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Table 1 Apprenticesā€™, teachersā€™, and in-company trainersā€™ perspectives on the five themes of IVET partnership

From: The collaboration between Swiss initial vocational education and training partners: perceptions of apprentices, teachers, and in-company trainers

Ā 

Apprentices

Teachers

In-company trainers

Degree of formality in IVET partnership

Formal contact

Useful for avoiding abuse, removing responsibility from apprentices, and receiving regular supervision

vs

Not good because you ā€œcanā€™t skip school,ā€ less autonomy

In favor of more formal contact as long as it does not increase administrative work and does not interfere with teaching tasks

In favor of more formal contact as long as it does not increase administrative work and do not interfere with company operations

Informal contact

ā€“

Informal contact is considered good but difficult to establish and maintain. It is fragile

Informal contact raises the questions ā€œWho is supposed to initiate contact?ā€ and ā€œWhy should I initiate this contact first?ā€

Teachers tend to initiate contact in case there are problems with an apprentice

Informal contact is considered good but difficult to establish and maintain. It is considered fragile

It raises the questions ā€œWho is supposed to initiate contact?ā€ and ā€œAm I allowed to interfere in my apprenticeā€™s life?ā€

In-company trainers tend to initiate contact in case there are problems with an apprentice

Apprentices as brokers

ā€“

Teachers tend to consider apprentices acting as brokers a good thing: They can create a connection between their school and training company, allowing the exchange or even expansion of practices. The school and training company can learn through the apprentices

Certain in-company trainers tend to think that apprentices who serve as brokers filter the information they communicate between their school and training company to suit their own needs

Teachers and in-company trainers as brokers

It is considered useful for teachers and in-company trainers to have hybrid profiles, especially in the case of teachers (ā€œIn class, they know what they are talking about.ā€)

It is considered useful for teachers and in-company trainers to have hybrid profiles, as teachers can stay updated with the evolution of their trade, it gives them credibility in the eyes of their apprentices, and they can discuss authentic situations in the classroom

It is considered useful for teachers and in-company trainers to have hybrid profiles

Teachers with hybrid profiles can stay updated with the evolution of their trade

Boundary objects and other brokers

Branch courses

Useful because they do not have the constraints of school

vs

Not useful because they are repetitive and not aligned with the curricula used by the school or training company

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LPD

Useful for structuring, planning, evaluating, and monitoring the training

vs

Not useful because the process is repetitive or not aligned with the school and is time-consuming

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Apprenticeship inspectors

ā€“

As per teachers, apprenticeship inspectors should ensure the establishment of a connection between schools and training companies

Currently, inspections are carried out only in case there are problems with an apprentice

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Practical courses

Considered good but should be expanded and further linked to the training company

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Examples of networks

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Example 1: Hairdressing teachers explained that, in their state, they are used to working with other stakeholders (training companies, professional associations, regional authorities, and apprenticesā€™ families) and that they regularly organize joint activities

Example 2: The group of in-company trainers from the construction field had an integrative vision regarding IVET. They held hybrid profiles and worked regularly in collaboration with the other learning locations

Example 3: A commercial employee in-company trainer mentioned the creation of a network between novices and experienced in-company trainers and apprentices with the aim of learning from each other