Shifting the focus from ‘training’ to ‘learning’: the case of Australian small business

Abstract

This paper examines the perceived difference between ‘training’ and ‘learning’, arguing that the distinction is more than just a matter of semantics. It further contends that in Australian government vocational education and training (VET) policy, programme initiatives and research funding, a disporportionate emphasis continues to be given to training at the expense of learning. Drawing on a series of eight case studies of training and learning within small business, the paper attempts to reconceptualise the traditional training-dominated view in a way that allows a more holistic view of how skills and knowledge are acquired within the workplace.