Throughout the world, people understand the meaning of 'apprenticeship'. As a model of learning and skill formation, apprenticeship has adapted over the years to reflect changes in work, in technology, and in the types of knowledge that underpin occupational expertise. Apprenticeship serves the needs of government, as well as employers, individuals and society more generally. These needs have always co-existed in dynamic tension. This book explores the contemporary state of apprenticeship in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Ghana. The chapters present perspectives from leading researchers in the field, showing how apprenticeship is evolving and changing in every country (crossing boundaries of age, sector and levels of skill and knowledge) and examining the ability of apprenticeship to facilitate both vertical progression – particularly to higher education – and horizontal progression between jobs and sectors. As such, apprenticeship remains at the core of debates about vocational learning and the nature of expertise. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Vocational Education and Training.

Nous avons étudié le travail social et sa formation de façon conjointe. En effet, c'est à la lumière des compétences et des difficultés spécifiques qu'implique l'activité du travailleur social que doit s'envisager toute réflexion sur la formation. Tout d'abord, nous nous interrogeons sur l'échange d'information dans le travail social, nous rappelons l'histoire de l'action sociale en France, nous proposons une réflexion sur le mode de management spécifique au travail social, et nous montrons les paradoxes inclus dans le fonctionnement du travail en équipe et avec les partenaires. Nous avons ensuite étudié la formation des travailleurs sociaux. Apres une description de la formation initiale théorique, nous examinons le fonctionnement du processus d'alternance pour les étudiants en travail social, et nous considérons enfin les perspectives d'avenir des formations. Enfin, nous revenons sur les paradoxes du travail social et de sa formation pour élaborer des propositions. Nous abordons les conditions nécessaires au partenariat. Nos modélisations du travail social et de sa formation nous permettent de souligner l'ensemble des interactions en jeu, les défaillances possibles et les conditions nécessaires à la coopération. Nous proposons d'aborder le partenariat avec une méthode de gestion de projets complexes et une démarche de changement.

In the half century since the World War II, France has developed from a conservative, semi-rural society in which the great majority of the population had only a primary education to a highly developed modern one with a remarkably well-educated and well-trained citizenry and labour force. Technical and vocational education, which before 1960 were confined to an enclave within the French education system, now permeate the entire system. Business and industry, long isolated from education, now play a major role in educational decision making. The French educational system today meets the demand for skilled personnel in almost all fields while maintaining "a complement of general culture." The first book in English to treat the important subject of technical education in France, Schools and Work places technical education within the larger field of French public education, including the administrative and political backdrop, European industrial development, the nature of work, and global competitiveness.