Combining formal, non-formal and informal learning for workforce skill development

Integrated work and learning programs

The concept of ‘work integrated learning’ is a variant of the ‘on-the-job training’ concept applied to apprenticeship and traineeship training (Murphy & Calway 2006). This is observed in formal programs for the initial acquisition of qualifications for the trades, associate professionals and professionals and the further development of skills after graduation.

Cadetships

Combinations of formal, non-formal and informal learning are observed in the operation of cadetships. Cadetships generally operate in trades, associate professional and professional occupations, and in the military where they signify entry-level military training leading onto more advanced ranks. Cadetships often involve scholarships which pay for a component of the formal training and provide the required employment to give cadets on-the-job experience.

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  The Smart Skills Initiative in Queensland has developed a new cadetship program. Designed to complement the traditional apprenticeship and traineeship system, this new learning pathway allows students to acquire higher level qualifications than through an apprenticeship, but still in a work-based setting. It combines the general and technical skills required to work as a para-professional in the targetted industries.
  
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  The Australian Industry Group has recently implemented the Technology Cadetship to provide more efficient pathways for school leavers to enter technical occupations in modern manufacturing industries. It comprises a set of entry-level qualifications linked to on- and off-the-job training. The Cadetship arrangements are set out in a contract of training and employment like those used for traineeships and apprenticeships. The Technology Cadetship will initially be available at AQF certificate levels III and IV which will take approximately 12 months and two years respectively from start to finish. During this time, formal training will be undertaken through a registered training organisation, with the remaining time spent training on the job. These programs will result in a nationally recognised Certificate III or IV in Manufacturing Technology. Cadets have access to a range of pathways, with each pathway being sufficiently flexible to enable a customised package of skills to be developed which are available to meet the unique needs of individual businesses.¹² The Technology Cadetship will also be built upon in the future by expanding the coverage to a broader range of industry sectors and into schools.
  
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  The Construction Industry Training and Employment Association (CITEA) in the Australian Capital Territory has also established cadetship programs in the areas of Contract Administration and Supervisor in Building Construction. Cadetships are also available for individuals who would like to go on to university. In their first year cadets will work in industry and attend training off-site for two days every three weeks. After 12 months they will move into their second year to gain their certificate IV qualification. In the third year they are able to do the diploma and the advanced diploma in construction management. This will enable them to get professional membership of a professional organisation, and move into a degree program, pay no higher education contribution scheme (HECS) fees, and be paid as they complete their education. There is also the opportunity for trade apprentices to undertake 12 months of the trade qualification and if they are selected, to move into the second year of the cadetship program (that is, into the certificate IV program). For those who wish to complete their four-year apprenticeship and get their trade qualifications, there is the opportunity for them to move into the cadetship program at the end of their training. If they are successful they can complete a trade, a diploma and an advanced diploma, and move into a degree program. They are able to acquire a residential building licence on completion of their trade and obtain a certificate IV qualification. They may acquire a commercial A class licence on completion of an advanced diploma.
  
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  The former Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and participating agencies, including Customs, offer cadetship programs to Indigenous Australians to study at university and undertake work placements during holiday periods.
  

Internships

Commonly used for associate professional and professional occupations, such programs often (but not always) apply to individuals who have already commenced a program of formal study, and must support this theory and knowledge training with a period of supervised, practical work-based training. Although an internship is a mandatory component particularly intended for those preparing to be medical practitioners, such programs may also be used by different businesses and organisations to recruit and develop required skills and knowledge. Typically such programs provide scholarships for completion of formal studies and employment.

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  For example, the Citigroup NA and Salomon Smith Barney companies (belonging to the global Citigroup financial institution)¹³ have set up a fellowship program with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s School of Business and Management (HKUST). From the 2000–2001 academic year, 10 students from the undergraduate MBA program have been selected to join the Citigroup Young Fellows program. Here the Young Fellows are given opportunities to work in the Hong Kong offices of the two companies on work–study or summer internship arrangements¹⁴ <http://www.ust.hk/en/pa/e_pa001214-83.html>.
  

Continuing development for professionals

Work integrated learning for professionals is based on the concept that the individual who gains initial entrance into such an occupation is acknowledged to have gained the minimal standards of knowledge and skill required to practise in that profession. Murphy and Calway (2006) are of the view that professionals (especially in high-risk occupations) need to continually update their knowledge and skills to keep abreast of modern developments and to demonstrate that they have acquired higher level skills and knowledge. To this end they emphasise the combination of workplace experience (informal learning) with continuing education (formal learning) for the conferring of special professional status on individuals who can demonstrate compliance with the standards for technical skill and professional competency. In the main, there is a requirement for a minimum level of informal learning (generally, years of experience in the profession) and some extra studies in formal learning programs. Although these are distinct requirements they work in combination to acquire the desired status.