Continuing education and training models and strategies: an initial appraisal

This report arises from a three-year program of research that aims to investigate how best the tertiary education and training system might be organised to maintain the employability of Australian workers across their working lives. Through an investigation of two different industry sectors — community services and health and transport and logistics — the authors evaluate a number of potential training models and strategies that might constitute a national approach to continuing education and training.

Practice-based learning at work with guidance from co-workers was overwhelmingly the preferred model of learning for the workers interviewed and was the most commonly used. Four basic requirements were found to support practice-based learning to enable workers to gain the expertise valued by industry: workplace experience, direct support from experienced others, individualised support for learning and learner engagement.

The authors tentatively propose that an effective continuing education and training system should encompass the following six elements:

• organisation and provision of learning experiences: to assist individuals to gain the knowledge and skills required for their work
• support for developing occupational capacities: includes guidance by experienced and knowledgeable others
• active participation by learners: individuals need to be engaged in learning to improve outcomes
• development of learner agency: managers and those in supervisory roles need to promote the active participation of learners, especially in the absence of more expert partners
• nationally recognised occupational certification: to provide recognition of an individual's capability to perform a particular occupation
• fulfilment of particular workplace requirements: the proposed continuing education and training system needs to accommodate the variability inherent in occupational practice.

In the next phase of the project, workers and managers in other industries and representatives of tertiary education and training organisations will be interviewed to assess the ideas developed in this research.

Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER

Continuing education and training is an emerging priority for the nation's tertiary education and training system. Changing work, new work requirements, an ageing workforce and lengthening working lives are some of the factors now influencing this priority. Yet, many of the purposes and processes of the Australian tertiary education and training system are focused on entry-level provisions — preparing people for initial employment in their chosen occupation — which may not adequately meet the education and training required to respond to changes in work and the requirement for workers to remain employable. Therefore, identifying and establishing an effective national continuing education and training system that meets the needs of Australian workers, workplaces and communities is crucial. This research aims to establish the purposes, processes and provisions for continuing education and training; this involves identifying how best the tertiary education and training system can sustain Australian workers' employability across lengthening working lives.

The kinds of arrangements that support this sustained contribution — 'models' for continuing education and training — comprise the curriculum and pedagogical strategies that support workers' ongoing learning and are likely to be different from those for entry-level training.

This document describes the early findings of a three-year research project, whose aim is to identify and evaluate the potential models and strategies that might constitute a national approach to continuing education and training. The project is shaped by the following research question:

What models and practices of continuing tertiary education and training can best meet workplace demands and sustain Australian workers' ongoing occupational competence and employability across their working lives?

It is further informed by two sub-questions:

• What models and practices can support on-the-job learning, allowing workers to acquire the kinds of experiences and expertise valued by industry?
• How best can workers be prepared as active learners to engage in productive learning in the workplace and meet the skill demands of industry?

The first phase of the project focused on the generation of a set of models and strategies for continuing tertiary education and training. The models are described in Change, work and learning: aligning continuing education and training: a working paper (Billett et al. 2012). This report presents findings from an initial appraisal of these models and strategies undertaken by workers and managers from two industries — community services and health and transport and logistics. The appraisal focused on:

• a range of continuing education and training models and strategies currently used in these industries
• the strengths and limitations of the models in sustaining contemporary workers' occupational competence and employability
• the models and practices that are best suited for workers in the community services and health and transport and logistics industries.

A sample of 51 workers and 26 managers, representing both industries, participated in semistructured interviews and responded to a written questionnaire.

Findings

Three of the nine models proposed by Billett et al. (2012) stood out as the most common and appropriate for the community services and health and the transport and logistics industries. These are:

• practice-based experiences with direct guidance (for example, shadowing, mentoring)
• opportunity-based experiences (that is, as work events permit)
• practice-based experiences with educational interventions (for example, action learning, action research, project work).

Guidance at work, augmented by practice, was consistently identified by workers as their most significant form of learning. They prefer and value learning that occurs through authentic activities and is delivered by co-workers. The workers and managers also highlighted four practices they considered appropriate for supporting learning in these industry sectors:

• individuals working alone; for example, engaging with resources; individual projects; tertiary/higher education studies
• dyads; for example, expert—novice; peer-sharing; joint project; mentoring; coaching; guided learning in the workplace
• facilitated/expert guided group processes, and as in teaching (for example, action learning; group facilitated discussion; learning circles)
• integration of the experiences delivered in practice and education settings (for example, support provided before, during, and after educational and practice experiences).

These preferred models for supporting learning indicate the need for accommodating more learning experiences in the workplace rather than in an educational institution. Workers suggested that the combination of practice-based experiences with guidance from more experienced others (that is, by experts, co-workers, teachers, trainers) promotes and supports effective learning.

The research also found a high level of alignment in actual and preferred approaches to workers' existing continuing education and training. Workers report largely engaging in learning experiences in their workplaces, supported by other workers and/or external experts, and in ways that can be described as interpersonal. Many manager informants are aware of this preferred approach to learning and support these within their respective enterprises; they see it as viable, sustainable and favoured by the workers. However, this model is practised differently across the two industries, given the circumstances of work activities.

Overall, the data from these two industry sectors suggest four basic requirements for supporting practice-based learning experiences that allow workers to gain the expertise valued by industry. These are:

• Workplace experiences: the provision of experiences, including sequencing and access to and engagement in workplace activities that constitute a developmental pathway. For instance, experiences from orientation to the workplace and/or work, to initially working alongside others and being provided with guidance, through to opportunities to engage in activities associated with extended forms of employment, and later for advancement.
• Direct support from experienced others: this is needed to learn the elements required to perform occupational tasks effectively. Well-known strategies such as modelling, coaching, scaffolding etc. play a key role here. It may be necessary to develop the capacities of those performing these roles to ensure the support provided is effective.
• Individualised support for learning: high-quality individualised support is preferred and valued. Associated with this is reaffirming the worth, standing and status of individuals as effective workers and learners.
• Learner engagement: the degree to which individuals engage in their learning will be central to its richness and quality. An emphasis on developing them as active learners will be helpful.

These four requirements are integral to the effective provision of practice-based experiences that support workers to actively engage in the processes of working and learning.

Implications

From these initial findings, it is tentatively proposed that effective models of continuing education and training would encompass the following six elements:

• Organisation and provision of learning experiences: particular kinds of experiences will need to be organised and provided to assist individuals to gain the knowledge and skills they require for their specific occupation. This might include orientation, followed by a sequence of experiences in which the levels of guidance are gradually decreased and where opportunities are provided for reinforcing what has been learnt and for extending learning to encompass new work requirements.
• Support for developing occupational capacities: guidance by experts, teachers and more experienced co-workers is required to assist individuals to learn how to perform specific procedures and engage in strategic activities and to understand the requirements of work. Close engagement with those who can assist individuals to learn appears to be paramount.
• Active participation by learners: beyond what is provided for individuals, ultimately it is essential they are deliberately engaged in the process of learning. Individuals decide how they respond to what is provided for them and the degree of effort they exercise in learning both through experiences in practical and educational settings.
• Development of learner agency: the promotion of learner agency is essential to achieving 'active participation' in ongoing continuing education and training. The majority of learning across the working life will be in the absence of more expert partners, which requires individuals to be active, focused and capable of initiating their learning. Managers may have a vital role here in encouraging active learning.
• Nationally recognised occupational certification: certification of learning is required for all classes of workers to fulfil the needs for employment and the recognition of occupational capability. It needs to be employer- and industry-endorsed to provide a base for securing employment and for career advancement and development within and across industries. Furthermore, it needs to be embedded in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) or allow transition into a qualification at various levels in the framework.
• Fulfilment of particular workplace requirements: the proposed national certification needs to accommodate the variations of occupational practice required to meet the needs of particular work situations. While there are sets of stipulated occupational requirements, there are also variations of how those requirements need to be enacted for effective practice.