TAFE’s “Competency Based Training” sounds logical but dig a little and its roots are exposed. CBT has its origins in the post WW2 era of the “Scientific Management” of workers and production lines. In this world, products, processes and people are all standardised, the better for a hierarchy of management control.
Apprentices commencing their studies at TAFE are a varied lot. Some have been offered their job after meeting rigorous selection criteria via a company HR department. Others may have their apprenticeship because their uncle/ friend of their mum/ best mate’s business owning family, thought that they were a nice kid and had a genuine interest in the trade, even if they hadn’t done well at school.
The learning needs of these two apprentices are clearly very different.
In the current TAFE system, one will readily learn from reading quite complex texts. The other will struggle with many tasks requiring more than very basic literacy, numeracy or oracy skills. Alas, the current TAFE system will likely serve up “theory” learning resources that are boring to one apprentice while simultaneously possibly dooming the other to failure.
The actual work of apprentices can greatly vary too. An apprentice plumber in an older inner........