The rhetoric and the reality of apprenticeship in England:

A comparative study of the English, Finnish and French apprenticeship

systems for 16-18 year olds

Dr Anna MazenodAnna.Mazenod@gmail.com

Why research apprenticeships?

• Apprenticeship in policy rhetoric –presented as alternative to school-based learning – practical vs academic learning

• Research motivation from policy practitioner experience

Study design• Three country cases: England,

Finland, France• Focus on 16-18 year olds undertaking

a formal apprenticeship at any qualification level

• Systematic literature reviews (research published 1996-2012) and expert interview in each country

Defining apprenticeship Apprenticeship = systematic, long-term training alternating periods at the workplace and in an educational institution or training centre

Apprentice is contractually linked to the

employer and receives remuneration

Employer assumes responsibility for providing training leading to a specific occupation

CEDEFOP, 2009 Terminology of European education and training policy

Potential roles for employers within

apprenticeship programmes• Providers apprenticeship places• Part-funders: e.g. apprenticeship tax

in France• Trainers: in-house training for

apprentices• Qualification co-developers• Advocates: promoting

apprenticeships• Industry role models: setting

standards

Policy rhetoric of apprenticeship in England

‘Employers in the driving seat’

Study findings• Multiplicity of policy aims for

apprenticeship • More ‘groundrules’ for employers in

Finland and France, voluntarism in England

• Employer leadership rhetoric only in England

Meanings of apprenticeship• Work-placement type activity for

disaffected young people alongside competitive vocational education programmes; training rather than education (England)

• Traditional pathway for occupations and trades. Also a more recent pathway into higher education (France)

• One part of a re-integration package for disaffected young people (Finland)

Multiplicity of policy aims• Economic and social challenges to

which apprenticeship is presented as a solution:

1) improving intermediate vocational skills

2) integrating the worlds of work and education

3) re-engaging disaffected young people

The marginality of apprenticeship

• Less than 10% of 16-18 year olds are apprentices in England and France, less than 1% in Finland (almost 2/3rds in Germany, Steedman, 2011)

• Recent growth in England has been concentrated in older age groups, now only 30% of apprenticeship starts are aged 16-18

Can employers be in the driving seat in England?

• Labyrinthine funding & management systems

• Prescription is the norm in funding rules

• Multiplicity of policy aims = apprenticeship as an instrument of government education and training policy (Fuller and Unwin, 2009)

• Employers are not a homogenous group; the relevance of apprenticeship depends on the occupational sector

Recommendations • Develop a consensus around a

country-specific coherent meaning of apprenticeship in policy

• Bridge policy rhetoric with reality of contemporary apprenticeships in England

• Accept marginality of apprenticeship?

• Take account of the significance of differences in country contexts in developing policy

References• Steedman, H. (2011). The State of Apprenticeship in 2010 -

International Comparisons: Australia, Austria, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland. Report to the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network.

• Fuller, A. and Unwin, L. (2009). ‘Change and Continuity in Apprenticeship: The Resilience of a Model of Learning’. Journal of Education and Work, 22(5), 405-416.