1. Judith Watson (University of Brighton) and Linda Clarke (University of Westminster)

2.  In this presentation we explore contradictions in the concept of the work placement and suggest some ways forward for policy.

3.  It is well established in the literature on vocational education and training, and on professional education, that a placement is best practice.  Apprenticeship pre-dates full-time vocational education and was the norm in the professions until the 20 th century.

4.  Doctors, nurses and all other health professionals have integral placements  Solicitors, teachers, engineers, all have to have placements as an integral part of their initial education and training and their continuous professional development  The “sandwich course” model has been well established in engineering

5.  Yet placements have made the headlines in a completely different way recently, by being identified as exploitative, whether as workfare, or as post-graduation “internships”. Young jobseekers told to work without pay or lose unemployment benefits People taking up work experience places – providing up to 30 hours a week of unpaid labour – face losing benefits if they quit The GuardianThe Guardian, Wednesday 16 November 2011

6.  Whether placements are “real” work for which the student/trainee/worker should receive at least the national minimum wage, is posed more starkly than ever, and it can no longer be assumed that full-time students have their financial needs met through the grants/loans system.

7.  Popular Apprentices Q&A's  What is an Apprenticeship? What is an Apprenticeship?  Do I have to pay anything to become an apprentice? Do I have to pay anything to become an apprentice?  Do I get paid? Do I get paid?  Do I get holidays? Do I get holidays?  (Paying to become an apprentice, the “apprenticeship premium”, was abolished in the Wages Council Act 1959. Is it coming back?)

8.  In Germany applied theoretical knowledge is key to apprenticeships and vocational learning  Learning moves between classroom, workshop and workplace  Question of whether nurses are apprentices or students is different in France and Germany.  The relationship of placements to institutional learning is theorised in Germany. In Britain there are not support structures for it.

9.  Connecting Learning and Work (CLAW)  Universities so far: Brighton, Warwick, Westminster, Kings, South Bank  Seeking partnership with world-of-work bodies  Scope: work experience in schools, colleges and universities, for unemployed and labour- market inactive people (“workfare”), apprenticeship. Continuities between these phases, general principles

10.  Sequence: how are different placements absorbed into a career?  Learner voice  Curriculum  Educating the mentors  Legal frameworks  Learner subsistence and pay  Qualifications and accreditation

11.  Governance/regulation issues including quality assurance, employer/institution links, trade union involvement, placement search, learning reps, learner voice, equity  Education issues including applied theoretical knowledge, curriculum integration, continuity of learning across phases, qualifications, frameworks  Labour market/work issues including pay, boundary with volunteering, working conditions, health and safety, local labour markets, travel to learn

12.  14-16: no longer compulsory (Wolf Report)  16-19 leaving learning age kicks in  Tension between apprentice as learner and as worker. (Ryan)  No connection between placements in different phases. The learning logic in doing a placement pre 16 and another 16-18 is not communicated (Muir and Fettes)  Formal work experience placements are never tied into a student’s part-time job (unless the student makes the connections)  Professional education: Teach First and new social work equivalent “Frontline”, Nurse education, all controversial

13.  The placement’s capacity to enhance learning is very powerful, but only if the learner’s needs are explicitly taken into account, and guaranteed through negotiated structures  These structures will differ according to the phase and type of education/training, but must at least be robust enough to ensure that a valid learning experience is offered and that rights in the workplace are not infringed

14.  Placement trainees and apprentices are engaged in legitimate peripheral practice  When do communities of practice become communities of learning?  How can we ensure that all placements are organised as learning programmes rather than as cheap/free labour?