formulation (i.e. figuring out) and the instantiation (i.e. the steps to realize) of a new
product or service. In the case of the work placement scheme discussed in this paper, we
use the notion of the project-object to consider the relation between the contribution of
individuals and organizations to the creation of a new range of jewelry.
What remains relatively underdeveloped in Hyysalo’s work, however, are any concepts to
define the nature of workplace expertise or to explain how the various kinds of material
entities, skills, and social functions are built into the project-object in such a way that they
are aligned and coordinated so as to make it functionally coherent and representative of all
parties’ desires and interests. For this reason, we have turned to the concepts of ‘vocational
practice’ (Guile, forthcoming), that is, the mix of knowledge, skill and judgement, and
‘workplace pedagogic practice’ (Guile, 2007), that is, the ability to make what is implicit in
a practice explicit to others. The gist of our argument is that it is only when people can infer
what follows from advice, suggestions and so forth, that they are unable to incorporate
others’ ideas into a unified learning and working and process. Taken together, these
concepts enable us to offer a different angle on the individual and organizational activities
that facilitated the production of a new range of jewelry compared with the current
dominant theoretical and methodological approaches in the field of workplace learning.
3. The development of a work placement scheme in the jewelry industry
3.1. The role of intermediary agencies
The idea that greater education/industry links are required to improve economic
performance and support recently qualified graduates to supplement their qualifications by
developing the forms of vocational expertise firms require is not entirely new in the UK. In
recognition of this dual need, the Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) was set up in 1975
(Senker & Senker, 1994). The TCS was intended to counteract shortcomings in engineering
formation at post-graduate level by providing opportunities for academics in universities to
work with companies to:
1 facilitate the transfer of technology and the spread of technical and management skills, and to
encourage industrial investment in training, research and development;
2 provide industry based training, supervised jointly by academic and industrial staff, for young
graduates intending to pursue careers in industry;
3 enhance the levels of academic research and training relevant to business by stimulating
collaborative research and development projects and forging lasting partnerships between academia
and business.
The focus of the TCS has subsequently been broadened to reflect the Government’s desire
to support UK companies in all industrial sectors to compete successfully in the global
knowledge economy, and it was renamed the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)
scheme in 2003 to reflect this broader goal (Momenta, 2007).