Some of the most important principles of training, according to Glueck, Davies and Nadler (in van Dyk et al., 2001:150), follows that “all people are capable of learning [therefore] any normal person can learn something at any time in his or her life. [However] because people differ we do not all have the same approach to learning”.
Adult learners, as is the case with learners in the workplace, perceive and experience learning in different ways. “Adults are motivated to learn when they experience a need to know or do something in order to perform more effectively [therefore] learning must be useful to enable them to perform a task or to solve a problem, to be applied in the near future” (Geldenhuys & Ngokha, in Bergh &
Theron, 2007:106). “Some of the most common complaints of learners [enrolled in learnership programmes] are that they experience study material as not having any practical value, that they are compelled to attend a course … that they consider as irrelevant, and that the quality of the course material, presentation or training techniques…” are often not well linked to actual skills that are required for the job. (Geldenhuys & Ngokha, in Bergh & Theron, 2007:100-101). Du Toit et al. (2005:10) found that more than a quarter of the learners had not selected the specific learnership that they were enrolled for, but were placed, without little or knowledge of the content of the learnership, by training providers who operate the learnership. Other problems identified that learners were not matched to the NQF level of the learnership, which means that learners were either over qualified or under qualified for the learnership that they were entered (Du Toit et al. 2005:10).
“Outcomes-Based Education and Training, essentially implies that everything in the educational and training system focuses on what is essential for the learner to be able to do at the end of their learning experiences” (van Dyk, Nel et al.
2001:150).
The learnership programme, which is based on principles of outcomes-based education and training, requires that learners attend a theoretical learning experience, which is matched with a practical component, sometimes referred to as „on-the-job training‟. Some learners are able to grasp theory and practical and immediately adapt to the programme, while others, especially those who have not been in a learning environment in recent past, find the learning more difficult to grasp (Cowley, 2002:2).
According to Hattingh (2004:9-10), “all learning, including that, which results from practical application and workplace experience, should be focused on achieving the outcomes specified. The purpose of the workplace experience is, therefore, clearly described and is not only to get a feel for how things work in practice, or to gain experience in some general selected tasks, which are randomly selected by the learner‟s supervisor or mentor”… “the assessment of outcomes is based both on the institutional learning and the workplace application. Therefore, the learnership will have to give evidence of what was learnt, as well as of the ability to apply that learning in the real world of work”.
While the focal point of this research is not to study andragogy and expound on the theories of adult learning or outcomes-based education, it is nevertheless considered important to associate factors that motivate adult learners to succeed and complete a training intervention. As adult learners are the subject of workplace learning it is necessary to link the learning principles of outcomes based education and training in order to show that these aspects form part of the learnership programme.
Billet (1994:15) emphasizes that in order to accomplish success with workplace learning the workplace has to adopt an environment conducive to learning. He
accentuates the point that “learning arrangements require access to activities and guidance within a culture of vocational practice …”. This further stresses the importance and the need for vocational expertise as a pivotal success factor in workplace learning.
The SDA prescribes rights and obligations of the learner (s 36 (2) (1) and (3) (1)) in terms of the right to adequate access to resources, quality training, proper assessment and certification on completion of the learnership agreement. The learner is obliged to work for the employer as part of the learning process and to comply with all workplace policies and procedures, which are set by the employer. The learner is also obliged to avail him/herself for work and study as and when required, to attend all training courses offered and to apply him/herself diligently to tasks that are set by the employer and or training provider.
Reports on private individuals who currently attend learnership programmes offer a non-specific view of the actual programmes that they attend. A case in point is a reported interview with a learner who had entered into a learnership programme with an insurance company under the Financial and Accounting Services SETA, (Anon, 2004b). The learner gave his job description as consisting mainly of general office administration as a bookings clerk in the company‟s Business School.
Another example cited was in the Banking SETA where a learner gave her job description as organising travel arrangements for employees at the bank that employed her (Anon, 2004c). These job descriptions seem too generic and mostly offer general administrative and clerical skills that are not specific to particular industries. Another concern is that persons who registered for learnerships do not complete the programmes.
In a recent report, Lundall (in Anon 2004a), a senior researcher in skills development at the University of Cape Town, states that he is “convinced that there is a breakdown developing between the levels of learnerships registered and the level of completion rates”, which, he claims, are hovering at the 10%
mark. Similarly, the NSDS Implementation Report for April 2002 to March 2003 reported that a mere 15.8% of registered learners completed their learnerships during this period (Anon, 2004a).
Further research conducted by Lundall (in Letsoalo, 2007:1), cites ongoing problems with quality of learnership programme delivery. Lundall alludes to these problems by noting that “…the system is working inefficiently and the notion of excellence and learning progression that we all aspire to, is merely rhetoric”.