Apprenticeships and RPL: Re‐cognizing the Learning of a Trade Available to Purchase

Questions some assumptions about the benefits of recognizing prior learning (RPL) in the context of learning a trade. Competence‐based training and recognition of prior learning tend to conceive the learning of a trade as merely the acquisition of skills. Further, the process of RPL assumes that skills learned in one context are easily transferred to another. Explores aspects of tradespersonship which may be lost through the emphasis on a hurried path through a modularized course. Suggests that to become a tradesperson requires vocational development within a“culture of practice”. It is a journey requiring time for maturation. Suggests that recognizing prior learning may also be an exercise in re‐cognizing the notion of apprenticeship, in that it may change the conception of what it means to become a tradesperson.