Alternate entry of the apprentice into the world of work: professional socialisation, forms of participation and verbal interactions

In order to achieve this, we propose to focus on the apprentice’s participation in the multiple communities in which he/she is involved over the course of the VET apprenticeship. In Switzerland, these VET apprenticeships fall within the scope of combined school/work-based VET programmes where periods of teaching at a VET school are alternated with working periods within a host company. We resort to audiovisual data which document the actual activities in which apprentices participate at the two training locations. By analysing the verbal and non-verbal interactions which make up these activities, we seek to highlight the way in which selected interactions and training situations are organised, focussing in particular on the various forms of participation and roles assumed by apprentices, as well as on their progression or lack thereof in these situations.

We attempt to show the various types of participation across different timeframes, the study of which enables us to reflect on the professional socialisation mechanisms at work in vocational training.

Supervisor of the dissertation:

• Prof. Dr. Laurent Filliettaz (University of Geneva)