Making progression happen: priorities for effective collaboration

This paper will describe and analyse how a group of affiliated organisations work together cooperatively, through informal and formal networks, to develop a high standard of work-based learning experiences for students studying health and social care Foundation degrees. Alongside the goal of preparing students for new roles within the workplace, opportunity for progression into Honours degree programmes remains an essential requirement of the qualification, as stated in the ‘Foundation Degree Prospectus’ (DfEE, 2000). The contribution of learning in the workplace to both outcomes will be discussed and tensions between different career aspirations explored. Factors both supporting and undermining learning by students lead to the following contentions:• Effective inter-organisational and interpersonal relationships are pivotal to a positive student experience of work-based learning• Organisation of work placements has to be a priority for Foundation degree students given the absence of affiliation with a health or social care professional group• Progression to professional programmes can be successful if providers of both understand the actual impediments and the opportunities for students