Combining formal, non-formal and informal learning for workforce skill development

Action learning strategies

Action learning can be defined as a process in which a group of people come together more or less regularly to help each other to learn from their experiences (Revans 1980). The author’s basic proposition is that we have two sources of learning. We learn from ‘experts’ and from thinking about our own (shared) experience. In this section we discuss a variety of ways that individuals can come together both to learn and to solve organisational problems.

‘Communities of practice’

Wenger and Snyder’s (2000) concept of communities of practice is useful in understanding how groups can come together to share information. Communities of practice are often self-selected and meet in informal spaces to discuss issues in which they have a passionate interest. For example, Wenger notes that they include ‘a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. In a nutshell: ‘communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly’ <http://www.ewenger.com/theory/>. Callan (2004) is of the view that such a concept can be harnessed to aid organisational innovation. He also believes that managers interested in using the concept for organisational learning may need to identify the right people and to provide them with sufficient support.

Callan (2004) provides us with a variety of examples demonstrating how the communities of practice concept can be applied to enable VET practitioners to ‘share stories and learning and turn implicit understanding into more explicit knowledge which can be used to solve further problems’ (p.23).

Incubators

Similar to the communities of practice model but more formally structured is the ‘incubator’ concept of action learning. Here groups of employees will retreat to a specified space to concentrate on a specific topic both to learn more about new processes and to develop innovative ways for dealing with specific issues. Business incubators aim to help new businesses to start up and grow. The Australian Government funds the Building Entrepreneurship in Small Business Program to provide incubators with premises, advice services and support for a specified number of years, adequate for the business to be able to enter the wider business community.

Gold Coast Institute has established an incubator where teaching staff in clothing production meet regularly with representatives from clothing and surf-wear companies (including Billabong, Voodoo Dolls, Salty Tiger and Brothers Nielsen) to develop new ways to design and classify jobs to attract talented people and renew the viability of the clothing industry in Australia (Callan 2004).

Skills laboratories

The skills laboratory is another form of training that is used to develop the skills and knowledge of learners. This concept can be applied to the VET sector in terms of training workers for the community services industry (for example, personal care workers and enrolled nurses). One example of the skills laboratory concept currently being used for the training of existing staff and initial entrants is the Clinical Skills Laboratory of the Medical Education Program of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (a major teaching hospital in Adelaide, South Australia) <http://www.tqeh.sa.gov.au/public/content/default.asp?xcid=141>.

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  The laboratory enables medical students and staff to learn and practise hands-on simulated procedures in a supported learning environment before they perform the same procedures in the real workplace. They are given feedback on performance and are given opportunities to reflect on their practice. The laboratory enables learners to practise on both real and simulated patients in learning situations. Simulated patients are volunteers who are part of the SPACE (simulated patients advancing clinical education) program and become important learning partners in medical education. They engage in interview role-plays acting out scripts to enable learners to interview patients or collect a health history. They may also allow learners to perform physical examinations, measure blood pressure recordings, or practise chest drain removal techniques. SPACE volunteers also engage in acting workshops which help them to perform in a manner which is consistent with others who are also performing a similar role.
  
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  Similar to the skills laboratory is the hairdressing salon concept provided by many public and private hairdressing schools. Here the learners practise their skills of cutting, styling and colouring hair on real customers who pay a discounted price (compared with that charged by commercial businesses) for hairdressing services.
  

Quality circles

The ‘quality circle’ is another example of how groups of workers from across the company can come together to solve organisational problems and enhance learning. It became more popular when the quality movement of the 1980s caught the imagination of large corporations and they organised their staff to attend in-house training programs to prepare them for their roles in the quality process. Quality circles were one mechanism by which workers could have their say about how to improve work processes, products and services. Issues that exercised quality circle members covered the gamut of organisational functions ranging from administrative processes for staff recruitment, selection and payroll services, through to product development, sales and marketing, distribution and customer services.

Recognising skills acquired through informal and
non-formal learning

The formal recognition of skills and knowledge gained through informal and non-formal learning can help individuals enter, progress through and complete formal studies, obtain jobs and promotions, acquire formal professional status conferred by professional associations for specific occupations and, for migrants, acquire a skilled migration visa. Uptake of formal RPL processes continues to be low. Although we cannot discount the role of student preferences for learning things from scratch, researchers have noted the role played by overly bureaucratic systems presenting evidence to support claims for RPL.

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  Various programs have been implemented to help those who have not completed their formal schooling to have their skills and knowledge assessed via RPL. For example the ‘Life experience counts’ program comprises a 17-hour flexible delivery course which uses a combination of formal structured training and more informal sessions to help participants identify their skills and experiences and prepare a portfolio they can use to show assessors for RPL assessments. They can then use the results of these assessments, if successful, to move on to further formal training.
  
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  The Queensland Government’s ‘Skills First’ (RPL) Program has implemented the Skilling Solutions Initiative to enable individuals to have their skills and experience recognised for full or partial qualifications. Here trained assessors (generally teachers from the technical and further education [TAFE] sector) sit down with individuals to develop customised plans for employment and skills recognition. They then refer these individuals to registered training organisations to have their skills formally recognised and to enrol in training to address any identified skills gaps. A $200 voucher is given to applicants to pay for the RPL assessment.
  
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  In 2002 the Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (SSABSA) implemented a Recognition of Community Learning Policy (SSABSA 2006). This is aimed at recognising learning that has occurred in community-devised accredited programs or personal learning programs which do not follow an organised program of study, and count towards the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). Students must complete the necessary application form and provide evidence of awards received and learning undertaken. Evidence of personal learning can be provided in personal learning interviews, portfolios and witness statements. Students are responsible for collecting the evidence to support their claim; however, they may obtain help from a teacher or mentor. The student will also attend a meeting with SSABSA assessors in which they will have to demonstrate knowledge, application, reflection and critical thinking.¹⁵