A critical approach to work: The contribution of work-based learning to lifelong learning

Abstract

Work, in all its variety, paid and unpaid, plays a central role in people’s lives and, therefore, in their learning. The ‘workplace’ (variously defined) is increasingly being recognised as a site for learning by researchers and policymakers, and there has been a considerable growth in the number of ‘work-based learning’ programs offered by educational institutions, from schools through to universities. The classic and age-old form of work-based learning, apprenticeship, remains an important element of the vocational education and training (VET) systems of many countries and, as a model of learning, it is and always has been central to many forms of professional education. A growing number of countries now have procedures in place to accredit work-based learning, thus enabling young people and adults to gain qualifications as they work.