McMahon, E; Spillane, J P and Bradley, J G (2023) The challenge of comparing apprenticeship completion rates: An international review of terminology. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 39th Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2023, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
When considering construction apprenticeship 'success', two general categories can be distinguished, namely completion and non-completion. However international comparisons cannot be effectively established because of the differing terminology and definitions used by various researchers. Comparative investigations face challenges due to social and educational disparities, making direct evaluations misleading or ineffective. The aim of this paper is to communicate how different countries define 'completion' and 'completion rates', to find common ground between the definitions and recommend consistent terms for use in further Irish research. Research papers from five countries were selected: - Ireland, United Kingdom. United States of America, Australia, and Germany to analyse and compare completion terminology. The literature confirms a lack of consensus on the terminology as well as differing methodology for calculating completion rate. There is limited research on apprenticeship completion in Ireland and as such the key contribution will be utilising this research to create a definition of apprenticeship completion and completion rates for Ireland to make comparisons internationally with the eventual hope of increasing apprenticeship success in this country.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | apprenticeship completion; built environment; international comparative; terminology; vocational education; training |
| Index terms: | Australia, United Kingdom, face, United States of America, international comparison, research paper, Ireland, disparity, vocational education, built environment, Germany, investigation, methodology, apprenticeship |
| Subjects: | psychology, data analysis and analytics, research dissemination and communication, data collection methods, professional education, social justice, infrastructure and transport systems, research methods, Geography |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Research Practice, Information Management, Organizational Design, Education, Ethics, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here