Apprentice or Student? The Structures of Construction Industry Vocational Education and Training in Denmark and Sweden and their Possible Consequences for Safety Learning

Abstract

There is a notable difference in occupational injury rates in the two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Denmark, with the latter having a 40% higher rate of fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry. This study explored differences in the vocational education and training (VET) systems between Sweden and Denmark that may be important for students' safety learning and practice during VET. In both countries, students participate in full-time education, and the curriculum includes school-based as well as company-based training. However, during company-based training Swedish students retain their student status, whereas Danish students are employed as apprentices. From a perspective of viewing safety as a social practice developed through interactions of different social and institutional bodies, the analysis

Vocational Education and Learners’ Experienced Workplace Curriculum

“…In contrast, students in school-based VET were timely prepared for workplace learning, and they were able to gradually progress into more demanding tasks. Overall, these suggested differences between vocational pathways match those observed by Grytnes et al (2018), who concluded that connectivity and learners' employment status (apprentice or student) were related to learning and support.…”

“…For example, learners' engagement and agency can be influenced by providing them with a legitimate and influential role, allowing autonomy and independent work instead of a marginalised position, and by providing opportunities to observe others and to receive guidance (Bouw et al 2019;Mikkonen et al 2017). Regarding the VET system as a context, Grytnes et al (2018) concluded that connectivity and learners' employment status during workplace learning varied in the construction sector in Danish and Swedish VET systems and, thus, affected safety practices adopted by learners. They found that Swedish students were novices for a longer time, had the right to voice concerns about safety and teachers acted as students' advocates, whereas Danish employed apprentices highlighted the role of the supervisors and considered safety standards as an expense and an ideal compared to practice.…”

“…Identifying differences between VET pathways or vocational fields has been found to be challenging as the variance between individuals is often high (Poortman 2007). However, previous studies have suggested that diverse learning experiences are related to differences, for example, in competence and vocational identity development (Bound and Lin 2013;Grytnes et al 2018;Virtanen et al 2008Virtanen et al , 2014a, creativity and productivity at work (i.e. developing new methods and completing tasks) (Fjellström and Kristmansson 2016) and commitment to the occupation and orga nisation (Bound and Lin 2013).…”

Supervisors and teachers’ influence on expectations on empowering leadership among students in vocational education and training

“…Since ILT may vary depending on cultural context (House et al 2004), both Swedish (n = 4) and Danish (n = 3) schools were included, representing two similar countries with divergent VETsystems (Grytnes et al 2017). The inclusion of both Swedish and Danish VET-students allowed for the assessment of the hypothesised dynamic nature of ILT in two different cultural contexts.…”

Employees' experiences of education and knowledge in intellectual disability practice

“…This may be the case because workplaces train their employees through workplace education. Studies have demonstrated that varied learning experiences are related to variances, for example, in competence and vocational identity development (Bound & Lin, 2013;Grytnes, Grill, Pousette, Törner, & Nielsen, 2018;Virtanen, Tynjälä, & Eteläpelto, 2014), as well as creativity and productivity at work. Most employees have some weaknesses in their workplace skills.…”