Why the expected change did not happen

Frictions between different logics of action when implementing recognition of prior learning for low-qualified workers

Bibliographic Data

ID21458681
AuthorsKatrin Kraus (0000-0002-3847-4514, University of Zurich, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume48
Issue1
Pages91-107
Publication date2026-01-02
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Continuing Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0158-037X • E-ISSN: 1470-126X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0158037x.2025.2515144
OpenAlexW4411361977
LanguageEN
References cited38

Switzerland sought to reform its VET system by introducing a Recognition of Prior Learning process designed to help low-qualified workers gain formal qualifications. Policy makers believed it would improve labour market opportunities for participants, increase the proportion of the population with post-compulsory education, and alleviate the shortage of skilled workers. Unfortunately, participation levels have been significantly below expectations (Luomi-Messerer 2024; Maurer 2019). It is important to decipher the structural reasons behind these numbers rather than assuming low-qualified workers failed to take advantage of a process designed to help them improve their situation (Cort, Mariager-Anderson, and Thomsen 2018). This paper applies policy mobilities and assemblage theory (PMAT) to analyse the gap between political intentions and actual utilisation, as suggested by Lewis and Spratt (2024). The analysis reveals that while RPL is highly mobile, the characteristics that enhance its mobility are precisely those that generate friction with the institutional logic of the Swiss VET system and hinder institutional change. The assemblage analysis reconstructs the friction points between the two elements and their logics of action more precisely, highlighting why RPL implementation has not fulfilled expectations

Business · Economics · Knowledge management · Labour economics · Operations management · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Computer Science · Higher Education and Employability · Higher Education Learning Practices · Human Resource and Talent Management · Psychology

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