Academic Perspective on Successful Practice in Workforce Development

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Academic Perspective on Successful Practice in
Workforce Development
Learning after Leitch Building Partnerships
Practice to Upskill the Workforce

• John Stephenson
• Emeritus Professor, Middlesex University
• April 17th 2007

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The RSA Education for Capability Manifesto, 1978
There is a serious imbalance in Britain today in
the full process which is described by the two
words education and training...
A well-balanced education should. include
creative skills, the competence to undertake and
complete tasks and the ability to cope with
everyday life and also doing all these things in
co-operation with others.
There exists in its own right a culture which is
concerned with doing, making and organizing and
the creative arts.
Educators should spend more time preparing people
in this way for a life outside the education
system.
For the RSA, both cultures are essential. In the
same process?
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• 1988 -1997 HEC
• looked at over 700 examples of delivering
  capability via the HE curriculum in most subjects
  - submitted by colleagues in higher education
• organised over 70 conferences and workshops in
  which colleagues shared their experience
• published 10 books of compilations of examples of
  capability programmes, plus the journal
  Capability.

Later this year, the HE Academy is making the HEC
catalogue of examples available free online via
the Academys website
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HEC Books1992 - 2001
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Henry! Our partys total chaos. No one knows
when to eat, where to stand, what to ..... Oh
Thank God, here comes a border collie
Acknowledgements to Larson
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Collusion with Dependence
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If these sheep were capable they would have three
extra attributes ability to learn for
themselves, and quickly suss out the new
environment belief in their personal power to
perform in new situations (they would have the
confidence, having spotted the pasture discretely
left by the host, to do something about it) and
powers of judgement (they might even question
whether it was appropriate for sheep to be at the
party and simply leave).
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Capable people and organisations
Unfamiliar context
A way of looking at the world of actions
Unfamiliar problems
Familiar problems
Familiar context
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Capable people and organisations
Unfamiliar context

• Position Y
• Reliable delivery
• Performance
• standards
• Error elimination
• Technical expertise
• Established
• procedures
• TRAINING

Unfamiliar problems
Familiar problems
Y
Familiar context
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Capable people and organisations
Unfamiliar context
Position Z Exposure Autonomy Networks
peers Problem formulation Courage,
risk Imagination, intuition creativity Responsibi
lity LEARNING
Z
Unfamiliar problems
Familiar problems
Familiar context
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Capable people and organisations
Unfamiliar context
The Challenge to develop and recognise learning
in BOTH Y and Z
Z
Unfamiliar problems
Familiar problems
Y
Familiar context
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To develop capability,students and employees
should behelped to become responsible and
accountable for their own learning
The process is the outcome
Applies as much to traditional academic subjects
as to studies more explicitly focused on
employability
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Research on Management styles
The overwhelming actual style of
management avoidance, characterised by a fear of
failure, denial of responsibility and withdrawal
from threatening situations or people. Managers
also (seek) security by sticking to established
rules and procedures.
Its not just the lower ranks that need
up-grading
Review of 35,000 managers in Australia and New
Zealand From Ducking for cover the Aussie
Boss, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 11 02
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• Two related examples in HE
• The use of learning contracts for the development
  of high level soft skills
• Work-place learning partnerships - online

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Learner negotiated learning contracts
Learner negotiates... - purpose - location,
pace, style - content - learning process -
role of tutors - access to resources - progress
monitoring - learning outcomes - criteria for
assessment - mode of assessment
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Learner managed learning contracts and soft key
skills
Including via traditional academic subjects
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Learner managed learning contracts and soft key
skills
Planning
Self-appraisal,context awareness,target-setting,
scheduling, creativity, decision-making, problem
formulation.
Negotiating
Reflecting
Implementing
Demonstrating
Including via traditional academic subjects
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Learner managed learning contracts and soft key
skills
Planning
Communication, awareness of others, justification
of relevance to self and context, clarity of
purpose, resource awareness, competence in
procedures
Negotiating
Reflecting
Implementing
Demonstrating
Including via traditional academic subjects
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Learner managed learning contracts and soft key
skills
Self-organisation, monitoring skills, adaptation
to experience, application of knowledge, working
for a purpose, working with others
Including via traditional academic subjects
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Learner managed learning contracts and soft key
skills
Planning
Presentation skills, communication, evaluation of
performance, dialogue with experts, self and peer
assessment, awareness of impact
Negotiating
Reflecting
Demonstrating
Implementing
Including via traditional academic subjects
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Learner managed learning contracts and soft key
skills
Planning
Conceptual development, understanding (knowledge,
self and context), problem reformulation,
awareness of personal needs for development.
Negotiating
Reflecting
Implementing
Demonstrating
Including via traditional academic subjects
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Learner managed learning contracts and soft key
skills
Confidence in power to perform, self-management,
communication, collaboration in a changing world
Including via traditional academic subjects
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Learner managed learning contracts develop
peoples

• ability to manage own learning
• belief in own power to perform
• ability to formulate problems
• habit of sharing learning
• judgement of own effectiveness
• understanding of underlying principles

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Capability and Learning Through Work leading to
HE Qualifications - Online
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Partnerships inLearning Through Work
Supervision Resources Dialogue Intellectual
Challenge Quality assurance Accreditation
Mentoring Resources Real work projects Business
Challenge Innovation Interpersonal
Planned, negotiated and driven by the learner
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Capability Learning through Work?
Distinctive learning through work programme
customised by client
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Structure of UfI/learndirects Online LTW
Programme
Exploration Online tasters, is it for me, whats
involved
Design Examples, level statements, procedures,
ideas, expert advice, content areas, activities
Negotiation Registration of personalised
programme with a university
Implementation Pursue registered programme with
work-place university support
Demonstration Show achievements against agreed
criteria to gain award
3000 learners have registered programmes in 9 HEIs
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Online Learning Through Work - some beneficiaries
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• Leitch Principles.
• shared responsibility. Employers, individuals and
  the Government
• focus on economically valuable skills with real
  returns for individuals, employers and society.
  Wherever possible, skills should be portable
• demand-led skills that meet the needs of
  individuals and employers
• adapt and respond to future market needs
• build on existing structures.. Continuity is
  important

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Learner managed three-way partnerships brokered
and quality-assured by HEIs
can provide the higher level skills development
of the existing workforce requested by Leitch
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Academic Perspective on Successful Practice in
Workforce Development
Learning after Leitch Building Partnerships
Practice to Upskill the Workforce

• John Stephenson
• Emeritus Professor, Middlesex University
• April 17th 2007