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This project set out to conduct research around the non-technical capabilities needed by secondary school graduates to successfully participate in work or further study. There are many terms used to describe non-technical capabilities, such as general capabilities, generic skills or competencies, employability skills, core skills etc. However, for the purposes of this research the term 'non-technical capabilities' has been used and includes both literacy and numeracy skills and other generic skills, knowledge and understandings that are covered by the following four national frameworks: (1) the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF); (2) the Core Skills for Work Developmental Framework (CSfW); (3) the General Capabilities from the Australian national curriculum; and (4) the Australian Blueprint for Career Development (ABCD).

The project examined which capabilities are most appropriately developed in a school setting, as well as what might be realistically done in schools to develop, assess and/or recognise these capabilities and how employers can support and/or add to this. It also examined what secondary schools are currently doing to support students to develop these capabilities and identified where processes are already in place to assess and/or recognise them.

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There is a strong consensus that students ought to leave high school ready for both college and careers. If a student cannot successfully complete a community college two-year certificate or degree program leading directly to a job, that student will have a very hard time supporting a family above the poverty line. So it is reasonable to say that if a student leaves high school unable to succeed in the initial credit bearing courses in their local community college, that student is ready neither for work nor college. This research study addressed a simple question: what kind and level of literacy in mathematics and English is required of a high school graduate if that student is going to have a good chance of succeeding in the first year of a typical community college program?

On 7 May 2013 during a day-long meeting, key education and policy leaders joined the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) to discuss the results of the study and its implications for community college reform, school reform, teacher education, the common core state standards, and vocational education and the workplace.

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Substantial recent growth in the number of Indigenous businesses means that the need for business-related skills in the Indigenous population will be greater than ever. This report reviews the existing literature relating to Indigenous students and business-related studies in Australia, and provides a snapshot of Indigenous students' participation in, and completion of, business-related higher education courses. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Collection are analysed, in conjunction with evidence on labour market outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous graduates from the 2011 Census and the Australian Graduate Survey, to identify examples of strategies to engage Indigenous students in business-related courses. This analysis is complemented by extensive consultations with 15 of the 40 institutions involved in providing management and commerce courses in Australian universities. Indigenous support centres are an important factor, as are modes of teaching for the courses in question. A number of universities suggested working with industry to create more employment opportunities and support Indigenous role models in associated occupations (e.g. as is already occurring in the accountancy profession). Given the lack of participation of Indigenous students in enabling courses in this field of study, it is likely that Indigenous students will need to augment their level of proficiency in the basic competencies required for successful completion of their studies.

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This is a professional development resource to support the development and recognition of numeracy training skills and knowledge of vocational education and training (VET) practitioners consistent with the requirements of the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice. The resource is a companion to 'Numeracy in practice: building workplace numeracy proficiency and training skills of VET practitioners'. This resource can be used in a variety of ways. It can be used in its entirety to gain an overview of numeracy skills in the workplace. Alternatively, it can be used as a reference to provide specific support when needed. The resource can also be used as a workbook for an individual or for a group of individuals to assist with self assessment against the units. Show less

Policymakers are increasingly concerned that employees need both foundational skills, such as numeracy, and soft skills to be successful in the 21st century economy. However, there is little empirical research that examines whether foundational skills and soft skills have independent or interactive relationships with occupational outcomes. Based on our analysis of Programme of International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data, we find that four self-reported measures of the use of soft skills at work have statistically significant, positive relationships with an employee's occupational status - and that these relationships are independent of numeracy skill. The soft skills measures that are positively correlated with occupational status are (a) readiness to learn; (b) influence; (c) planning; and (d) task discretion. We also estimate interaction effects between numeracy skill proficiency and all four aspects of soft skills. Results indicate that the relationships between occupational status and two soft skill types (planning and influence) are significantly different between workers with low and high numeracy proficiency. That is, workers with low-numeracy skills tend to benefit more from exercising planning or influence skills at work than workers with high numeracy proficiency. Independent of soft skills, workers with higher levels of numeracy skills also tend to have higher occupational status.

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The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) seeks to measure how well young adults at age 15 (and, therefore, near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems) are prepared to use their knowledge and skills in particular areas to meet real-life challenges. PISA's orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula, which increasingly address how well students are able to apply what they learn at school. The assessment focuses on reading, mathematics, science and problem-solving and, for the first time, PISA 2012 also included an assessment of the financial literacy of young people. Around 510,000 students (representative of about 28 million students overall) from all 34 OECD member countries and 31 partner countries and economies participated in PISA 2012, representing more than 80 per cent of the world economy.

This report presents the results of the PISA 2012 assessment for Australia. It presents the results for Australia as a whole, for the Australian jurisdictions and (where relevant) for the other participants in the study, so that Australia's results can be viewed in an international context. Show less

Future-proofing our students so that they will have the skills to negotiate and thrive in increasingly complex global workplaces is a challenge for all educators. These crucial capabilities are often referred to as 21st-century skills, general capabilities, graduate attributes, or transversal skills. For students to thrive they need to become expert learners. They need to acquire a body of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that enable them to adapt and contribute in an ever-changing environment. These capabilities can be learned, taught and assessed. Becoming an expert learner allows a person to master what they need to know in any circumstance. Some of the capabilities required to be a good learner are now included in various Australian and international curriculum statements. Education institutions - schools in particular - typically regard development of such capabilities as being at the heart of their teaching. However, consensus remains elusive about their definition and their significance. Debates ensue about whether or not it is feasible to formally teach these capabilities, as well as how, or indeed whether or not, these should be assessed and then reported on to students, parents and other stakeholders. In this paper, we present evidence and discussion in support of an argument that capabilities for learning, or learning capabilities, should be taught, assessed and recognised. We also examine how to assess, report and credential the degree to which young people have developed these capabilities.

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Several studies documented that mathematics, as it is taught in general secondary education, is far away from what is needed for most fields of vocational practice. Some studies found that workplace mathematics demands are very different from traditional mathematics taught in classrooms. Therefore, this study aims to design a learning trajectory for teaching mathematics in vocational college, oriented on the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach to improve students' understanding and motivation in learning mathematics. Design research was chosen as an appropriate method to answer the research questions and achieve the research goals. Design research methods consist of three phases, namely preliminary design, experiment, and retrospective analysis. The research result shows that the learning trajectory can improve students' understanding. Students enjoy the learning process and give a very enthusiastic response.

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For over a decade, standards-based education has been an integral part of the US Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) program of national leadership activities to improve the quality of adult education and literacy programs nationwide. The standards-based education movement in adult education has resulted in communicating clearer expectations for students, using content standards to improve curriculum and instruction, and creating professional development to help staff develop the expertise to implement standards. Building on this work, the purpose of this project is to develop a stronger link among adult education, postsecondary education, and the world of work. It presents a starting point for raising awareness and understanding of the critical skills and knowledge expected and required for success in colleges, technical training programs, and employment in the 21st century.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) of 2012, to date adopted by 46 states for K-12 programs, were selected as the basis for the review and recommendations in this report. This report describes how these College and Career Readiness (CCR) standards can enable adult education programs to establish a framework for developing or updating their standards. The following questions guided the review: What content in the area of English language arts and literacy (ELA/literacy) is most relevant to preparing adult students for success in higher education and training programs? What content in the area of mathematics is most relevant to preparing adult students for success in higher education and training programs? Which standards in each content area are most important for adult students? The report provides a set of CCR standards reflecting the answers generated by these questions. It does not specify a required set of national or federal standards; rather, it provides benchmarks aligned to the CCSS for states to consider in creating or evaluating their own adult education standards.

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The Life Skills for Europe (LSE) framework offers an overarching framework for life skills learning that is applicable across Europe. The framework aims to establish a common understanding of life skills by defining eight key types of capabilities necessary to be an active participant in life and work. For each capability there are two aspects, difficulty of skill/capability level and familiarity of context, which allow for a range of starting points and support the recognition of learners' progression.

The knowledge, skills and attitudes described in the framework take account of a range of international and European national competence frameworks and build on the European Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 114.72], which supports learners of all ages in developing key competences and basic skills for learning. The capabilities included in the framework also reflect LSE partner input on national and local content, for example, existing curricula and other relevant resources relating to specific capabilities and are influenced by LSE project research on good practice and tools. The framework offers links to these resources for each capability area.

There is an acknowledged overlap between some capabilities, for example numeracy and financial. This reflects the real-world interrelatedness of life skills. The framework begins with the personal/ interpersonal capability as this describes the skills, knowledge and attitudes which underpin all the capabilities. The framework is not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive. Rather, it is presented as a starting point which can be added to and adapted to address the needs and requirements of different groups of learners. Equally, it is not presented as a programme of learning that learners work through from start to finish; learning should be prioritised so that the capabilities selected, reflect learners' needs.

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