Technology for work based Learning

One of the sessions in the JISC CETIS Conference 2008 Programme

This session will have two related themes.
 * Building on present practice and supporting technology
 * Stakeholders and Personal Learning Spaces in Employment

Building on present practice and supporting technology
Simon Grant's slides: [[Media:Simon2008-11-25.odp|OpenOffice format]]; [[Media:Simon2008-11-25.ppt|PowerPoint format]]

There is experience gathered over recent years on various aspects of learning related in one way or another to work, e.g. Some of these already have significant technological support, some have little or none yet in general use.
 * work as an integral part of learning: work experience; placement; year out / abroad
 * self-motivated learning related to work, e.g. through the OU
 * employer-led (skills) training in the workplace: on-the-job training; Train to Gain; training courses from commercial providers or HEIs/FEIs
 * professional development, as facilitated or set out by professional bodies
 * learning based on experiences emerging from work (e.g. through action learning or inquiry-based learning)

Now there is a new requirement: to support the kind of work-based learning envisaged as part of the Leitch agenda, where higher-level learning in the workplace addresses the needs of both employers and employees, and must be provided or facilitated by suitable organisations.
 * Can this be supported effectively by the same kind of technology?
 * If so, what are the examples of good practice that might transfer beneficially?
 * If not, what new developments are needed, possibly to support new forms of practice?
 * Are new initiatives in this area using technology in any new ways (e.g. idibl, Advance)?
 * What are the potential roles of HEIs in these emerging practices?

Stakeholders and Personal Learning Spaces in Employment
[[Media:A_Vision_of_a_UK_Region_in_2012.ppt|PowerPoint slides]] from Peter Rees Jones

'''We understand the need for supply-side investment. But we have also taken up the more complex challenges involved in creating healthy skill ‘ecosystems’ capable of sustaining skill formation and use”.'''(Leslie Loble, New South Wales Department of Education and Training)

This session will expose ideas that are entering the debate about employability in UK, in particular the recent ESRC review of Australian work on sustainable skill ecosystems. A key finding is that the performance of an employer or a nation does not depend on its stockpile of skills but on the alignment of skills with the requirements of the workplace.

BUT what is sufficient for an enterprise may be insufficient for the economy of a region or a state or Europe and the individual. An individual who learns what is required for an enterprise adding low value may have the potential to learn what is required for an enterprise adding high value, which finds it difficult to recruit staff with higher skills. It is in the interest of the economy and of society that such individuals are able to achieve their potential. In this way social mobility may be restored.

How may new employees continue learning and pursue their own personal development beyond the skills sufficient for their current job? and how may we capture the value of this good alongside the quantified evidence for employment?

The session will propose a Vision of what the technology enables and two Service Usage Models capturing the value added to employer and employee in order to evidence the value added by a sustainable approach satisfying different stakeholders.