This paper focuses on independent training providers (ITPs) -- in other words, private companies -- as suppliers of vocational education and training in post-war England. Whilst acknowledging the central role of further education (FE) colleges in delivering vocational learning, it draws attention to a large, diverse sector of ITPs operating…

Occupational expertise has always been constituted and afforded recognition and status in work contexts, however, these contexts are becoming increasingly interconnected and interrelated, underpinned by, 'intangible assets'. To explore this complex process and its implications for vocational education and training (VET), this article uses the…

The term tertiary education has gained prominence in recent policy debates in the UK [Morgan (2023). "Labour 'would review whole landscape' of tertiary education." "Times Higher Education," 28 November. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/labour-would-review-whole-landscape-tertiary-education]. This paper presents…

This research investigates the initial degree programme of a new Higher Education Provider (HEP) through a practitioner-based case study focusing on the experiences of senior leaders enrolled as mature degree apprentices. The qualitative study utilised an interpretivist and constructivist approach involving in-depth interviews and a focus group.…

The St Martin's Group commissioned Learning and Work Institute to explore the barriers apprenticeship employers face, what employers can do to help apprentices complete their programmes, and ultimately how 'best outcomes' of apprenticeships are defined by different parties across the system. More than 800 apprenticeship employers were surveyed to…

In England, a new model of apprenticeship was initiated in whose stated intention was to 'put employers in the driving seat'. Regulation of the new model was focused on the mandatory 20% of apprentices' work time allocated to off-the-job training offered by colleges and other training providers. Based on case studies of employers and training…

Degree apprenticeships offer a new route to a degree in UK higher education, with policymakers emphasising their social mobility potential to widen access to graduate professions. In this context, this article compares the employability perceptions and strategies of aspiring solicitors on traditional university and degree apprenticeship routes in…

In recent years, there has been a large push to increase the supply and quality of apprenticeships. The Apprenticeship Levy--a form of taxation designed to help businesses offer apprenticeships--was introduced in 2017, alongside other policy changes such as the move from Frameworks to Standards and new rules on the quality of training. But despite…

Involving students in peer review has substantial benefits for students' learning and development and, more pragmatically, for staff workload. This paper reports on a student-led effort to co-design a peer review formative assessment task. The assessment is part of a personal development module within a higher education degree apprenticeship…

Purpose: The study explores Degree Apprenticeship Identity (DAI) conceptualisation to enrich understanding to enhance work-integrated learning (WIL). Lived experiences of degree apprentices (DAs) are examined, and a model of DAI developed to support teaching and learning interventions on this relatively new and significant programme.…

This essay provides a holistic review of what girls and young women learned, and the settings in which they learned, in the Middle Ages in England between the Norman Conquest (1066) and the Dissolution of the Monasteries (late 1530s). Education of girls was carried out in households, elementary schools, and nunneries, as well as through employment…

Ensuring that the education system works for pupils from all backgrounds is key to the Department of Education's aims. This document collates and contextualises available evidence on outcomes by ethnicity across the post-16 education system in England. Doing so allows for a rounded view of the data in proper context, and overall trends to emerge.…

TVET educator roles and identities vary internationally, and are subject to repositioning, for example as the relative significance of institutions and the workplace change within national systems. In English apprenticeships, a key position has long been occupied by competence assessors, whose non-teaching role has related uneasily to those of…

This study analyses attempts to renew apprenticeship over the last three decades in three liberal market economies -- US, England and Australia. We conceptualise institutional renewal as entailing both revival, or growth in apprentice starts, "and" extension, or widening its occupational base. The paper contributes to the literature by…

Competency-based training (CBT) is the key training approach used in the vocational education and training sector in Australia. Competency-based training is an approach to vocational education and training (VET) designed to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve competency. It focuses on an individual's mastery of skill, whereby an…