Transitions to Working Life: Securing Professional Competence

Abstract

This chapter examines the transition from education to work as a critical phase of professional career and the development of professional competence Literature on transition to working life has identified several challenges that many graduates meet in the early stages of their career such as: threat of unemployment, inadequate knowledge and skills, decreased self-efficacy and increased stress, instability of professional identity, newcomers’ role and position in a work community, early attrition and changing occupation. The importance of workplace learning in supporting graduates as they transit to the workplace is influential in assisting graduates deal with these challenges. This chapter examines each of these challenges from the professional competence point of view drawing upon examples from several research projects undertaken by the authors to accentuate how these challenges might be addressed. In particular special attention is paid to the role of social partnerships in meeting the challenges.