GET THEM YOUNG AND TRAIN THEM RIGHT: NEGOTIATIONS IN A VET PARTNERSHIP

This paper explores a high school apprenticeship program in Alberta, Canada, as an example of a market approach to vocational education and training (VET) through social partnership. While this program is seen as a win-win for students and employers, interviews with different partners suggest that there are continuing negotiations over who is responsible for training, who has access to formal training, who pays for it, what kind of knowledge is seen as necessary, how training is delivered, and how it is rewarded by employers. Power relations among the partners are indicated by the outcomes of negotiations and the lack of negotiation in certain areas relevant to effective training. Further, the lack of government incentives for partnership work appears to make programs that involve college training, however beneficial for students, difficult to sustain even in booming economic times.