Work-based Learning for Occupational Competence

Abstract

Policies in skills development in most countries consider work-based learning (WBL) crucial to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) because it integrates theory learned in the classroom and workplace practice to achieve occupational competence. Several authors argue that theoretical and practical knowledge integration is key to raising the occupational competence levels of students. It is, therefore, argued that strengthening this theory-practice relationship through WBL might lead to the kind of en-skilling required in the 21st-century economy. There are vast scientific reports on the benefits of WBL and workplace experience to students. However, only a few contemporary local empirical studies have advanced our understanding of the specific contributions of WBL towards building occupational competence in hospitality students. What students learn and how they learn to develop such competence remains unclear, indicating an existing gap in the literature. This necessitated an exploration of the learning experiences, modalities, and practices available to students to develop occupational competence during WBL. A qualitative approach was employed to investigate the contribution of WBL towards developing occupational competence in hospitality students. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and workplace observations were conducted with a purposively selected sample comprising N6 Report 191 students in a hospitality programme and their mentors. For analysing the data, I used manual methods for coding and identifying themes, which allowed me to closely engage with the data, immerse myself in the context, and uncover delicate and interrelated patterns and themes. I was able to interpret the data in a holistic and nuanced manner, resulting in a more comprehensive and insightful exploration of the research topic. Lave and Wenger’s (1991) and Wenger’s (1998) theory of situated learning in communities of practice was used to explain how students learn in the workplace. This research shows that learning in the workplace took place through social participation, which occurred through active engagement and interaction with others, specifically through experts and the community of pastry chefs. Rather than being an isolated activity, learning in the workplace was found to be a social process where students gained skills, knowledge, and understanding by participating in shared activities, discussions, and experiences with others. This study draws attention to four guided learning strategies identified by Billett (1994b, p. 11), modelling, coaching, scaffolding, and fading; which formed a central focus of the research. Within these strategies, experts used learning modalities such as observations, demonstrations, replication, and explanations to help students build occupational competence. These modalities show that learning in the workplace is both implicit and explicit. It was implicit through observations, demonstrations and replication and was made explicit when verbal descriptions, explanations and feedback were made. These affordances to WBL built a clear picture of interactions and engagements between students and experts and among members of the community. This made the expert pastry chefs and the community of practice the most valuable learning resources for developing students’ occupational competence in the workplace. However, the study highlights significant shortcomings in the workplace environment as a space for effective learning. While skilled in their trades, experts lack the necessary pedagogical qualifications and struggle to explain concepts clearly to students. Their protective attitude towards their jobs creates barriers to knowledge and skills sharing, as they seem more concerned with job security than with the development of occupational competence in students. Furthermore, their behaviour exhibits disrespect toward students, relegating them to menial tasks rather than meaningful learning experiences. Besides, experts are frequently too busy with production targets to dedicate time to mentoring students, further diminishing the value of WBL. This thesis contributes to the literature on WBL by offering a contextually grounded understanding of occupational competence in hospitality education. It expands the concept beyond technical skills to include relational, situated, and artefact-mediated dimensions of learning. Using Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of situated learning, the study shows how occupational competence develops through social participation and engagement with tools and practices, while also being shaped by contextual factors such as limited mentorship, power dynamics, and institutional constraints. These findings refine the application of situated learning theory within the South African TVET context and offer practical insights for improving WBL pedagogy and policy.