The idea that individuals,enterprises and economies gain financially from increased participation in education or training is often assumed, but is not always easy to demonstrate or quantify. This report explores the benefits of further training for people with low levels of numeracy by analysing Australian and United States longitudinal data which allow links to be made between numeracy level, likelihood of training participation and the wages outcomes of training for less numerate workers. Analysis of the Australian data indicates that individuals with low numeracy skills are less likely to undertake further education, but gain positive and significant economic returns when they do. Continuing with formal schooling is positive and significant for individuals with very low numeracy skills.
It has long been accepted that adult literacy and numeracy is best taught and learned in real-life situations that relate to everyday needs. This means that opportunities for learning are everywhere, not just in formal learning situations. This report seeks to identify examples and principles of the successful integration of learning about adult literacy into Australian community and workplace settings. This fresh and critical approach leads the authors to draw a number of new and important findings about valuing and embedding a range of literacies into community and workplace activities rather than teaching literacy in isolation. It acknowledges that literacy and numeracy are fundamental to the growth of skills and networks, especially for communities who feel left behind and socially excluded.
Two well-established findings about employer-provided training form the backdrop to this research. First, the provision of training and its associated expenditure are highly variable across employers, notably by industry and employment size. Second, employer engagement with the formal system of VET is substantial, and growing, but a number of employers are not entirely satisfied with the system. This publication consolidates and synthesises a body of research conducted over the past few years on the topic of training provided by employers for their workforces.
Over the past decade, the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector has focused on the outcomes of training in terms of qualifications and competencies. Up until this time there had been little information available on the value that employers place on qualifications and how they use them to contribute to the success of their business. This 'at a glance' synthesises recent research, which shows that employers do value qualifications, and see them as having three main benefits: to 'screen' candidates in the recruitment process, to meet compliance requirements, and to provide career development for existing workers. However, VET providers could encourage employers to view qualifications more favourably by linking them to skills required at work and by keeping costs down, especially of the assessment process.
Ensuring that people have the appropriate level of numeracy skills is particularly important in jobs which involve a risk to public safety and the environment. This research investigates the job-related numeracy requirements in the chemical spraying and handling operations of the horticulture, local government, outdoor recreation and warehousing industries. Findings from this study indicate that the worksite influences both the type of numeracy skills needed as well as how they are deployed. Numeracy in the workplace differs from formal, rule-based abstract mathematics taught in school and requires training that is relevant to the specific applications of the skill. Implications for the future practice of teaching numeracy on the job are offered and highlight the need to consciously develop critical thinking, learning-to-learn, planning and problem-solving skills in workers.
This study investigates where certificate I and II qualifications lead young people aged 15-24 years in terms of employment and further study. A prime motivation for young people undertaking these qualifications is to facilitate transition into the labour market. These qualifications are aimed at developing basic vocational skills or preparatory access skills. The findings indicate that certificates I and II graduates experienced reasonable employment outcomes in the 15 to 19-year-old group. However, overall, vocational and further study outcomes from certificates I and II qualifications among young people could only be described as fair. The study finds quite low rates of completing courses at certificate I and II level among young people.
New ways of thinking about how language, literacy and numeracy skills are taught has coincided with a fundamental policy change in the vocational education and training sector. A major development has been the integration of literacy, language and numeracy skills into vocational training. The complexity of the issues makes it important to gain a better understanding of what actually happens in Australia, especially in the workplace. This study explores how training practitioners are using the reforms in the national training system, and their knowledge of new approaches to teaching and learning to integrate language, literacy and numeracy into workplace training programs in the community services sector. Although the study is small scale, it provides an informative snapshot of how a number of providers are integrating language, literacy and numeracy into vocational programs.
This report aims to provide a clearer understanding of how and why enterprises use nationally recognised type of training. It finds that an enterprise's decision to engage in recognised training is not made lightly and decisions are made afresh each time a new training need arises. Successfully embedding training in enterprises involves a three-phase process - engagement, extension and integration. In most cases, it is dependent on: positive initial engagement; extension of training through a 'VET evangelist' who 'sells' the benefits of recognised training and persuades management; and, integration of competency standards associated with recognised training into many human resource processes. The availability of funding strongly influences whether enterprises use recognised training. However, one of the key reasons why more enterprises have not taken up this training is lack of awareness.
This suite of overviews provides a comprehensive summary of each of NCVER's managed adult literacy and numeracy research projects funded in 2003.
Australia's innovation capacity is, in part, reliant on its teaching workforce - to teach and promote new technologies to industry. This pilot study examines how vocational education and training (VET) teachers, in particular TAFE teachers, maintain the currency of their skills and knowledge base. It also explores their role in the development and diffusion of innovative practices and new technologies in the manufacturing sector. Despite the lack of recognition of TAFE teachers in national innovation policies and programs, they do provide a technology diffusion function. However, there are impediments to maintaining the currency of teacher skills and equipment, including inadequate capital expenditure on equipment, an aging teaching workforce and reduced access to professional development and return-to-industry programs.