Occupational identity in Australian traineeships: An initial exploration

1. Occupational identity in Australian traineeships: An initial exploration Erica Smith, University of Ballarat Australia

2. Apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia • Approx 400,000 participants from 1.6 million VET participants and a labour force of 12 million; • Participants are always employed and therefore ‘study’ part-time towards a qualification, usually at AQF level III or IV; • Participants may be of any age and may work full-time or part-time; • The government funds the training and also provides employment incentives; and • ‘Study’ may be at a public (TAFE) college or a private college (‘RTOs’), or mainly on-the-job.

3. What’s different about traineeships? • They are ‘new’ (approx 20 years) and more likely to be in newer industry areas and/or those which did not traditionally have any qualifications; • They cover many jobs where the workforce is predominantly female eg aged care, retail; • They suffered for many years from perceptions of low quality in delivery and a thin curriculum; • They usually last for 12-18 months as opposed to a typical 3-year apprenticeship.

4. Occupational identity • A “home” with psychological, social and ideological “anchors” (Brown, 2004); • Often fixed through history but nevertheless offering scope for shaping either individually or collectively; • Workers vary in their need and desire for occupational identity.

5. The research • Two case studies from a study on quality in traineeships. • Each involved 6-8 senior stakeholder interviews at industry and government level (State and National) and two company exemplars, involving interviews with workers, managers and training providers). • Asset maintenance (cleaning) Certificate III and General construction Certificate II.

6. Asset maintenance (cleaning) • An industry area that previously lacked qualifications.

7. Major issues: Cleaning • An industry with low profit margins and many underqualified managers. • Workers often had low literacy levels. • High levels of technological advance and deep knowledge requirements. • Snobbery exhibited by some stakeholders and training providers. • Workers enjoyed training but were relatively unaware of qualification ladders and career prosects.

8. General Construction Certificate II • An industry where apprenticeships are firmly entrenched, at Certificate III level.

9. Main issues: Construction • Massive resistance by trade unions to traineeships. • Has resulted in low levels of take-up and poor pathways into Cert III (Apprenticeship level). • A new qualification with better pathways was being blocked by trade unions at the time of the study. • Often used for disadvantaged groups eg indigenous workers in remote locations and for high-school-based workers. • In most cases employers used apprentice-like training methods.

10. Discussion • Individual level: Some workers may identify more closely with organisation than the occupation; they may not value their traineeship qualification very highly; some trainees don’t know they are on traineeships. • Organisational level: Many employers are inexperienced in traineeship management. Unions have actively opposed traineeships. • Society as a whole: The jobs covered by traineeships are of lower status than those covered by apprenticeships. This may change over time.

11. Find out more? • Smith, E., Comyn, P., Brennan Kemmis, R. & Smith, A. (forthcoming). High quality traineeships: identifying what works. Adelaide: NCVER. www.ncver.edu.au • Or email e.smith@ballarat.edu.au