How traineeships assist social inclusion

Erica SmithUniversity of Ballarat

Note: Paper has just been published in the English journal ‘Education + Training’

What’s social inclusion?

• A relatively new term to Australia (but not a new concept);• The process of rectifying a situation in which individuals

and groups are excluded from participating in social, economic and political activity of society as a whole, due to poverty, lack of education and other circumstances (Vinson, 2009);• Some debate about whether it’s really about assisting

the marginalised or whether it’s become an instrumentalist concern with national productivity.

Social inclusion dimensions(North and Ferrier, 2009)• The cultural dimension - acceptance and respect for diverse

norms, values and ways of living. • The economic dimension - income, employment, housing and

working conditions. • The political dimension - power dynamics which generate

unequal patterns of rights and ‘the conditions in which rights are exercised’ (SEKN, 2008) eg access to utilities, community infrastructure services, education, health and social protection.

• The social dimension - relationships of support that enable a sense of well-being and connection with others, the community and broader social systems: family, friendships, neighbourhoods and social movements.

Education and social inclusion/exclusion• Low socio-economic status (SES) students and those with

other disadvantage have generally achieved at a lower level than other students in schools;

• VET in schools has been successful among low SES students but this has a ‘dark side’;

• Lack of achievement at school often stands as a barrier to participation in further education and training, ‘even’ VET.

What’s different about traineeships from apprenticeships?

• They are ‘new’ (approx 20 years) and more likely to be in newer industry areas and/or those which did not traditionally have any qualifications;• They cover many jobs where the workforce is

predominantly female eg aged care, retail;• They suffered for many years from perceptions of low

quality in delivery and a thin curriculum;• They usually last for 12-18 months as opposed to a

typical 3-year apprenticeship.

The new landscape of apprenticeships and traineeships(Top 10 commencements by Training Package, 2008)

1. Retail2. Business Services3. Tourism, hospitality & events4. Transport & logistics5. Community services6. General construction7. Metal and engineering8. Automotive9. Electrotechnology10. Telecommunications

This now reflects the modern economy much better than traditional apprenticeships do.

Large-scale delivery of traineeships by employers• Through RTOs and through Enterprise RTOs • Financial incentives: employment inceptives and ‘user choice’

funding for RTOs. Sometimes with no government funding and therefore un-recorded.

• Earlier research (Smith et al 2005, NCVER) found that companies were using ‘ladders of qualifications’ and that companies using nationally-recognised training provided more general training to ‘lower status’ workers.

• Rainbird’s (2007) question: ‘Can training remove the sticky glue from the floor of low pay for workers?

Some problems• Workplaces are not always ideal sites for learning because of

necessary focus on production and because of power relations• While people may feel more comfortable learning at work

rather than in an institution, there are still fears of failure

Two case studies from project on traineeships• ANZ - indigenous young people, • Brotherhood of St Laurence – cleaning enterprises, long-term

unemployed people.

Pros of gaining qualifications through work (1) (Smith et al, 2009, NCVER)

• Many people without qualifications are now able to gain them simply by virtue of having a job (cf Train to Gain in UK – 1m workers)

• a lot of these traineeships are you know, targeting a blue collar audience… like someone who’s been a cleaner, may have been a cleaner for 5, 10 years, but there's been no formal recognition of what they’ve done, and … they see themselves as just a cleaner and the fact that the traineeship is also competency based and can recognise skills that they already have, without them needing to attend… a traditional classroom environment and having it on the job. So the combination of on the job and that recognition that what they're doing actually does have some value somewhere in an educational framework, has made them feel, I think, just a lot more proud about what they do, in themselves, with their self esteem.

Pros (2)• Training is highly work-related and may not require much

academic expertise;• Progression to higher-level qualifications available;• RPL might assist with progression;• Having better-qualified people can encourage employers to

look to creating better jobs;• People do not have to pay for their training• Employers can feel happier about taking the risk of employing

somebody with a poor employment record.

Cons of gaining qualifications through work: (1) Integrity of qualification. • Danger of over-contextualisation;• Broad rather than narrow qualifications are more use to

workers and more acceptable to many; • Too-easy assessment ;• Too much RPL. Many employers don’t trust it;• Some employers not able or willing to offer a variety of tasks.

Cons of gaining qualifications through work: (2) Access• You have to be employed. Not much of a problem in Australia

but it is in other countries; • Should unemployment rise it would be difficult to offer some

of these quals in an RTO setting;• Not all employers engage with the system-industry area, firm

size and geography play a part;• Some trainees don’t consciously undertake a qual-they are

‘passive learners’;

Advantages and disadvantages for workers

Advantages Disadvantages

The employer (sometimes supported by government funding) pays for the training – not the trainee.

Trainees may not take training seriously if it is seen to be ‘free’.

Many adults feel more comfortable undertaking training at work.

Work processes may interfere with training and inhibit the quality of training delivered.

Training can open promotion possibilities with the employer or in the industry.

Training may be made too highly specific to the employer, and this may restrict labour market mobility for graduates.

Qualification-based training may lead to the creation of more ‘decent work’ in industries that offer it, because multi-skilled workers can perform more tasks.

Only certain industries and larger employers tend to offer qualification-based training for employees

Trainees are less likely to drop out of the training, as it is linked to keeping a job and maintaining an income

Losing a job means losing the training opportunity.

There are few barriers to entry with employer-based training, eg no need for prior qualifications.

The quality of the training provided may not be as high as institution-based training

Training is often focused on lower skilled and less educated workers who will benefit most from the training.

The provision of training is at the behest of the employer, who could cease offering qualifications-based training for any group of workers at any time.

Advantages of sequential versus concurrent model

Fewer hurdles and traps…

Research and policy implications

• More research needed to establish the social inclusion benefits of this means of gaining qualifications, eg longitudinal research with disadvantaged people;

• Comparison of quality and utility of qualifications gained through work and those provided through education providers;

• Funding for work-based qualifications should be maintained (a big policy debate in UK as well as Australia) – a small investment compared with long-term ‘rescue’ needed for people;

• Need to reframe employers’ role as performing a social inclusion role on behalf of governments;

• Employers need to be encouraged to address labour shortages through recruitment of disadvantaged people and proving them with qualifications;

• More assistance to employers over practical issues of shepherding large numbers of disadvantaged workers through qualifications.

As it happens…• I have just won, with colleagues Andy Smith & Arlene Walker,

an Australian Research Council grant to look at enterprise RTOs and their delivery of qualifications.

‘How do qualifications delivered by enterprises contribute to improved skill levels and other benefits for companies, workers and the nation?’

• The project addresses many of the issues mentioned.• Partners are the Enterprise RTO Association (ERTOA) and ten

of its member companies.• Research will take place throughout 2012 and 2013.• Contact e.smith@ballarat.edu.au