Academic literature on the topic 'Occupational identity'

Context: Dual VET systems are often praised for their labour market proximity because of economic stakeholders’ involvement. However, when labour market requirements change rapidly, a lack of flexibility is attributed to them. This occurs in times of fast socio-technological change like the current digital transformation. A repeatedly proposed measure to increase system flexibility is to reduce the number of occupations and create broader occupational profiles, for example, by combining similar occupations into so-called occupational fields. However, little is known about actually establishing occupational fields.Approach: Against this backdrop, we address the following research question: How was an occupational field created? As Switzerland attempted to merge occupations over a decade ago, we selected an information-rich and illuminative case concerning the research question: The piano makers’ occupation as one of the first occupations required to merge into an occupational field called musical instrument makers together with organ builders and wind instrument makers. Based on a qualitative case study, we reconstruct the process of occupational field construction by combining expert interviews with comprehensive document analysis and present its narrative.Findings: Based on this case study, we contribute to the understanding of VET flexibilisation by detailing occupational field creation and identifying opportunities and challenges. Here, we pay special attention to the institutional work of the affected occupational association and identify the importance of preserving its collective occupational identity. Although regulatory changes disrupted the piano makers’ occupation, the occupational association reinstitutionalised it as part of the musical instrument makers’ occupational field. Over a decade later, the piano makers reintroduced their former occupational title, which is deeply connected to their occupational identity. Conclusion: The results indicate that VET reforms that promote flexibilisation by creating occupational fields encounter serious limitations in collectively governed dual VET systems. In the Swiss system, occupational associations are core collective actors that rely on their members’ voluntary work. To maintain these economic stakeholders’ necessary commitment to VET, their collective occupational identity, symbolized by their long-standing occupational title, needs to be preserved.

This article explores the occupational identities of hairdressers and vehicle mechanics working in small and micro firms. Using qualitative interview data from two UK cities, it examines the ways that workers expounded, reflected on and discursively reframed public perceptions of their occupation. A novel distinction between two types of identity resistance is proposed. ‘Crusaders’ are workers who perform collective occupational resistance by rejecting characterisations as inappropriate for the occupation at large, whereas ‘mavericks’ accept that popular characterisations apply to other workers but differentiate themselves. The analysis identifies differences in occupational identity resistance strategies (crusader or maverick) when workers interact with two different publics: customers and trainees.

Introduction Occupation-based practice is a core tenet of occupational therapy. This study explores perspectives and experiences with occupation-based practice among Thai occupational therapists. Method Using mixed methods, a focus group was conducted with eight occupational therapists, and the results were interpreted using thematic analysis. A questionnaire survey was also completed concerning practitioner perspectives ( n = 216). Findings Three major themes were identified: (a) perspectives on occupation-based practice were related to practice areas and felt to strengthen the identity of occupational therapy (52% strongly agree), leading to improved services and better outcomes for clients (44% strongly agree); (b) approaches focused on activities of daily living were appropriate for cross-practice areas; and (c) occupation-based practice is consistent with integrated medical sciences and occupations for clients (52% strongly agree). Conclusion Implementing occupation-based practice will be of value to clients, provide benefits as a compass to direct processes, and enhance clinical reasoning and outcomes.

This article is concerned with role identity and its relationship to the professional thinking and action of occupational therapists. In this informed viewpoint, the notion that occupational therapists could be perceived as gap fillers is explored, based on empirical data that focused on the roles adopted and the guiding philosophies enacted by occupational therapists working in child and adolescent mental health. Following the presentation of interview data from four occupational therapists, two cogent issues are presented and discussed. The first issue posits that a failure to ground practice in occupational philosophies contributes to perpetuating an incoherent role identity. The second issue discusses whether the recovery of an occupational paradigm in practice can liberate occupational therapists from role incoherence and enable them to reclaim their identity as therapists of occupation.