The Challenge of Occupational Prestige for Occupational Identities: Comparing Bricklaying and Automation Technology Apprentices in Switzerland

Autor/inn/en	Duemmler, Kerstin; Caprani, Isabelle; Felder, Alexandra
Titel	The Challenge of Occupational Prestige for Occupational Identities: Comparing Bricklaying and Automation Technology Apprentices in Switzerland
Quelle	In: Vocations and Learning, 13 (2020) 3, S.369-388 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Duemmler, Kerstin)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1874-785X
DOI	10.1007/s12186-020-09243-3
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Reputation; Masonry; Automation; Technical Occupations; Vocational Education; Skilled Occupations; Skilled Workers; Unskilled Workers; Work Attitudes; Education Work Relationship; Switzerland + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Steinmetzhandwerk; Technical occupation; Technischer Beruf; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; Fachangestellter; Facharbeiter; Unskilled worker; Hilfsarbeiter; Work attitude; Arbeitshaltung; Schweiz
Abstract	Occupational prestige, the hierarchical perception of occupations, is a neglected issue in studies on vocational education and training, although the attractiveness of apprenticeship programs is strongly affected by their prestige. Based on a qualitative study, this article examines the identity strategies of apprentices whose training programs lack prestige. It understands not only identity but also prestige as dynamically and relationally constructed in everyday life and thus empirically contributes to contemporary theoretical debates about occupational prestige. It compares two occupations -- bricklaying, which requires lower/medium skills, and automation technology, which requires higher skills -- and shows that both are faced with a lack of prestige, although unequally, thus leading the apprentices to employ different strategies to valorize and engage with the training. These strategies draw on the meaning that the apprentices find in their work, the advanced skills the training requires, the variety of work tasks involved and the career possibilities the occupations provide. The results demonstrate that the apprentices are confronted with a vocational-academic divide that exists in many countries. This divide poses a threat to apprentices' identities, and their strategies aim to either maintain or reverse it. Although the prestige of apprenticeships is related to objective differences between both educational tracks and occupations, social actors can negotiate superiority and inferiority. Thus, the article also provides some practical recommendations for how apprentices confronted with a lack of social recognition can be encouraged to continue engaging with their training. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01