Occupational identity in Australian traineeships: An initial exploration

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Occupational identity in Australian traineeships
An initial exploration

• Erica Smith, University of Ballarat
• Australia

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Apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia

• Approx 400,000 participants from 1.6 million VET
  participants and a labour force of 12 million
• Participants are always employed and therefore
  study part-time towards a qualification,
  usually at AQF level III or IV
• Participants may be of any age and may work
  full-time or part-time
• The government funds the training and also
  provides employment incentives and
• Study may be at a public (TAFE) college or a
  private college (RTOs), or mainly on-the-job.

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Whats different about traineeships?

• 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.

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Occupational identity

• A home with psychological, social and
  ideological anchors (Brown, 2004)
• Often fixed through history but nevertheless
  offering scope for shaping either individually or
  collectively
• Workers vary in their need and desire for
  occupational identity.

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The research

• Two case studies from a study on quality in
  traineeships.
• Each involved 6-8 senior stakeholder interviews
  at industry and government level (State and
  National) and two company exemplars, involving
  interviews with workers, managers and training
  providers).
• Asset maintenance (cleaning) Certificate III and
  General construction Certificate II.

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Asset maintenance (cleaning)

• An industry area that previously lacked
  qualifications.

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Major issues Cleaning

• An industry with low profit margins and many
  underqualified managers.
• Workers often had low literacy levels.
• High levels of technological advance and deep
  knowledge requirements.
• Snobbery exhibited by some stakeholders and
  training providers.
• Workers enjoyed training but were relatively
  unaware of qualification ladders and career
  prosects.

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General Construction Certificate II

• An industry where apprenticeships are firmly
  entrenched, at Certificate III level.

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Main issues Construction

• Massive resistance by trade unions to
  traineeships.
• Has resulted in low levels of take-up and poor
  pathways into Cert III (Apprenticeship level).
• A new qualification with better pathways was
  being blocked by trade unions at the time of the
  study.
• Often used for disadvantaged groups eg indigenous
  workers in remote locations and for
  high-school-based workers.
• In most cases employers used apprentice-like
  training methods.

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Discussion

• Individual level Some workers may identify more
  closely with organisation than the occupation
  they may not value their traineeship
  qualification very highly some trainees dont
  know they are on traineeships.
• Organisational level Many employers are
  inexperienced in traineeship management. Unions
  have actively opposed traineeships.
• Society as a whole The jobs covered by
  traineeships are of lower status than those
  covered by apprenticeships. This may change over
  time.

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Find out more?

• Smith, E., Comyn, P., Brennan Kemmis, R. Smith,
  A. (forthcoming). High quality traineeships
  identifying what works. Adelaide NCVER.
• www.ncver.edu.au
• Or email e.smith_at_ballarat.edu.au