Reporting the new competence needs of clerical–administrative workers: an employer perspective

Vocational educators' perspectives of workplace learning: a case study on senior schooling

“…This alternative view of competence focuses on the relationship between people's experience of competence (and the meaning of the work for them) and the workplace in which the competence is demonstrated. The results of a study which reported on the new competence needs of clerical-administrative workers illustrated that they were still being trained in conventional and functional technical skills (Velde, 1997). These results were in contrast to the rhetoric in Australian Government Reports (e.g.…”

“…Sandberg, 1994;Velde, 1997). The Australian National Framework has moved towards accredited training packages which are more flexible and act as a guide It is therefore essential that more holistic methods of assessing competence are explored in vocational education, in order that there is not a focus on technical/pragmatic skills/alone, but that the important higher level competencies, such as strategic, problem-solving, managerial and entrepreneurial skills are developed.…”

“…However, more recent literature (e.g. Sandberg, 1994;Velde, 1997) has called for a more enlightened conception of competence which is both multi-faceted and holistic in nature. Sandberg (1994) argues for the inclusion of the individual's conception of the work.…”

The development of national occupational standards for intercultural working in the UK

“…Not only has it deployed a mixedmethods approach through two extensive consultation rounds throughout the UK with a wide range of representatives from different sectors, but the feedback and subsequent drafts of the standards themselves have been discussed by a heterogeneous steering group comprising members from a range of different occupational sectors. Further reaching inductive approaches, which ground standards development in empirical data gleaned from workplace contexts, hold much potential for future standards development projects (Dall'Alba and Sandberg 1996;Gerber and Velde 1996;Sandberg 1994Sandberg , 2000Velde 1997Velde , 1999Velde and Hopkins 1995).…”

“But will the teacher like it?” cultures of competency-based training and the development of proficiency

“…Deterministic beliefs about ability need to be questioned and modified and students assisted in acquiring a variety of learning strategies to prepare them for the many different learning environments with which they will be PAULINE JAMES & JULIE COLEMAN presented during their lifetime. Velde (1997) also argues that 'learning how to learn' is crucial under the fluid post-Fordist workplace conditions that now exist for clerical-administrative workers. In addition, more effort needs to be expended, for both groups, on the development of team-work skills and on the capacity to formulate and work systematically towards individual and group goals.…”