How do we develop a student as an employee?

Key competencies, employability skills and the new training organisation

Abstract

Key competencies/employability skills are central to competence in vocational competence and life! The Flexible Learning Leaders program in 2003 commenced with a curiosity about the key competencies and their assessment as a force to improve student participation in training, went on to identify and highlight enhanced delivery methodologies, and led to a new consciousness about the current and future role of Registered Training Organisations. It became a personal journey for improved practice.

Introduction

Core competencies, professional skills, generic skills, key skills, essential skills, necessary skills, workplace know-how, key competencies, ‘nous’, all embody soft skills, but are described by the Australian National Training Authority’s CEOs as ‘hard’ requirements (TAFE frontiers, 2002)! For the purposes of this report, the terms are interchangeable.

Employability skills are based on the seven key competencies developed by the Mayer Committee in the early 1990s. The key competencies formed a firm foundation for the identification of skills required to successfully participate in the world of work (Australian Education Council and Ministers of Vocational Education, Employment and Training, 1992). But, more than a decade on, it has been recognised that the uptake of key competencies has been poor, leading to a number of important studies which focus attention on these skills once again, and interpret them for the new economy. Employability skills incorporate the key competencies. The Australian National Training Authority is determining its list of employability skills, and has been trialling ways in which employability skills will be incorporated in training packages. There is a clear imperative that practitioners ensure that employability skills are included in the training and assessment they provide (NCVER, 2001). In future, Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) can expect to be audited against their training and assessment of employability skills! But what are employability skills, what is their significance and how do we develop them in students?

The model student or employee – what do they look like?

As lecturers, we warm to the student who loves to learn, thrives on reading and research and asks questions. These students teach themselves, with minimal input from teachers. They have highly refined research skills, are motivated and disciplined. Similarly, research carried out by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, showed that industry are equally seeking more than technical skills. The ACCI developed a framework of employability skills as perceived by industry, and these included the key competencies such as team work and communication, problem solving and technical skills, but also identified self management, learning, initiative and enterprise, and also interestingly and most controversial, personal attributes such as loyalty, integrity and a sense of humour, to name just a few! (ACCI 2002).

The framework comprehensively lists the elements of each skill, therefore unpacking the components for consideration. So, the skill of communication includes listening and understanding, speaking clearly and directly, and writing to the needs of the audience. This aligns with the guidelines given by the Mayer Committee in interpreting the key competency ‘Communicating ideas and information’ by identifying the purpose, audience and context of the communication, select the appropriate form, communicate and adapt by responding to feedback (Department for Education and Children’s Services (DECS), n.d.).But the ACCI framework goes further to identify persuasion, being assertive, negotiating and using networks, as equally important. The employability skills to be incorporated into training packages are yet to be revealed by ANTA, but it appears that personal attributes will not be included, as the subjective nature of these is too controversial. Yet attributes such as enthusiasm, personal presentation and commitment are underlying qualities for which a candidate (including ourselves in job interviews) is often judged, and indeed may even be overtly stated in a job and person specification (Clayton, Blom, Meyers and Bateman, 2001)!

Largely, it appears that employers are seeking individual with the skills to be an independent thinker, who can add value to their business beyond the mere technical skills, someone who can use his/her initiative, solve problems, work as a team member, yet equally be able to work effectively on his/her own, and who will take responsibility for their learning and development (ACCI, 2002). ’Lifelong learning equals lifelong earning’ (Turner 2002: 11).

How do we develop a student as an employee?


Assessment

It is worth first considering assessment strategies, for assessment will guide the experiences practitioners will provide to their students. Assessment of generic skills is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks. Evidence must meet the obligations of valid, fair and reliable assessment in an arena that can be quite subjective, given the variations in the depth and interpretation that practitioners adopt. Assessment of employability skills can be adjunct, that is, separate to, assessment of the vocational skills and may or may not be carried out in the vocational context. The assessment may consist of a checklist, often very simplified tick boxes that are developed by the assessors, which may be used in their judgement, or in conjunction with an employer to say – ‘yes’ the student can communicate, or ‘no’ he/she can’t.

More advanced checklists ‘unpack’ each skill, clearly articulating the meaning of each skill and the expected components of it. In more sophisticated fashion, students first work with the checklist themselves and by reflecting back on previous technical skill assessments, identify the examples where they have demonstrated the specific key competencies or employability skills, before this is then verified by the assessor.

The work done to unpack each skill is fundamental to the development of an integrated approach. I believe that by matching existing assessment strategies to the most appropriate key competencies, the methods that are best suited, will naturally assess the generic skills, in context. For example, using a problem based assessment tool, it may be possible to assess the technical knowledge and skill, whilst also assessing the student’s ability to solve the problem; having collected, analysed and organised the information, perhaps using electronic means, and communicated with the relevant stakeholders to assist with the solution. It will be important to provide the assessor and the student with a clearly defined set of criteria for each skill to highlight the elements of the skill.

Another important assessment tool may be profiling the student, a form of continuous assessment, which may incorporate 360 degree feedback collected from stakeholders such as managers, supervisors, peers and the assessor, assessing the technical skill phrased in terms of employability skills.



Delivery

Training organisations have long prided themselves on their ability to meet industry’s training needs, and many would articulate that they have always trained in the key competencies and employability skills, within their established delivery and assessment strategies. The Electronics program at Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE in South Australia is offering one of the most comprehensive programs for the development and assessment of the key competencies, providing a flexible training program which is self paced with rich and diverse learning experiences, in a heavily mentored and supported environment.

And therein lies the key lesson to employability skill development in students - create a learning environment which encourages/enables students to develop the generic skills. It includes the following elements.

Create a learning environment of hope and fulfilment. At the AUSTAFE Conference in South Australia, Tim Costello spoke of the fractured nature of society in modern days. For learning to be most successful, the environment we create for students is critical. Whilst the concept of student support is considered fundamental to most training practitioners, hope and fulfilment is asking for an environment of optimism and positive outreach, a place of belonging and inclusiveness (Costello, 2003)

Create a learning environment of social interaction. Students’ motivation to learn often comes by peer group discussion and opportunities for discussion with each other.

Create a learning environment of passion and enthusiasm, that resonates with a capacity for vocationally enthusiastic students to thrive, and sufficiently captivate those whose interests lie elsewhere! Model drive and energy.

Create a learning environment with pastoral care for students at its centre, intense contact in the first few months to establish the expectations of communication and commitment.

Place the training emphasis on learning how to learn (McMahon, Patton, Tatham, 2003) – concentrate on how people learn, not just the content, and lead students to recognising their own learning styles and to seek the resources that meet their needs. Rob Denton of Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE encourages reflection as the fundamental learning tool. And at the Pedagogy and Partnerships Forum in Adelaide (2003) the notion of helping people learn how to learn was determined as the most empowering force we can let loose – it is a meta-competence.

Translate training packages into learning experiences (Pedagogy and Partnerships Forum) – return to the fundamentals of teaching, not just re-producing the same method of delivery and assessment, seek new ways to challenge students learning (and your own!). And therefore again, model a passion for meeting individual student needs.

Create a rich and diverse learning environment, one with multiple modes of delivery that are stimulating to the generation for which the environment is intended. Discard the learning guide as a standard delivery tool. It is just one of a suite of possibilities. Work with the student and together discover new resources (websites, references, people, pamphlets, organisations and professional bodies) and new ‘learning objects’. This is nothing new! Consider using work-based problems as the learning method. This is truly the flexible learning environment. At Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE, the flexible learning environment enables the development of the key competencies/employability skills, for the skills cannot necessarily be taught by on their own (the strategies can), but must be allowed to develop through the enriched learning environment.

Develop the skills in context, therefore providing meaning and understanding, so the technical vocational skills become the conduit for learning employability skills.

Holistically develop the student, taking into consideration the life skills they experience through sport and community activities.

Allow - students to own and lead the process, as the centre of the learning, and understand the underlying implications of flexible learning in the environment they find themselves.

Re-analyse our use of the grade “fail”. The student is simply on an ever-spiralling cycle of development in which there is no fail, just not yet competent.

Be aware of actually developing the key competencies and not just coaching in the language for assessment purposes

Encourage enterprises to identify and develop a culture and spirit which incorporates training and links learning to work (NCVER, 2002), where the training is valued, supported, encouraged and an integral component to work and an expectation of ongoing employment with the enterprise. Attempt to halt the downward trend in skills by encouraging a shared responsibility to workforce development (Government of South Australia, 2003).



The Future for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)

Reflecting on the points poses some interesting new (or re-emerged) roles for Registered Training Organisations, perhaps a major conceptual break in VET practice. What really constitutes the building blocks of vocational education and training (VET) and therefore the role of RTOs? What knowledge really matters for VET?

RTOs will need to ensure:

provision of diverse and greatly enriched learning environments incorporating multiple modes of delivery

innovation and creativity in flexible learning will form part of the measure of success of learning for RTOs and students alike

a new or enhanced role for RTOs in the provision of employability skills development

social interaction forms the pivotal delivery strategy, in an increasingly fractured society, for enhanced learning in a flexible environment

collaborative partnering will form the foundation to achieving the points.

In 2004, the Horticulture program area of the South East Institute of TAFE will trial the mapping of assessment strategies against the key competencies and trial the subsequent assessment tools. The program will also offer a pre-vocational training program, and a re-vamped Contract of Training program, trialling a mixed delivery methodology of workshop topics, such as self-paced activities, video-conferencing and industry based practical workshops, to encourage students to identify their learning styles in a social environment. The challenge will be to balance a supportive approach whilst encouraging autonomy and independence of learning! The development of an online site using the Janison toolbox platform will enhance this outcome.



Summary

Moving to a whole life approach to training and assessment is a great challenge to vocationally orientated training organisations, but it has also become a social imperative, crucial to building the capacities of communities, and their industries.



References

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Business Council of Australia, 2002, Employability Skills for the Future. Retrieved 30 September 2003 http://www.acci.asn.au/text_files/reports/Employability_Skills.pdf

Australian Education Council and Ministers of Vocational Education, Employment and Training, 1992, ‘Key competencies’ Report of the Mayer Committee, Sands and McDougall Printing, Pty. Ltd. Retrieved 3September from http://www.acci.asn.au/text_files/reports/Employability_Skills.pdf

Clayton, B., Blom, K., Meyers, D., Bateman, A. 2001, Assessing and certifying generic skills. What’s happening in VET? National Centre for Vocational Education Research, Leabrook, Adelaide.

Costello, T., 2003 ‘Leading change in a changing world’, Keynote address, AUSTAFE Conference, Adelaide.

Department for Education and Children’s Services (DECS), no date, ‘Integrating the key competencies into teaching and learning practice’, in Ready, Set, Go program brochure, DECS Curriculum Services, Adelaide. South Australia

McMahon, M., Patton, W., Tatham, P., no date Managing Life, Learning and Work in 21st Century: Issues Informing the Design of an Australian Blueprint for Career Development, Miles Morgan Australia Pty. Ltd.

TAFE frontiers, 2002, Generic Skills TAFE frontiers-Discussion Paper. TAFE frontiers, Melbourne.

Turner, D. 2002, Employability skills development in the United Kingdom, National Centre for Vocational Education Research, Leabrook, Adelaide.

Government of South Australia, 2003, Skills for the Future. Final Report of the Ministerial Inquiry, South Australia.



Further Information

Down, C. 2002, Employability Skills in Training Packages, a report in conjunction with ratio, ANTA.

NCVER generic skills page at http://www.ncver.edu.au/generic.htm.