ABSTRACT
A growing concern for tertiary education students (including those in technical and vocational education) in many countries with advanced industrial economies is for them to move smoothly into practicing their selected occupations upon graduation (Department of Education, Science and Training 2002, Silverberg et al. 2004, Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills 2008). That is, for them to be “job ready” (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2010). Yet, securing job readiness is a tough educational goal, because it is not often known which jobs students will obtain upon graduation. Given that work requirements differ across workplaces even when the same occupation is being enacted (Billett 2001), ensuring job readiness will always be problematic. Yet, the imperative of job readiness means that work-based experiences are now increasingly becoming elements of tertiary education provisions. Some occupations have well established traditions of including work experiences in their preparatory processes (e.g. medicine, law, nursing, teaching, trades) as do some countries. The cooperative education movement in North America (Ricks 1996) and German dual apprenticeship systems (Deissinger and Hellwig 2005) are well-entrenched examples of these arrangements. However, work-based experiences are now being widely included in occupation-specific tertiary education programs (Billett 2009). These experiences can be directed towards quite distinct educational purposes (e.g. work readiness, occupational preparation, refinement of skills, etc) and take particular forms (e.g. internships, day-release, practicums, clinical experiences, work experience programs). Hence, education-focused interactions and engagements are increasing between tertiary education institutions and workplaces, involving supervisors, managers and, where they exist, human resource development (HRD) practitioners.
