There are many different approaches to the term ‘work-based learning’. One approach refers to learning that occurs when people do real work in a real work environment. This is paid or unpaid work that leads to the production of real goods and services. Practical learning that takes place in an educational institution – for instance in a vocational school’s workshop – and classroom-based learning that happens to take place in an enterprise are not WBL. Virtual firms, practice firms and simulation tools are used by some educational institutions. These are not a substitute for the participation of learners in work practice and process, as they cannot create all of the features of a real workplace, but they can be useful when the alternative is difficult to access.
According to an another approach Work-based learning (WBL) in vocational education and training is learning that occurs in real work environments through participation in authentic work activities and interactions. Work-based learning is a central tenet of VET, because it emphasises learning through practice in the workplace. Work-based learning is embedded in the curriculum and can involve deliberate engagement with those experiences for learning purposes and the formal recognition of the competencies achieved through those experiences. There are several different approaches to work-based learning in VET. In some models, the learner is an employee who is located in the workplace more than in the classroom, which contrasts with other models where learners are primarily students in education and training providers, with only some timespent in the workplace or undertaking work-related projects.
The third approach highlightens tree major aspects of WBL: learning through work, learning for work and learning at work.
The main types of WBL are as following:
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The SWOT - Skills for Work Opportunities in Eno-gastronomy and Tourism project © 2018