Vocational Training in Argentina: A Pedagogical-Organizational Toolbox
Within the "Latin American Critical Thought Notebooks" Collection, CLACSO presents "Professional Training in Argentina. A Pedagogical-Organizational Toolbox", by Miguel Alfredo, Pablo Granovsky, Vanesa Verchelli and Verónica Galarza.
Vocational Training in Argentina: A Pedagogical-Organizational Toolbox
Michael Alfred*
Pablo Granovsky**
Vanessa Verchelli***
Verónica Galarza****
Introduction
The following article presents a series of reflections on the field of study of the education-work relationship by reconstructing the process of institutionalizing education for work in Argentina in the 21st century, and from there considering current challenges, also taking into account the context of the pandemic. In this sense, the comprehensiveness of the mechanisms and the integration of all significant actors into these institutional spaces are of importance. The relevance of the framework, development, and particularities of the technical-vocational training system is significant when considering the experience and normative evolution of governmental institutional spaces, instances, and circuits. The construction of institutional instances with particular dynamics is a relevant field for investigating the possibilities and logics of agreements and tensions among the multiple demands that the set of actors involved places on public action. Faced with this scenario, it is worth asking: How are the institutional circuits linked to education and work constituted in Argentina at the beginning of the 21st century? What is the role of actors in the world of work and the State?
The link between education and work is prominently featured in public debates in Western countries. As a relevant topic for the social sciences, it has undergone a vast and heterogeneous development, encompassing diverse perspectives ranging from the qualifications/competencies approach to multiple critical perspectives. Educational policy is a fundamental axis for the various fields involved (De Ibarrola, 2005; Graizer, 2008; Sendon, 2013; Gándara, Granovsky & Verchelli, 2020). In particular, discussing the development of national vocational training systems requires conceptualizing educational policy as a mediation of specific actors and dynamics based on the implementation of joint initiatives. This involves centralizing spaces and areas for planning, debate, and execution (Verdier, 1997).
In this scenario, it is crucial to consider how the constitution and sophistication of a national vocational training system requires a combination and coordination of actions, guiding principles, and everyday contexts for interpreting common problems (Lundvall, 2009). In the case of Argentina, the delimitation of the state actor results in its predominance in terms of regulations, operational capacity, and resource allocation. Consequently, the various policy regulatory mechanisms, in this case for vocational training, operate within institutional frameworks with diverse planning, implementation, and measurement formats.
The central idea is that the delimitation of Vocational Training as an educational policy is the result of the interaction of diverse actors within specific spaces, circuits, and logics, all within institutional frameworks that condition the possibilities for intervention by each actor individually. Based on a review of secondary sources (official publications; archives; labor laws; and specific methodological documentation associated with the initiatives and regulatory frameworks of the National Ministry of Education and the National Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security), this article addresses contemporary regulatory developments in order to characterize the institutional architecture capable of intervening in the definition of the formats and content of Vocational Training. To this end, the article is organized as follows: the analytical framework from which the process of institutionalizing vocational training in Argentina is understood is presented. This process is understood as encompassed within a definition of educational policy as a public action. From this framework, the current challenges for technical and vocational training in the context of the pandemic are then addressed. Then, based on a characterization and systematization of the regulations and these challenges, the final reflections are presented.
1) Education and work. A link under construction
- Educational policy as the management of a conflictive space, the complex institutional framework of the state actor for its implementation.
Considering the challenges the pandemic presents to Vocational Training systems from a global perspective implies taking into account the profound long-term changes in work processes and worker qualifications. Within this framework, if we start from the Taylorist-Fordist organizational model, the job itself was the central focus and demand, as part of the dynamics of the industrial societal model. This was reflected in the definition of demands that came to be established outside of the trade and its artisanal tradition (Catalano, Avolio de Cols, and Sladogna, 2004). Following the crisis of this model, and in a context of reformulation of social relations systems, the debate surrounding the historical formation of curricular and pedagogical structures and content has, over the years, yielded diverse interpretations of these processes and approaches to the productive world, as well as disputes among the various government departments involved in both education and labor (Sassera, Riquelme, and Herger, 2018). Thus, the view of training systems from a historical perspective allows us to understand educational policy as a consequence of a conflictive process of general regulations and situated decision-making by the actors (Subirats et al, 2008).
In this vein, understanding educational policy as a space of tensions and constraints permeates the conflict inherent in relationships, making a pragmatic rationality admissible, subject to hierarchical orders, but not reducible to them (Gómez Serrano, 2012). Thus, understanding vocational training as a field for articulating initiatives and regulations that allows for the structuring of diverse relationships requires analysis as a reflection of a macro-level institutional framework: the State. From this perspective, the pursuit of a deeper understanding of this interaction leads to analyzing it from both an intermediate level (such as the development of norms and regulations) and a micro level (organizational experiences within technical teams) (Miranda, 2012).
National training systems, understood as the mechanisms and mechanisms where the recognition of professional knowledge and experience is framed within standardized processes and regulations, provide a hierarchical and operational logic to the institutional framework. This is expressed, among other things, in the accreditation and awarding of degrees and in the link between the education system and social demands (Werquin, 2008). However, the educational and labor realities of the Latin American region require a significant effort in understanding them. Experiences encompass a variety of situations and initiatives related to job training that have been developed based on conceptual notions, such as employability, which give rise to diverse debates (Corica, Freyte Frei & Miranda, 2018).
In the case of Argentina, the growth and expansion of the domestic market and its consequent industrial network, beginning in the mid-1940s, fostered an incipient process of institutionalizing the frameworks and spaces for technical training, with varying degrees of autonomy (Lucero, 2015). Based on this, it can be argued that this training has circumscribed its development within the combination of two worlds: the world of education and the world of work. Specifically, the local education system has consolidated a technical education centered on the secondary level and with sector-specific profiles whose dynamics form a formal system of linked credentials (Dussel & Pineau, 1995; Gallart, 2006). However, situated between these two fields, Vocational Training has revealed a configuration and articulation of broad social relations that integrate a set of certifications approved by public institutions which are referenced in the productive context and in relation to the set of situations faced by the actors to whom the initiatives are directed (Millenaar, Dursi, Garino, Roberti, Burgos, Sosa & Jacinto, 2016; Miranda & Arancibia, 2017).
The evolution of education in Argentina suggests that the delimitation of content and training opportunities associated with Vocational Training is the result of multi-institutional interventions, where state action demonstrates how the interventions of the ministries involved are implemented. From a meso-institutional perspective, the initiatives, resolutions, decrees, and regulations issued from 2003 onward by the National Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security (MTEySS) are considered. In the case under discussion, as Briasco (2014) points out, the establishment of a National System of Professional Qualifications implies the standardization of a sustained institutionalization process, which provides the framework for distinguishing professional specificities and their associated knowledge. The pursuit of institutionalizing training for work also requires that the recognition of pedagogical particularities (curricular content and formats) take place within a framework of collaboration with pre-existing actors and relationships. Thus, the articulated coexistence demonstrates how the coexistence of circuits and logics, with configurations that are disparate in many aspects, are the result of processes of different time periods, full of counterpoints and conflicts.
In the case of Vocational Training, the role of ministerial actors finds its central regulator within the education sector in the National Institute of Technological Education (INET). Meanwhile, the labor sector focuses on the National Directorate of Vocational Guidance and Training, under the Secretariat of Employment of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTEySS). Following 2003, Argentina began establishing Tripartite Sectoral Councils for Continuing Education and Certification of Labor Competencies, a forum for collaboration between the MTEySS, businesses, and unions, where labor competency standards, certifications, and curriculum content were discussed. Furthermore, beginning in 2005, initiatives from the education sector led to the definition of new guidelines for the system and its responsibilities regarding vocational training. In this case, Law 26.058, the Professional Technical Education Law, enacted in 2005, led to a hierarchy of technical education in general and a recognition of professional training in particular (Bloj, 2017).
1.2.) Arrangement of devices between the logic of employment and training, institutional circuits and the role of actors in an integrated scheme
However, the emergence of initiatives with different focuses and actors provided the framework for defining an incipient process of institutionalization and "organization" of education and work in Argentina. Regarding this "organization" of national systems, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTEySS) focused on developing a catalog of occupations, while the National Institute of Technological Education (INET) focused on a catalog of degrees and certifications. With respect to training systems, the existing institutional framework (technical schools, vocational training centers, etc.) falls under the jurisdictions of the Ministries of Education, while the network established by the MTEySS relies on vocational training centers (dependent on the education sector), promoting training through three lines of action: basic skills, sectoral certification, and institutional strengthening (Briasco, 2017). It is important to clarify that each of these initiatives has autonomy, but within a framework of diverse institutional hierarchies, where the complexity inherent in a law places it in a higher institutional hierarchy than a decree or resolution. Ideally, the articulation between these initiatives should lead to a process of accumulating experiences and precedents in public policies, which encompass a framework of institutional resources (Miranda and Alfredo, 2018). However, this articulation and accumulation of resources does not necessarily imply a matter of territorial scope, but rather a matter of regulatory frameworks for rights.
Thus, the forms of intervention have different provisions, based in each case on the root problem and the logic of action of the respective ministry. For example, the National Education Law and the Law on Technical and Vocational Education provide a framework for the comprehensiveness and systematization of the education system. Meanwhile, the Continuing Education system, under the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTEySS), is geared towards the qualification and certification of job skills for the working population in a sector-specific manner. Therefore, while the education ministry focuses its actions on defining and systematizing formalized pedagogical and curricular processes, the MTEySS structured its actions around job training aimed at promoting employment. In short, the actions were divided into training and employment aspects, respectively.
The configuration of distinct circuits and plans for developing information systems progressed in stages. The Ministry of Labor developed a network of employment services and observatories—a network of employment services and municipal employment offices—while the Ministry of Education implemented a graduate tracking system. Quality assurance programs are present in both ministries. Thus, the actions take on different forms based on the underlying structural action that gave rise to them. Generally speaking, these initiatives involve the organization and delimitation of institutional circuits and the coordination among relevant stakeholders. Additionally, some focused their framework on pedagogical aspects, following the specific logic of each ministry.
With the aim of contributing to the debate on defining an integrated technical and vocational training system and thereby assisting in the development of relevant policies, this article presents a survey of current regulations and norms. This involved exploratory research through a documentary investigation of laws, decrees, and public resolutions from the relevant agencies. The results, while intended to reflect trends, allow for reflection on the questions, assumptions, and dynamics that the field of education and work has experienced in Argentina, based on an examination of the strategies and actions developed by institutional actors to promote the link between education and work according to their own logic. The initiatives reviewed represent an initial stage of organizational measures and role definition, which allows for an approach to the corresponding inherent pedagogical aspects.
Figure 1 presents a summary of the measures identified based on the agreed-upon categorizations. In this sense, the integration of an institutionalization process implies an articulation of active employment strategies with the application of knowledge generated in technical and vocational training.
Scheme 1. Initiatives in the organization of education and work
1.3.) Interactions between state agencies and mediation of actors, a network of diverse logics.
The development of institutional projects within the field of education and work requires understanding how the links and connections between different government agencies implement public policy in order to identify shared demands and interests. Based on these points of convergence, the process of creating reciprocal relationships is key, enabling conflict resolution through the mobilization of available bureaucratic resources. The expression of ongoing demands from the labor and education ministries implies mediation by the actors involved to ensure the implementation of this public policy, highlighting the difficulties of institutional coordination. Within this framework, Vocational Training Centers embody the convergence of the logics of both the education system and the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTEySS), opening up possibilities for coordination and negotiation between them. However, it is also possible that strategic and instrumental logics may limit the potential for synergy among the actors, turning the various state areas into isolated entities.
Framing public policy entails defining a complex set of intervention mechanisms, which, while allowing for greater procedural clarity, also increases the complexity of the actors and institutions involved. Thus, while the Ministry of Labor focused its initiatives on promoting job skills through "lifelong learning," the educational approach centered on the more traditional aspects of technical training. In other words, the correspondence of different internal logics and operational rhythms leads to complexities in developing joint projects, since the flexibility of training proposals responds to differentiated frameworks. This network of logics is not unique to the national level, as the involvement of subordinate jurisdictions played a significant role. Particularly within the educational sphere, the role of provincial jurisdictions carries a qualitatively different weight than that of local branches of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTEySS), which implies a complex decision-making and negotiation process for resources.
The establishment of national systems of training for work and this comprehensive perspective on training raises a current debate on National Qualifications Frameworks[1]These systems, as global integration tools for the various “types” of learning within a country, contribute to the establishment of common parameters where all learning outcomes can be measured and coherently linked. This reflects the institutional architecture that defines the connections between different levels of education and the procedures for entry, re-entry, and recognition of educational pathways, as well as the areas and levels of competence (Vargas, 2004). Thus, the impetus for implementing these national systems is linked to certain processes of modernization and updating of educational programs (Vargas, 2012).
1.4) National Qualifications Framework as a pragmatic sectoral construction.
Based on the concept of a National Framework, the management of training networks and institutions involves a complex combination of resource management and the development of integration capacities among a diverse range of actors. In this sense, there is a need to identify specific demands and situations in different regions, expanding the offerings to include a wider variety of courses. This leads to a rethinking of the configuration of actors and institutions that influence vocational training and requires identifying local leaders and territorial partners. The establishment of national training and skills development systems within the broader framework of employment and education policies implies the recovery of state capacities and medium- and long-term policies, based on the predominance of certain actors with the ability to influence and contribute to their sustainability. This outlines a training system for work where public policy is conceived as a collective construction by the actors involved, and where the beneficiaries are active participants in its development.
Regarding pedagogical aspects, and as previously mentioned, these training systems, implemented nationwide through centralized management of the network of institutions, involve a comprehensive resource and information management process. This process entails the development of expert knowledge and interpersonal skills, as well as an institutional project that incorporates flexibility and modularization of technical and professional pathways. Within this framework, the role of the administrative, training, and management teams coordinating the recipient institutions is crucial. At this point, a sectoral approach to training requires fostering agreements among stakeholders that link training with knowledge management. This involves connecting various processes that encompass content, the learning environment, technological updates, and the reskilling of trades. These training initiatives also promote the formal recognition of learning paths and knowledge within a network of stakeholders, institutions, and mechanisms that cultivate in workers everything from technical skills to more "intangible" capacities such as interpersonal skills, leadership, and contextual interpretation. In other words, the recognition of certain knowledge requires the construction of a complex institutional framework and specific devices with a high degree of sophistication.
The institutional focus is key because it allows us to understand the scope of sectoral networks of vocational training centers as “integration mechanisms” and their impact on the various modes of subjectivation that occur within this framework (Jacinto, 2010). More generally, these institutional structures shape the ways and formats of organizing working-class subjectivity, its trajectories, and its referential frameworks for action, within a global context of weakening and crisis in the social bonds generated by the major institutional frameworks of integration and social protection (Miranda, 2010). In this way, this institutionally “accumulated” knowledge lends legitimacy to policies, guaranteeing high levels of relevance and quality in the training offered across the different components of institutional training systems. This demonstrates the flexibility required to address the various situations that must be confronted, both in political and institutional aspects, as well as in procedural and methodological ones.
Final comments
The aim of this article is to contribute to the debate on the need for an institutional framework to address the challenges and demands involved in establishing a national education and employment system. In this regard, it is argued that defining what constitutes an educational policy results from the interaction of diverse spaces, circuits, and logics within conditioning institutional frameworks. The regulatory history and experiences show that the vocational training system in Argentina has a considerable institutional structure, with the training programs, in most cases, being structured around a specific professional sector and field, thus giving Vocational Training its own unique characteristics.
In the case of the conceptualization and implementation of the organizational and pedagogical aspects of vocational training, Vocational Training is configured as a specific object with a high degree of autonomy and uniqueness compared to education in general. Another specificity of public policy on Vocational Training is its direct reference to the world of work, a reference that can be considered a distinguishing element of this type of educational proposal, differentiating it from the broader school framework. Therefore, it is necessary to work on Technical and Vocational Education as a public policy with a direct reference to the world of work, and for this link to constitute a clear indicator of the institutional quality of the training proposal, with social justice as its ultimate goal.
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* National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) - Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO). Member of the Special Group UOCRA Foundation and National Pedagogical University (UNIPE) / CLACSO "Education and work: trade union and academic perspectives for inclusive development".
** Construction Workers' Union Foundation of the Argentine Republic (UOCRA Foundation). Co-coordinator of the Special Group UOCRA Foundation and National Pedagogical University (UNIPE) / CLACSO "Education and work: trade union and academic perspectives for inclusive development".
*** Construction Workers' Union Foundation of the Argentine Republic (UOCRA Foundation). Member of the Special Group UOCRA Foundation and National Pedagogical University (UNIPE) / CLACSO "Education and work: trade union and academic perspectives for inclusive development."
**** Construction Workers' Union Foundation of the Argentine Republic (UOCRA Foundation). Member of the Special Group UOCRA Foundation and National Pedagogical University (UNIPE) / CLACSO "Education and work: trade union and academic perspectives for inclusive development".
[1] These are oriented towards: “(…) improving the professional training of young people and workers in general and advancing in the validation of learning obtained in non-formal spaces.” (Briasco: 2014,4).
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