path to permanent jobs from education, which
can otherwise take up to 5 years (European
Training Foundation. 2014).
As it can be a helpful educational aid, not all
instruction in the workplace is useful for learners. It has to strike a balance
between equipping and supplying learners with a rounded college experience and
longer-term work mobility for the immediate jobs market (Bahl, A. and Dietzen.
2019)
The problem facing
policymakers across Asia is how to strengthen work-based learning at all levels
and how to boost informal teaching by implementing some of the features of
organized systems (OECD, 2014).This is especially urgent because, as in most of
Asia, work-based learning is widespread in countries with broad informal
sectors, where learning-enhancing programs at work would have a larger effect
if they expand beyond the comparatively limited formal sector and branch out to
micro, small and medium-sized businesses that dominate the informal sector in
the country (OECD, 2014)
Reference
Bahl, A. and Dietzen, A. eds., 2019.
Work-based Learning as a Pathway to Competence-based Education: A UNEVOC
Network Contribution. Verlag Barbara Budrich.
European Training Foundation. 2014. Work-based Learning: a Handbook for Policy Makers and
Social Partners in ETF Partner Countries.
Interagency Group on Technical and vocational education and training
(IAG-TVET). 2017. Investing in
Work-Based Learning. Geneva.
Minton, A. and Lowe, J.,
2019. How are universities supporting employers to facilitate effective “on the
job” learning for apprentices? Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based
Learning.
OECD, I., 2019. Engaging
employers in apprenticeship opportunities.
OECD. 2014. Skills Beyond School: Synthesis Report. OECD Reviews
of Vocational Education and Training. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Sweet, R., 2013. Work-based learning: Why?
How. Revisiting global trends in TVET: Reflections on theory and practice, 164.
Veal, Karina, and Muriel Dunabr.
“Work-Based Learning for Skills Development.” Developmen t Asia, 24 Jan.
2018, development.asia/explainer/work-based-learning-skills-development.
Accessed 11 Nov. 2020.
While I agree on the information you have provided on work based learning in your blog, it would have been ideal if you started with an introduction to what work-based learning is. According to Clarke, D.J. (2003), worked based learning is one approach within the broad spectrum of learning and teaching methods which values active involvement in learning, and supports the view that the learning must be perceived as meaningful and useful by learners if they are to engage with and benefit from that learning.
ReplyDeleteWork-based Learning (WBL) is one of the learning approaches that has been practiced all over the world for decades now and converges towards the theory of constructivism, which is an active and dynamic form of learning that slowly develops throughout the lifetime of an individual (Wilson, 1997). WBL is suitable for use in tertiary
Deleteeducation and applicable in Technical and Vocational Education but not for programs that are more towards the academic disciplines such as the economics and business sciences (Stones, 1994).
Work-based learning programmes can also have wider benefits. For example, a recent study (Gelber, Isen and Kessler, 2014) of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) found that while the programme did not improve subsequent earnings or college enrolment, it did keep youth “out of trouble” and reduced incarceration and mortality rates. Similarly, various studies reviewed by Satter (2010) found a positive impact in terms of arrest, conviction and incarceration rates.
ReplyDeleteWork-based learning has attracted much attention worldwide, as a tool for smoothing school-towork transition and tackling high youth unemployment rates. It can motivate young people to learn, in particular those who might be disengaged from academic styles of learning. It can provide a bridge into careers, equipping young people with skills that are in demand in the labour market and connecting them to potential employers. The potential benefits are particularly large for disconnected youth – those most in
Deleteneed of connecting to the labour market and accessing good learning opportunities.
Estimating the impact of work-based learning on job and life prospects is hard, because data rarely allow the isolation of the effect of work-based learning from the influence of other factors, like basic skills or motivation. But some studies have been able to avoid this problem, drawing on random assignment of participants to programmes. A review of a diverse range of work experience programmes in the US (Sattar 2010) found that all programmes targeting youth that have strong impact included academic and vocational training, job search and placement assistance and other support
I agree with you Surendra, Work-based learning applies to all kinds of learning that exist in a real-world environment, both original and continuous. It provides individuals with the skills they need to find and hold jobs effectively and to advance their careers. When it is well incorporated into the education and training system and integrates aspects of workplace learning with classroom learning, it is especially effective. In developed nations, this form of learning supports only a relatively small number of young people (Veal and Dunbar, 2018).
ReplyDeleteWBL is a form of learning that relates to all fields of work, work-based learning, learning at the work place and learning through working (Seagraves et al., 1996). Researcher had stated that WBL is a term used to elaborate on the programs by learning institutions that bring together universities and work organizations in order to create new learning opportunities at the work place (Lemanski et al., 2011). According to Becker (2007), WBL is a learning approach that encompasses a working experience in which students need to go through a learning process in an institution to gain the experience and apply the skills in the related industries according to what is required in an actual working environment.
DeleteWright & Geroy (2001), note that employee competencies change through effective training programs. It therefore not only improves the overall performance of the employees to effectively perform their current jobs but also enhances the knowledge, skills an attitude of the workers necessary for the future job, thus contributing to superior organizational performance.
ReplyDelete. Researcher sees WBL as different from conventional training,
Deletewhereby it is directly involved and renders actual experience of a work place (Seufert, 2000).
adding to your post that work-based learning contribution can make to the productivity of firms and to innovation in enterprises. The internal organization of firms, the structure and organization of work, employee relations and wage structures can all interact to promote learning-rich work. It will lead to learn on subjects which have a industrial demand Sako (1998).
ReplyDeleteWBL is a form of learning that relates to all fields of work, work-based learning, learning at the work place and learning through working (Seagraves et al., 1996). Researcher had stated that WBL is a term used to elaborate on the programs by learning institutions that bring together universities and work organizations in order to create new learning opportunities at the work place (Lemanski et al., 2011). According to Becker (2007), WBL is a learning approach that encompasses a working experience in which students need to go through a learning process in an institution to gain the experience and apply the skills in the related industries according to what is required in an
Deleteactual working environment.
As Asia continues to modernize, countries in Asia are now facing various levels of skill mismatch as education systems (including TVET) are unable to keep pace with the rapidly growing skills demands and this mismatch between supply and demand of skills have a negative impact on macro and microwaves, undermining national competition and growth as well as employment outcomes of individuals (ADB, 2015).
ReplyDeleteScott, Clothier and Spriegel (1977) argued that training is the crux of better organizational management, as it makes employees more efficient and effective. They further elaborated that training practice is have a strong bond with all other human resource practices as (Mamoria, 1995), it enables employees to develop themselves within the firm and raise their market value in the market. Moreover, training supports to shape employees’ job related behavior and facilitate them to participate for the success of the organization and ultimately firm gets higher return due to superior performance of its employees.
DeleteWhile agreeing with your statement and wish to comment that, work-based learning is an instructional method centered on the learner. Instead of using a rigid lesson plan that directs a learner down a specific path of learning outcomes or objectives, work-based learning allows in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about (Harris & Katz, 2001).
ReplyDeleteConceptualisation of WBL does not put it directly at odds with the idea of discipline-based learning that forms the basis of much higher education, but it does suggest that WBL takes place in a broader; essentially transdisciplinary or post-disciplinary framework that can incorporate disciplinary learning but also goes beyond it.
DeleteWBL also conceptualised in terms of what it is adequate or effective for researcher a perspective that draws on the idea of capability Lester (2004) as developed by Stephenson (1998) and (O’Reilly, Cunningham & Lester,1999).
On the job training is an important example of an “investment” in human capital. Like any investment, there are initial costs. For on the job training, these costs include the time devoted by the worker and co-workers to learning skills that increase productivity plus the costs of any equipment and material required to teach these skills. Like any investment the returns to these expenditures occur in future periods. (Barron, J et al, 1997).
ReplyDeleteTraining refers to a planned intervention aimed at enhancing the elements of individual job performance” (Chiaburu and Tekleab, 2005). It is all about improving the skills that seems to be necessary for the achievement of organizational goals. Training programs, may also help the workforce to decrease their anxiety or frustration,originated by the work on job henet al., 2004).
DeleteSobiechowska and Maisch (2006), define WBL as a programme of study where learners are simultaneously full-time employees whose programme of study is embedded in the workplace. The aim of WBL programmes is to simultaneously meet the learning needs of employees and the needs of their employer. Boud and Solomon (2001) ,explain that WBL programmes typically have six characteristics: a partnership between an external organization and a HEI; learners who are employed in an external organization; a learning programme derived from the needs of the employers and their employees; learners engaged in a process of recognition of their current knowledge, skills and competencies; learning that takes place as an integrated part of tasks completed in the workplace; and learning that is assessed by a HEI. Rowley (2005) and Rosenberg (2012) ,suggest that WBL requires individuals and organizations to direct considerable effort towards agreeing a shared agenda.
ReplyDeleteHEI Refers to Higher Education Institutions.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of work-based learning approaches and models over the last two
Deletedecades in Higher education practices across many countries, such as in the UK and
Australia, is a result of a growing gap between what happens in institutions
and the expectation of stakeholders (Garnett, Costley, and Workman 2009;
Lemanski, Mewis, and Overton 2011).
Global Challenge Insight Report of World Economic Forum (2016) highlights that; disruptive changes to business models will have a profound impact on the employment landscape over the coming years. Many of the major drivers of transformation currently affecting global industries are expected to have a significant impact on jobs, ranging from significant job creation to job displacement, and from heightened labour productivity to widening skills gaps. In many industries and countries, the most in-demand occupations or specialties did not exist 10 or even five years ago, and the pace of change is set to accelerate.
ReplyDeleteThe fourth industrial revolution, a term coined by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, describes a world where individuals move between digital domains and offline reality with the use of connected technology to enable and manage their lives. (Miller 2015, 3) The first industrial revolution changed our lives and economy from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. Oil and electricity facilitated mass production in the second industrial revolution. In the third industrial revolution, information technology was used to automate production.
Delete