Learner Identities and High-quality Apprenticeships in Wales and Germany Event

The aim of the conference will be to explore the implications stemming from the research findings and to open up a discussion on apprenticeship, the construction of knowledge, and the formation of learner identities in England, Wales and Germany. The conference will be introduced by Dr Michaela Brockmann from the University of Southampton with further contributions from four guest speakers:

• Professor James Avis, School of Education and Professional Development, University of Huddersfield, UK
• Dr Erika Gericke, Department of Vocational Education and Human Resources Development, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany
• Dr Phillip Grollmann, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)
• David George, Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA)

Replies to: Torhild HearnT.Hearn@soton.ac.uk Please advise Torhild of any dietary and/or access needs you may have.

The conference schedule:

9.30 Coffee

10 to 10.05 Welcome

10.05 to 10.30 Opening presentation by Dr Michaela Brockmann

10.30 to 11.00 ‘"It's all about work": New Times, Post-Fordism and Vocational Pedagogy’, Professor James Avis, University of Huddersfield

11.00 to 11.30 ‘Biographical occupation orientations of English and German car mechatronics and the influence of the national VET system’, Dr Erika Gericke, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg

11.30 to 12.30 Discussion

12.30 to 1.00 Lunch (provided)

1.00 to 1.30 ‘Trailblazer Apprenticeships’, David George, Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies

(SEMTA)

1.30 to 2.00 Company induction processes as a frame for identity formation - results from a comparative establishment survey, Dr Phillip Grollmann, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)

2.00 to 3.00 Discussion

3 pm Close

Please note that places on the conference are limited and will be reserved on a ‘first come-first served’ basis.

Research Abstract

Young people in vocational training in England and Wales are often described as ‘naturally’ non-academic, practical learners. The study builds on previous research by Dr Michaela Brockmann on the learner identities of car mechanics in England and Germany which challenged this assumption and instead saw identities as constituted within discursive regimes. In England, apprenticeship was constructed as ‘practice’, e.g. through a low theory content. Apprentices performed the identity of the practical learner as a powerful alternative to that of academic learning. Using a comparative ethnographic design, the current study has looked at apprentices on high quality engineering apprenticeships in Wales and Germany. It has explored the ways in which young people on these schemes negotiated their learner identities, how learning cultures and knowledge were constructed, and whether and to what extent assumptions underpinning the academic-vocational divide still applied.