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This chapter is part of a book that examines the generic abilities that have become so important in determining what makes both a good employee and a successful learner. It is argued that the process of acquiring these abilities is a lifelong process. In this chapter, the authors discuss attributes valued by employers in contemporary workplaces, in the context of an increasing emphasis on 'knowledge' work and the contingent nature of work. It is argued that a more accurate way of articulating these attributes is to regard them as 'employ-abilities'. Cases of professionals at work are used to provide a more sophisticated picture of the role of graduate attributes in professional formation.

This chapter is part of a book that examines the generic abilities that have become so important in determining what makes both a good employee and a successful learner. It is argued that the process of acquiring these abilities is a lifelong process. In this chapter, the author investigates how workplace learning is currently understood and how effective workplace learning can be facilitated. The discussion begins by looking at some of the characteristics of workplace practice and learning that are problematic and why appropriate frameworks for explaining work and learning through work are necessary. Group and individual workplace learning, along with organisational structures that control access to workplace learning are illustrated through the use of current research data. An overview of key research perspectives that explain effective workplace learning is presented and the author concludes with a look at learner readiness for workplace learning and the abilities that ensure the effectiveness of workplace learning.

This chapter is part of a book that examines the generic abilities that have become so important in determining what makes both a good employee and a successful learner. It is argued that the process of acquiring these abilities is a lifelong process. In this chapter, the author extends the context in which the term 'graduate attributes' is used to include a university preparation course, the competency-based Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC). The course was developed and delivered by [Technical and Further Education] TAFE, the largest provider of vocational education in New South Wales, Australia. Graduate attributes refer to generic skills, knowledge and attitudes developed by undergraduates during their university studies. Drawing on the author's four year study of adult learners, the discussion focuses on students' perceptions and interactions with the graduate attributes. The chapter comprises four sections. The first looks at the learning context and the nature of the course in which the study was conducted. It describes the graduate attributes that underpin the course, the profile of the participating students, and reasons why students returned to formal education. The next section examines the graduate attributes identified by students as essential in their transition to university. This is followed by a look at teacher attributes identified by students as key to student acquisition of graduate attributes. The final section highlights the destinations of the students on completing the course and the changes to their identities resulting from their acquisition of graduate attributes.

This chapter is part of a book that examines the generic abilities that have become so important in determining what makes both a good employee and a successful learner. It is argued that the process of acquiring these abilities is a lifelong process. In this chapter, the authors describe how graduate attributes are implemented in practice in different ways under different circumstances within the one institution. The first section of the chapter examines a new teaching and learning practice in higher education, work-based learning partnerships, that requires graduate attributes, or similar, in order to undertake the practice. A graduate attribute framework is therefore a necessary feature and a case study of the introduction of work-based learning at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), describing the institutional and pedagogical responses required, is presented. In the second part of the chapter, a related but different initiative involving a policy-led introduction of graduate attributes as a framework for the design and accreditation of all UTS courses is discussed.

This chapter is part of a book that examines the generic abilities that have become so important in determining what makes both a good employee and a successful learner. It is argued that the process of acquiring these abilities is a lifelong process. In this chapter, the author describes a longitudinal study undertaken in a UK university of changing approaches to curriculum planning. An important goal of the program was to develop the learning abilities and personal attributes of students with diverse cultural and educational backgrounds. The 10 year period of the study revealed significant changes in the way the program was designed and delivered, in response to shifts in higher education policy, and staff and student feedback. The changes aimed to better meet educational needs and prepare students for the workplace, resulting in the evolution of a more student-centred approach focusing on personal and career development.