There has been a growing emphasis on providing students in vocational education and training (VET) with workplace experiences. School-based VET and apprenticeship training have been parallel routes in the Finnish VET system, but relatively little is known of their characteristics regarding students’ experiences. This study addresses this research gap by investigating these two VET pathways and addressing the following research question: How do learners experience workplace learning on various learning pathways? This study further investigates three different vocational fields: social and health care, business and administration, and construction. The study was based on semi-structured individual interviews (N = 33): 18 of the participants were students in school-based VET, and 15 were apprentices. The interview data were analysed with thematic analysis. The themes highlighted how the VET pathway builds a frame for participation that is then shaped by work practices and social practices and how, eventually, individuals alter boundaries to participation. The study implies that the two VET pathways, school-based VET and apprenticeship training, have significant differences. However, in the construction sector, differences between students’ experiences of workplace learning seem to be less visible. Based on learning experiences, it seems that apprenticeship training and school-based VET cannot be considered parallel or interchangeable routes. This should be acknowledged because the recent reform of vocational upper secondary education aims to advance a flexible combination of school- and work-based pathways, and it can also be considered when discussing the coherence of VET systems.

中文翻译：

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职业教育和学习者经验丰富的职业课程

越来越重视为职业教育和培训（VET）的学生提供工作经验。在芬兰的职业教育和培训系统中，以学校为基础的职业教育和学徒培训是平行的途径，但是关于学生体验的特征知之甚少。本研究通过研究这两种VET途径并解决以下研究问题来解决这一研究空白：学习者如何通过各种学习途径体验工作场所学习？这项研究进一步研究了三个不同的职业领域：社会与卫生保健，商业与行政以及建筑。该研究基于半结构化个人访谈（N = 33）：其中18名参与者是基于学校的VET的学生，而15名是学徒。通过专题分析对访谈数据进行分析。这些主题强调了职业教育与培训途径如何建立参与框架，然后由工作实践和社会实践来塑造，最终个人如何改变参与边界。这项研究表明，两种职业教育途径，校本职业教育和学徒培训都存在显着差异。但是，在建筑部门，学生在工作场所学习经历之间的差异似乎不太明显。根据学习经验，学徒培训和基于学校的职业教育与培训似乎不能被视为平行或可互换的途径。