Introduction
Most Australian universities have recently strengthened their commitment to WIL through adding WIL to their strategic directions and re-shaping areas of the university to better manage and support WIL provision. This is occurring in the context of both an appreciation of Australia’s labour and skills challenges as well as a greater recognition of the workplace as a unique and valuable learning environment for students. This paper explores how Australian Universities are presently conceiving WIL and attempts to draw some connections to Career Development Learning. Finally, this paper discusses some of the key challenges universities face in extending WIL provision to all fields of education.
Why the interest in WIL?
The current interest in WIL in higher education is closely linked to governments’ and industries’ concern with lifting workplace participation and productivity, addressing skills and labour shortages and keeping pace with increasing demand and intensifying international competition. Australia is facing major labour and skills shortages but has near to full employment with record low unemployment. In addition, an aging workforce means that there is an increasing need to keep the skills of employees current and relevant while they continue working.
All sectors of education are being asked to respond to Australia’s labour and skills challenges. WIL has long been used as a pathway for work-readiness in professional education. Increasingly, however, WIL is being positioned as one of the key opportunities for improving the work-readiness of all graduates even in areas that have not traditionally been linked to clear employment outcomes.
A number of studies from the last decade have raised concerns about the work-readiness of graduates not in terms of graduates lack of disciplinary knowledge but in terms of their generic employability skills (ACNielsen Research Services 2000; ACCI/BCA 2002). A more recent Business Industry and Higher Education Collaboration Council (BIHECC) report which sought to provide advice to the Commonwealth Government on ways to improve employability skills observed that:
Broadly speaking industry representatives are satisfied with the technical or discipline-specific skills of graduates, but for some there is a perception that employability skills are under-developed. Some employers believe that universities are providing students with a strong knowledge base but without the ability to intelligently apply that knowledge in the work setting. This is backed up by international research.(BIHECC 2007)
The report made clear recommendations which emphasise the particular role that WIL can play in advancing employability skills in higher education. It highlighted the need to: improve and increase access to WIL; encourage businesses to provide structured cadetships, and explicitly report on employability skills demonstrated through WIL (BIHECC 2007).
Universities Australia’s recent proposal for an Australian Internship scheme also positions WIL as a strategy for enhancing national productivity and addressing growing skills shortages as well as for providing students with income support while they study (Universities Australia 2007, p.1). The proposal aims to provide for more university students from a broad range of disciplines including the liberal arts and social science, as well as more traditional areas such
2
as engineering, to undertake paid, structured work-based learning in industry during their studies.
แนะนำมหาวิทยาลัยในออสเตรเลียส่วนใหญ่เมื่อเร็ว ๆ นี้มีความเข้มแข็งความมุ่งมั่นของพวกเขายังคงเพิ่มยังคงทิศทางเชิงกลยุทธ์ของพวกเขา และการสร้างรูปร่างของมหาวิทยาลัยการจัดการ และสนับสนุนการจัดยังคงดี นี้จะเกิดในบริบทของทั้งได้ชื่นชมความท้าทายทักษะและแรงงานของออสเตรเลียรวมทั้งการรับรู้ที่มากขึ้นของทำงานเป็นสภาพแวดล้อมการเรียนรู้ที่ไม่ซ้ำกัน และมีคุณค่าสำหรับนักเรียน กระดาษนี้ว่ามหาวิทยาลัยในออสเตรเลียมีปัจจุบันตั้งครรภ์ยังคงสำรวจ และพยายามที่จะวาดบางเชื่อมต่อเพื่อการเรียนรู้พัฒนาอาชีพ สุดท้าย เอกสารนี้กล่าวถึงบางส่วนของหน้ามหาวิทยาลัยความท้าทายสำคัญในการขยายสำรองยังคงฟิลด์ทั้งหมดของการศึกษาทำไมสนใจในยังคงหรือไม่สนใจปัจจุบันในยังคงในระดับอุดมศึกษาอย่างใกล้ชิดเชื่อมโยงกับความกังวลของรัฐบาลและของอุตสาหกรรมยกทำงานร่วมกับผลผลิต การแก้ปัญหาทักษะและขาดแคลนแรงงาน และเพิ่มความต้องการ และการแข่งขันระหว่างประเทศทวีความรุนแรง ออสเตรเลียจะเผชิญขาดแคลนแรงงานและทักษะที่สำคัญ แต่มีเที่ยวจ้างงานเต็มที่ด้วยการว่างงานต่ำสุดที่บันทึก นอกจากนี้ บุคลากรมีอายุหมายความ ว่า การเพิ่มขึ้นจำเป็นต้องให้ทักษะของพนักงานที่เกี่ยว ข้องในขณะที่พวกเขายังคงทำงานAll sectors of education are being asked to respond to Australia’s labour and skills challenges. WIL has long been used as a pathway for work-readiness in professional education. Increasingly, however, WIL is being positioned as one of the key opportunities for improving the work-readiness of all graduates even in areas that have not traditionally been linked to clear employment outcomes.A number of studies from the last decade have raised concerns about the work-readiness of graduates not in terms of graduates lack of disciplinary knowledge but in terms of their generic employability skills (ACNielsen Research Services 2000; ACCI/BCA 2002). A more recent Business Industry and Higher Education Collaboration Council (BIHECC) report which sought to provide advice to the Commonwealth Government on ways to improve employability skills observed that:Broadly speaking industry representatives are satisfied with the technical or discipline-specific skills of graduates, but for some there is a perception that employability skills are under-developed. Some employers believe that universities are providing students with a strong knowledge base but without the ability to intelligently apply that knowledge in the work setting. This is backed up by international research.(BIHECC 2007)The report made clear recommendations which emphasise the particular role that WIL can play in advancing employability skills in higher education. It highlighted the need to: improve and increase access to WIL; encourage businesses to provide structured cadetships, and explicitly report on employability skills demonstrated through WIL (BIHECC 2007).Universities Australia’s recent proposal for an Australian Internship scheme also positions WIL as a strategy for enhancing national productivity and addressing growing skills shortages as well as for providing students with income support while they study (Universities Australia 2007, p.1). The proposal aims to provide for more university students from a broad range of disciplines including the liberal arts and social science, as well as more traditional areas such2as engineering, to undertake paid, structured work-based learning in industry during their studies.
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