ABSTRACT
An understanding of the impact of government policies is essential for a contextualized analysis of workplace learning. Before we can begin to consider the significance of government policy for workplace learning, it is first important to locate this sphere of activities within the broader framework of the political economy of the State. As we have argued in earlier chapters, workplace learning is in principle significantly broader than VET, which is focused on formal institutional settings and instruction. Nevertheless, the system of VET is a natural starting point for any analysis of the role of the State in workplace learning. This is because these institutions affect both the supply of qualifications in the labor market-in other words, the quality of labor entering the labor market-and the extent to which it is enhanced through structured interventions in the workplace. This is not to argue that individual employers do not make investment decisions of their own accord, but rather that there is a broader framework which structures the courses provided by colleges and private training organizations and creates sanctions and incentives promoting particular kinds of behavior within the firm. Once created, social institutions reflect a particular balance of power in society and are relatively durable.
