Apprentice Characteristics Author: Carla George (Warwick University)
My career in delivering apprenticeships has developed my interests towards how learners become experts in their chosen field. The paper explores methods and practices towards workplace learning that apprentices adopts throughout their journey. Abstract—
—————————— ——————————
1 INTRODUCTION 2 TYPES OF APPRENTICES The government are constantly looking for new innovative ways of promoting Apprenticeships. The skills gap comprises of lack of life long skills and less people with the require experience and education to meet the requirements for sustaining employment. The skills gap is a very difficult area as everyone’s skills set are different. To address this requires self-assessment and the determination towards improving the areas required to be successful in employment. Currently the government are addressing the employer’s demands. Employers are willing to employ apprentices as a means for of cost savings and ease of recruitment. Wenger also mentions about establishing identities and know what your place in the organisation this involves elements of trust knowledge and morality. In organisations, you will never find the perfect setting to work in Wenger’s view that all organisations should adopt a structured social system to allow for others to fit in where they feel comfortable in sharing ideas and experience whether its past or present, and adapting the entire process to our personal perspective. D Guile explains the challenges that learners encounter when integrating both development methods and this is mainly down to curriculum and existing education systems as the approaches are very formal. D Guile explains further that it is difficult to separate both development methods as learners will focus on the task at hand as well as rely on their supervisor that will support them through the processes of relating their formal and workplace development. S Billet also explains within his studies that he interviewed students that had difficulties with working in an isolated environment, so they also relied on expert advice to acquire knowledge and further their skills. They also had the opportunities towards attending training events and meetings to obtain additional information.
Studies distinguish several types of novices as stoppers and movers those that will discontinue due their frustration of not solving the problem and those that will strive and persevere towards finding the answers to the problem. Apprentices develop confidence through use of ICT resources and previous knowledge acquired from their past educational establishment. Overall both horizontal and vertical development are utilized to ensure learners are provided with a well-rounded learning experience.
2.2 Behavior Behaviour is influenced by attitude and personal characteristics that achieves the desired outcome of their decision. They described further on how the behaviour is created by perceived behaviour control. Perceived behaviour control represents direct and indirect actions relating to performance this can be influenced by environmental factors and personal decisions. Stocia A described behavioral patterns as robots as learners will try an exemplify their peers, teachers, supervisors and others around them as Robot Motor Learning. The foundation for these motions is behave, evaluation, viewing others around them in a continuous manner. The three factors represent how learning occurs through an individual’s experience. Both personal and behaviour factors are affected through environmental factors which can affect work performance. The method of behaviour affects the manner an individual think and apply their use of knowledge. Personal factors relate to the combination of behaviour and environmental factors.
2.3 Findings Dennen V explains further that learning occurs naturally whilst
completing tasks in a work setting they are thrown in a situation eg. running errands, sending emails the tasks given are circumstantial as they grow with confidence their tasks and workload increases completing this in a holistic manner. She emphasises scaffolding, modelling, mentoring and coaching occurs during social interaction. Feedback from apprentices during their apprenticeship they have benefitted being mentored by their colleagues where they had opportunities towards observing a variety of working practices. Their supervisor’s requirements that they develop their reference and refer to material provided on their network share. The apprentices also like to self-learn by joining tech support groups and forums where they can gather further technical knowledge and advice towards their working practice. The apprentices also have prior knowledge from their college experience where they completed BTEC equivalent computing course. Knowledge is developed through ongoing new innovative ways that we may not come across before and expanding new developments. Apprentices can apply this through team working by conversing with their colleagues. Some apprentices will struggle if they are used to an environment that is very structured based and lecture based led as they are not used to changes outside their comfort zone.
2.4 Challenges Apprentices will often come across challenges during their course of study that will at times harper their learning. The Educational Act 2004 provides the foundation towards addressing learners with different learning support needs and identifying challenges towards learning development. Examples of learning issues such as comprehension problems this is another form of dyslexia they are common with young learners. This is caused by lack of visual, language and memory skills. Symptoms that are recognizable are: lack of coordination, disorganization, lack of understanding/recognition and difficulty in memorizing information.
Conclusion Although a conclusion may review the main points of the paper, do not replicate the abstract as the conclusion. A conclusion might elaborate on the importance of the work or suggest applications and extensions. Authors are strongly encouraged not to call out multiple figures or tables in the conclusion—these should be referenced in the body of the paper.
REFERENCES [1] Billett S (1994) Constructing knowledge in the workplace: potential and pitfalls. Adult and Continuing Education Under Conditions of Free Market Economy, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia, 7-10 Jul [2] Morgan M Gray D (2001) Modern Apprenticeships: Filling the skills gap
[3] Alison Fuller & Lorna Unwin- Reconceptualising apprenticeship: exploring the relationship between work and learning [4] Expansive Learning at Work: Toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization- Yrjö Engeström