VOC2 -Reflections On Interaction with the Working Community

Reflections on how the  interaction with the working community themes are present in my own line of work.

Finding a way for students to have a work placement or a work experience in a company is very important, as training in vocational education in the near future will be more specialized and skills will have to be renewed frequently. In that sense I think that there will be an increased need for the level of competence at work which I think will lead to more close cooperation between workplaces and universities and vocational institutes.

Apart from specialised skills, creativity, motivation and ability to adapt and learn, innovation, multidisciplinary approach will all be highly necessary and valued as well.

This has been also quite evident in the fast expanding gaming industry in Finland. There was a great combination of high IT skills, creativity and innovation. Also the smaller companies have benefited from Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, Tekes.

I am not currently teaching in vocational education but if I was I would definitely work on finding ways for students that are studying art, multimedia or photography to visit companies or business, whether these are media agencies, music record labels, newspapers and photography studios and develop working relationship with them supporting both students and work places.

In the IB school where I currently work and teach photography I encourage students to work on projects that contribute to community, be it school community or larger society. For example students have come up with concept ideas on various issues related to environment, some have looked at school bulling and made posters for awareness against it. Also we have done cross curricular activities with home and economics classes where the students have photographed food being prepared in the context of emotional or design and advertising angle.

References:

Pohjonen, P. 2002. On-the-Job Learning. National Board of Eduacation. Read 11.1.2014: http://www.oph.fi/download/47714_onthejob.pdf

Vähäsantanen, K., Saarinen, J. & Eteläpelto, A. (2009). Between school and working
life: Vocational teachers’ agency in boundary-crossing settings. International Journal
of Educational Research, 48 (6)

Students photography work, Espoo International School