Collective Guidance in the Apprenticeship Education in Finnish Small and Medium-Sized Companies

• In Event: Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Preparation for Working Life: Utilizing Workplace Experiences to Support Initial Occupational Preparation

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to explore and analyze guidance and workplace participatory practices (Billett, 2002) in the apprenticeship education and training in Finnish small and medium-sized companies. The Finnish apprenticeship training is based on a fixed-term employment contract and the apprentice is paid according to the collective agreement for the period of workplace learning. Approximately 80 percent of training is provided at the workplace with supplementing theoretical studies at vocational institutions. The employer is responsible for nominating a workplace trainer with relevant vocational skills, education and work experience for the apprentice. (The Finnish National Board of Education; Vocational Education and Training Degree, 811/1998.)

Methods: The data for the study were collected using semi-structured qualitative interviews carried out in ten small or medium-sized companies, which represented technical trades and social and healthcare sectors. To investigate guidance in communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991), four people were interviewed at each company: an employer’s representative, apprentice, workplace trainer and a co-worker. The final sample consisted of 40 interviews.

Findings: Preliminary findings indicate that guidance in the Finnish apprenticeship education is a collective and organizational phenomenon rather than just a mentoring relationship between an apprentice and individual workplace trainer. All members of the work communities, not only the nominated trainers, participated in providing guidance for the apprentice. However, the availability of guidance was dependent on the activity of the apprentices: they were given a lot of independence and were expected to request help when needed. Our study suggests that the Finnish way of basing the apprenticeship on the employment contract and paying the apprentice salary according to the general agreement places, apprentices in a position where they are seen more as an employee than a student. The apprentice is seen as an integral part of the workforce of the company and is expected to work as an equal and productive member of the work team.
Our data does not suggest a strong connectivity between the studies implemented in vocational institutions and workplace learning (Guile & Griffiths, 2001). Preliminary results indicate that the apprentices and their co-workers both saw workplace learning as the best way of learning a profession. Instead, the theoretical studies at vocational institutions were not seen as relevant for the development of working life skills. In relation to workplace learning, our data emphasizes the role of the apprentice’s participation in communities of practice instead of a formal mentoring relationship with a nominated trainer.

Authors

• Petri J. Nokelainen, Tampere University of Technology

• Laura Pylväs, University of Tampere

• Heta Rintala, University of Tampere

• Susanna Mikkonen, University of Tampere