1. Promoting Innovative Capabilities in Apprenticeships
Dr. Ludger Deitmer,
University of Bremen,
Institute Technik und Bildung
Germany
ECER // VETNET CADIZ 2012
Session 10B,
Innovative Competences: Apprenticeships, Capabilities and Learning Environments

2. Key questions How are innovations organised nowadays?
Why is the involvement of workers into the shaping of innovations so important?
Why is learning for and on innovations into products or manufacturing processes important for apprentices?
By which methodological approaches can this subjective dimension on innovative capabilities be studied?
How can learning environment influence the promotion for the development of innovative capabilities at the personel level?
How may a TVET systems be transformed into a pillar for promoting product and process innovation?

3. Understanding of Innovation as a top down process
Concept
design
System
design
Detail
design
Prototype
testing
Refine
ment
Manu
facturing
Innovation as a sequential process
Manufacturing expertise is only needed at the end of the innovation development process

4. Overlapping innovation phases: Concurrent innovation is based on incremental improvements
Concept
design
System
design
Manu
facturing
Detail
design
Refine
ment
Prototype
testing

5. Innovation as an interactice process
Classical understanding of innovation
Critiques on classical understanding of innovation making by Lundvall 1992, Van Hippel 1988, Nonaka/Takeuchi 1995, Rauner 1991, Porter 2001
Higher requirements on quality; customization, flexible specialisation
Holistic skills (Rauner 2007)
New understanding of innovation
Innovation is multi faced shaping process by internal and external actors
„Innovation is a process of interactive learning in which a wide array of institutional mechanisms and actors play a role“ (Morgan 1997)

6. ? Innovation management by control or participation?
Innovation management by: participation
Organisational consequences for the skilling of emerging workers
function-oriented work organisation
business-oriented work organisations
Learning within business process and at the work place
distinguished hierarchy with many organisational layers
flatter organisational hierarchies
Self regulated working methods like plan, do, act and control cycles
low fragmented qualifications on the direct production
shaping competences, holistic skills also a the side of the direct production level: Trades people, skilled workers etc.
Making suggestions for improvements on product and manufacturing processes; desing to assembly
Work is planned in detail and excecuted;
Self commitment, self responsibility
Important is vocational identity and occupational commitment
quality by external control
quality consciousness on all levels and functions
professional level of training increasing
? Innovation management by control or participation?

7. Proportion of firms reporting novelty of innovation
Novelty of innovation and 2005.
Proportion of firms reporting novelty of innovation
Type of innovation
New to enterprise %
New to industry
New to Country
New to world
Product/service 74 20 15
>1
Process 87 11 4 1
Organisational 94 6
Source: ABS 2006b: Table 2.13 Note the rows do not sum to 100% as firms could
provide multiple responses to each question if they were unable to
allocate the degree of novelty of an innovation to a single category. (Toner 2011)

8. Ranking cases by qualtiy index and their spider profile
Barriers to Innovation, 2004 and 2005: P. Toner 2011; Study on Workforce Skills and Innovation, OECD
Barriers
Innovating firms
Non-innovating firms
Cost related barriers
58.4
36.5
Any market related barriers
36.7
27.0
Lack of skilled staff
27.2
20.6
Other barriers
4.6
4.9
No barriers to innovation
26.7
48.1
Source: ABS (2006b) (a) Calendar years. (b) Businesses could identify more than one barrier

9. Workers within new production concepts
Workers plan, control and validate their own work arena – beside the factual production itself.
Workers are able to make improvements on production process and the manufacturing of the products – re-design
Workers communicate with engineers to increase product manufacturability
Worker keep hold of “holistic skills”.

10. A case for innovative training practices out of the manufacturing industry
Manufacturer of automation equipment
automation machines for pharmaceutical products, tissue, CD etc.
Ca. 230 employees

11. Apprenticeship training from the beginning
1969 industrial mechanic
1994 industrial clerk / adminstrator
1999 mechatronic
2006 process mechanic for plastics and rubber technology

12. First Lesson: „Sharing of Knowledge between manufacturing and construction/design is one of our key assets“

13. Second lesson„Our apprentice‘s are in the middle of company action“
Putting apprentices on central path
Following the production process throughout the company

14. Third lesson: „Our apprentices can work on our products right from the start“
Allows them to be in touch with work company orders and its technology.
Can understand how innovative products are made.
Learn that many actors are involved – including the customers

15. Fourth lesson: „Working with our engineers is not a one way street…“
Better understanding of design, construction and the ways from design to manufacturing
Learning by problem oriented company action projects
Projects based teams of apprentices with own construction and design work
Apprentices learn to give feedback to engineers for exp. whether the product is manufacturable.

16. How did we identify this Case?
By using an self-evaluaton instrument for company trainers
to study the relationship between
costs, benefits and quality of in-company training
from
Data Base of the IBB reseach group, University of Bremen
Heinemann, Piening & Rauner,
&
VET Teacher students, ITB, University of Bremen
Case studies on the qualtiy of training within apprenticeship companies within North West Germany economic region

17. What is QRC Quality, Returns and Costs ?
QRC is an online self evaluation tool for practioners.
QRC is based on concrete key questions to trainers and co-trainers.
QRC enables companies to self-estimate costs, returns and the quality of apprenticeship.
QRC has a double function: diagnosis and research

18. The Innovation Spider for the first case
Learning in
the workplace:
experience - based learning
Vocational
committment
Professional
level of training:
core working task
Learning
in work processes
(PDCA circle)
Self regulated
learning
1 year light brown, 2 year blue; 3 year green; 4th year light blue

19. Increase of apprentice productivity during the 3 years of training
100
Niveau of skilled workers 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20
Phase 1: vocational orientation
Phase 2: rising competence development
Phase 3: reaching proficiency 10 1
1,5 2
0,5
2,5 3
Years of apprenticeship

20. 1. Learning in the workplace (very good: 1,33)
apprenticeship training above level of other companies in the region within this occupational field
1. Learning in the workplace (very good: 1,33)
6. Vocational committment (very good: 2,15)
2. Professional level of training (good: 2,33)
3. Autonomous/independent learning (good: 2,00)
5. Professional competence (very good: 1,45)
4. Learning in work processes (good: 2,00)
Average rankings of one company Average rankings of other companies

21. IT service company, Kira Sparenborg

22. Elektro Klasen & Hartenfels, Kirchlinteln, electric engineering company Matthias Klasen

23. Automation system company, Low Saxony, Marcus Martens

24. Engineering and production of special tools company. Carsten Vaske

25. electrical engineering company, ship building industry Sarah Feldmann

26. Hairdresser craft trade company Kai Neumann

27. IT development and service company, Bremen Carmen Debbiche

28. Craft trade painting company Kolja Buß

29. Strenght and Weaknesses
Weak Cases
Too many unqualified work task
Little involvement into the business process
Weak occupational committment
Little contact with customers
Strong cases
active in company trainers
Learning on real and skilled work task
60 % of the learning time on skilled work task
Critical first year; too little learning within the production environment;
needs special attention by trainers and teachers

30. Recommendations
Maximising learning time on real in-company work orders
Different kind of work and learning task (WLT): beginners, advanced beginners and young experts
Comprehensive work task with planning and preperation as well as assessment after work completed
WLT as a part of the companies business process based on common quality standards
WLT should force apprentices to cooperate
Mutual projects between school and companies
Coordination of company training plan and school curriculum
The use of Tools (QRC) can help to support and analyse but also allows to compare cases and to identify communalities and differences (Programme evaluation).

31. Prospects: Can TVET systems be transformed into a pillar of innovation?
(i) Production processes that simultaneously are learning environments, to which the provision of learning opportunities at work is inherent
(ii) A corporate culture that facilitates cooperation, communication among all relevant innovation actors – particularly including those “players” that hold practical experience.
(iii) Balance of theoretical and practical learning in every phase of vocational training and learning in an scientific apprenticeship(„dual integrated bachelor with practical expertise“) by integrating practical and theoretical knowledge