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‘LLN’isdead.Longlive‘foundationskills’.Maybe.JustinHayes

July2020

2012wasadecisiveyearforadultlanguage,literacyandnumeracy(LLN)

educationinAustralia.Followingtheresultsofthe2006AdultLiteracyandLife

SkillssurveybytheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment

(OECD)andsubsequentcallsfromindustrygroupssuchasSkillsAustraliaand

theAustralianIndustryGrouptoimproveliteracyandnumeracyskillsofthe

Australianworkforce,thefederalgovernmentreleasedtheNationalFoundation

SkillsStrategyforAdults,anagreementbyallAustralianstatesandterritories

throughtheCouncilofAustralianGovernmentstobethenationalpolicy

documentinAustraliaforfoundationskills(Newton,2016).Whilstthe‘Strategy’

incorporatesfourkeypriorityareasthatalldeservein-depthexploration,the

focushereisontheterm‘foundationskills’itself,notablyitsuse,absenceofuse

andmixeduseinboththeStrategyandsubsequentgovernmentdocumentsthat

potentiallycreateuncertaintyforfoundationskillssupportservices.Specifically,

thispaperpresentstheinconsistencyofterminologyingovernmentdocuments,

highlightspotentialuncertaintiesforfoundationskillssupportservicesin

RegisteredTrainingOrganisations(RTOs)asaresultoftheseinconsistencies

andpresentsacallforactiontoprovideclarityforallinvolved.

Inconsistencies

InherreportAdultliteracyandnumeracy:Researchandfuturestrategy,one

strategyPerkins(2009)suggestedthatmayraiseawarenessandhelp“ensure

literacyandnumeracyisseenasamainstreamconcern”was“amovefrom

talkingaboutliteracyandnumeracytoadiscussionofcoreskillsorfoundation

skills“(p.37).Thisreport,othercontemporaryusagewithingovernment

environmentsandindustryinfluence(BlackandYasukawa,2010;Wignall,2015)

pavedthewayfor‘foundationskills’tobethetermtheAustralianfederal

governmentwoulduseinitsnewadultliteracyandnumeracystrategy.Here,in

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theStrategy(StandingCouncilonTertiaryEducation,SkillsandEmployment

[SCOTESE],2012),literacyandnumeracywerereplacedwithinabroadersetof

‘foundationskills’that“underpinworkforceparticipation,productivityand

socialinclusion”(p.2),definedasthecombinationof:

• Englishlanguage,literacyandnumeracy(LLN)–listening,speaking,

reading,writing,digitalliteracyanduseofmathematicalideas;and

• employabilityskills,suchascollaboration,problemsolving,self-

management,learningandinformationandcommunicationtechnology

(ICT)skillsrequiredforparticipationinmodernworkplacesand

contemporarylife.

Here,‘foundationskills’hastwocomponents:one,anLLNcomponentthat

appliestomultiplecontexts,andtwo,anemploymentcomponentforworkplace

contexts.Thisdefinitionaloneisnotchallengingtounderstand,butitistheuses

oftheterms‘LLN’,‘digitalliteracy’and‘employabilityskills’,alongwith

referencesintheStrategytotheAustralianCoreSkillsFrameworkandtheCore

SkillsforWorkDevelopmentalFrameworkthatcreateinconsistencies,eachof

whicharepresentedbelow.

Whilstpage2oftheStrategystatesthedefinitionprovidedabove,subsequent

pages(p.12,p.15,p.17,p.19andp.23)relatefoundationsskillstothefivecore

skillsoftheAustralianCoreSkillsFramework(ACSF):learning,reading,writing,

oralcommunicationandnumeracy.Accordingtotheprojectteamthatdeveloped

theframework(alsoreleasedin2012),theACSF“facilitatesaconsistentnational

approachtotheidentificationanddevelopmentofthecoreskillsindiverse

personal,community,workandeducationandtrainingcontexts”(McLean,P.,

Perkins,K.,Tout,D.,Brewer,K.,&Wyse,L.,2012,p.1).Withadefinitionof

‘foundationskills’alreadyprovidedthatincludes‘LLN’and‘employabilityskills’,

theinclusionoftheACSFintheStrategypresentsanimportantquestiontoask:

WhatisthepurposeoftheACSFinthecontextoftheStrategy?Oneanswertothis

ispresentedonpage15as“AustraliangovernmentsagreethattheACSFwillbe

usedasthestandardframeworkformeasuringfoundationskills”.Here,then,all

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ofthesix‘LLN’skillslistedinthedefinition(whichincludes‘digitalliteracy’)and

alltheemployabilityskills(fiveofwhichareprovidedasexamples)aretobe

measuredbytheoneframeworkthatitselfonlyconsistsofthefivecoreskillsof

learning,reading,writing,oralcommunicationandnumeracy.Ofcourse,a

numberoffollow-upquestionsarise,suchas:

1. Howcan‘digitalliteracy’bemeasuredbytheACSF?

2. Howcan‘employabilityskills’bemeasuredbytheACSF?

3. SinceLLNdoesnotspecificallyincludethe‘learning’skilloftheACSFbut

‘learning’isprovidedasanexampleofan‘employabilityskill’,is‘learning’

tobeidentified,developedandmeasuredonlyinthecontextof

employment?

Analternativeanswertothemainquestionaskedaboveispresentedonpage21

as“AustraliangovernmentsagreethattheACSFwillbeusedasthestandard

frameworkformeasuringLLN”.Here,thesingledifferencewiththequotefrom

page15issimplythattheterm‘foundationskills’hasnowbeenreplacedwith

‘LLN’.Thisinitselfpresentsfurtherquestions,suchas:

4. Whynowlimit‘foundationskills’tobeingonly‘LLN’?

5. Wastheuseof‘LLN’hereamistake,and‘foundationskills’shouldhavebeen

writteninstead?

6. DoestheACSFrelateonlytoLLNorLLNonlyinthecontextofworkplaces?

Unfortunately,theStrategydoesnotansweranyoftheabovequestions,

resultingininconsistency,anditisthisongoingmixeduseoftheterms

‘foundationskills’,‘LLN’and‘coreskills’(alongwithothers)thatcontinuein

latergovernmentdocuments.

AlongwiththeintroductionoftheACSF,anotherchangeoccurringatthetime

wasthenotionofwhatconstitutedskillsforemployment.IntheStrategy,two

variationsexist.Firstly,thedefinitionintheStrategyusestheterm

‘employabilityskills’andlistsexamplestakenfromthe2002researchproject

EmployabilitySkillsfortheFuturebytheAustralianChamberofCommerceand

IndustryandtheBusinessCouncilofAustralia(fortheDepartmentofEducation,

ScienceandTraining).TheStrategy,however,alsomentionsthedevelopment

anduseofthethreeclusteredskillareas(tenskillareasintotal)oftheCoreSkills

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forWorkDevelopmentalFramework(CSfW).LiketheACSF,theCSfWisa

detailed,modernframeworkanditspurposeistoassist“withtheidentification,

descriptionandmeasurementofemployabilityskills”(SCOTESE,2012,p.17).

Specifically,theCSfWdetailsthethreeclusteredskillareasof‘navigatetheworld

ofwork’,‘interactwithothers’and‘gettheworkdone’anddescribes“asetof

non-technicalskills,knowledgeandunderstandingsthatunderpinsuccessful

participationinwork”(DepartmentofIndustry,Innovation,ClimateChange,

Science,ResearchandTertiaryEducationandDepartmentofEducation,

EmploymentandWorkplaceRelations,2013,p.1).Tobefair,theStrategy

mentions,“theuseoftheFrameworkwillbeincludedintheNationalStrategyat

thefirstreview”(p.17),andsincetheframeworkwasn’treleaseduntil2013,itis

understandablethattheStrategyshouldmentionboththeformer‘employability

skills’andthenew‘CoreSkillsforWork’,yettheinclusionoftwovariationsin

theonepolicydocumentcreatesacertainamountofinconsistencythatpersists

inlaterdocuments.

Whenconsideringthechangesinthefieldatandaroundthetimeoftherelease

oftheStrategy,slightvariationsinmeaningscanbeoverlooked,especiallywhen

takingthewordsofWignall(2017)intoaccount,whostatedthedefinitionsof

whatconstitutesfoundationskillsare“inconstantflux”(p.3)and“aflexible

approachtodefiningandredefiningfoundationskillsisneededtoaccommodate

thebroadandshiftingrangeofindividuals’skilldevelopmentneeds”(p.4).Inthe

competency-basedtrainingworldofVocationEducationandTraining(VET),

however,thereismoreuser-friendlyterminologyembeddedwithintheunitsof

competencyoftrainingpackages.TheStrategystatesthatIndustrySkills

Councils“arerevisingTrainingPackagestomoreclearlyidentifythe

opportunitiestodevelopunderpinningfoundationskillsaspartofvocational

training”(SCOTESE,2012,p.12)andafactsheetfromthefederalgovernment’s

DepartmentofEducationandTraininginformsusthat“akeyoutcomearising

fromtheNationalStrategyhasbeentheexplicitinclusionoffoundationskills

intounitsofcompetency.Itisnowamandatoryrequirementthatunitsof

competencydescribethelanguage,literacy,numeracyandemploymentskills

thatareessentialtoperformanceintheunit”(DepartmentofEducationand

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Training,n.d.).Asaresult,withthecontemporaryreleaseoftheStandardsfor

TrainingPackages,unitsofcompetencyarenowmadeupoftechnical(or

disciplinespecific)skillsaswellasfoundationskills.Certainly,mixed

terminologyisapparentintheseStandards(andthefactsheet)byusing

‘language’,‘literacy’and‘numeracy’whenitdescribes‘foundationskills’asbeing

the“language,literacy,numeracyandemploymentskillsthatareessentialto

performance”(p.4),however,recentunitsofcompetencynowincludealistof

thefivecoreskillsoftheACSFandthethreeclusteredskillareasoftheCSfWthat

areembeddedandexplicitlystatedineachunit.Here,then,asshownbelow,isa

specific,consistentlistofskillsforVETteacherstoteachandassess,which

includesaspecific,consistentlistoffoundationskillsthatfoundationskills

supportservicescansupportVETlearnerswith.

AustralianCoreSkillsFramework

(ACSF)

• Learning

• Reading

• Writing

• OralCommunication

• Numeracy

CoreSkillsforWorkFramework

(CSfW)

• Navigatetheworldofwork

o Managecareerand

worklife

o Workwithroles,rights

andprotocols

• Interactwithothers

o Communicateforwork

o Connectandworkwith

others

o Recogniseandutilise

diverseperspectives

• Gettheworkdone

o Planandorganize

o Makedecisions

o Identifyandsolve

problems

o Createandinnovate

o Workinadigitalworld

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Whenitcomestoaccreditedcourses,however,terminologyagainbecomes

unclear.TheStandardsforVETAccreditedCourses2012donotmention

‘foundationskills’atall,andinonlyoneplaceis‘LLN’mentioned;asbeing

‘helpful’toincludeasrecommendedentryrequirements.VAC7.4inthese

Standardsdoes,however,include‘employabilityskills’,requiringVETaccredited

coursestoidentifyemployabilityskillsrelevanttothecourseoutcomes.Being

initiallyreleasedin2011,oneyearbeforetheNationalFoundationSkillsStrategy

forAdults,theomissionof‘foundationskills’isunderstandable,yetan

amendmenttotheStandardsoneyearlaterin2012,when‘foundationskills’

wereexplicitlyincludedbothintheStrategyandtheStandardsforTraining

Packages,stilldidnotinclude‘foundationskills’.Itwouldseemanopportunity

formoreclaritywasprovidedin2019withthereleaseoftheUsers’guidetothe

StandardsforVETAccreditedCourseswherethereareanumberofreferencesto

‘foundationskills’,includingadefinitionandalist.Unfortunately,however,

inconsistencyexists.Theuser’sguidedefinesfoundationskillsas“thefivecore

skillsoftheAustralianCoreSkillsframework(ACSF)plusemployabilityskillsor

theCoreSkillsforWorkFramework”(p.7).Thisseeminglypresents

‘employabilityskills’asinterchangeablewiththe‘CSfW’,however,theyaretwo

verydifferentportrayalsofskillsforemployment.Furthermore,inthelistof

skillspresentedonpages19,25and26,sixoftheeightoriginal2002

‘employabilityskills’areincluded,whichcontrastsdirectlywiththeinclusionof

CSfWskillareasinunitsofcompetencydirectedbytheStandardsforTraining

Packages.

Thismixedmessagingofwhatconstitutesfoundationskillsismirroredinthe

FoundationSkillsTrainingPackage(FSK),firstreleasedin2013.Oneoftheroles

forIndustrySkillsCouncilscomingoutofTheNationalFoundationSkillsStrategy

wastodeveloptheFoundationSkillsTrainingPackage(SCOTESE,2012),which

wasdesignedtoprovide“anopportunityforRTOstoselectanddeliver

foundationskillsunitsandqualificationsthatwillenablelearnerstobuildthe

specificfoundationskillsrequiredtoachievevocationalcompetency”

(InnovationandBusinessSkillsAustralia[IBSA],2013,p.4).Here,the

accompanyingImplementationGuidedefines‘foundationskills’asencompassing

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“thecoreskills…describedbytheACSFandtheEmployabilitySkills/CoreSkills

forWork”(IBSA,p.9).Hereinliestwoaspectstomention;oneisthe

incorporationof‘digitaltechnology’,andtwo,againthedualuseofskillsfor

employment.Page14statesthattheunitsofcompetencywithinthepackage

“havebeenorganisedintosixskillgroups:learning,reading,writing,oral

communication,numeracyanddigitaltechnology”.Thefirstfiveoftheseskills

groupscanbedirectlyattributedtotheACSF,however,theoriginofthesixth,

‘digitaltechnology’,ismoreobscure.Thisisnotanexplicitskillorstreamofthe

ACSFanditsinclusionmayrelatetotheoriginaldefinitionof‘foundationskills’

intheStrategy,whichincludes‘digitalliteracy’asonepartofLLNaswellas

‘technology’in‘employabilityskills’and‘workinadigitalworld’intheCSfW.It

seemsthattheskillgroup‘digitaltechnology’isafusionofallofthesedigital-

relatedtermsandskills.Secondly,aswiththeStandardsforAccreditedCourses,

‘employabilityskills’andthe‘CoreSkillsforWork’areincludedsimultaneously,

asiftheywereinterchangeable.Theguidestates,“Whilethese[skill]groups

primarilyreflectthecoreskillsdescribedbytheACSF,theyalsoencompass

EmployabilitySkillsof:communication,planningandorganising,problem

solving,learning,teamworkandtechnologyandhavebeeninformedbytheCore

SkillsforWork”(p.14).ItisunclearhowtheCSfW‘inform’the‘employability

skills’,sincetheyareverydifferent,andthequestionofwhy‘employabilityskills’

arementionedatallmustbeasked,sincetheCSfWisarecentframework

designedformoremodernworkplaces.Evenwithtimeandtheopportunityto

clarify,the2019releaseofanupdatedversionoftheImplementationGuide

repeatstheabove(PwC,2019,p.31).

ReleasedthreeyearsaftertheStrategy,TheStandardsforRegisteredTraining

Organisations(RTOs)2015arekeyrequirementsthatspecifytheoperationsof

AustralianRTOs,anditsformulationpresentedanopportunityforthefederal

governmenttoclarifyterminology.Withthreeyearstodigestthechangesof

2012,itisperhapsmorethansurprisingthatnowhereintheserequirementsis

theterm‘foundationskills’mentioned.Amajorpolicystrategyforadult

educationandfullembeddingoffoundationskillswithintheunitsofcompetency

oftrainingpackagesoccur,yetnotonceisthetermusedintheessential

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requirementsthatfollow.Instead,theterm‘language,literacyandnumeracy’is

includedintwolocations:oneasanexampleofaprogramwhereRTOscan

provide‘educationandsupportservices’andanotherasaspecificunitof

competencyforVETtrainerstocompletetobecomequalifiedtoteachintheVET

sector(thatis,theunit‘Addressadultlanguage,literacyandnumeracyskills‘).

Furthermore,eventheUsers’guidetotheStandardsforRegisteredTraining

Organisations(RTOs)2015releasedin2019onlymentions‘foundationskills’

once,advisingRTOsto“checkthatassessmentcriteriainassessmenttools

address”them(p.58).Theabsenceoftheterm‘foundationskills’inthese

Standards(andanaccompanyingdefinitionorlist)haspotentiallyprofound

implicationsonfoundationskillssupportservicesinVETandleavesavacuumof

guidanceonthedepthandbreadththeseservicesmustprovide(discussedin

detailinlaterparagraphs).

WithconsistencyprovingelusiveinfederalgovernmentStandards,eveninthe

recentuser’sguidestoStandardsandintheImplementationGuideoftheFSK,it

iswarrantedtoexamineadocumentfocusedonabroadexaminationofVET.

StrengtheningSkills:ExpertReviewofAustralia’sVocationalEducationand

TrainingSystem(alsoknownas‘TheJoyceReview’)waspublishedin2019and

setoutto“conductahealthcheckoftheAustralianVETsectortodeterminehow

readyitistostepuptothechallengeoftrainingmoreAustralians,nowandin

thefuture”(Joyce,2019,p.1).Inthisreview,‘foundationskills’isdefinedas

“Foundationlanguage,literacy,numeracyanddigitalskills”(p.2)or“LLND”

(p.109).Here,now,thefocusseemstoreturntothedefinitionofthe2012

NationalFoundationSkillsStrategyforAdults,withitsuseof‘LLN’andinclusion

of‘digitalliteracy’.Withoutexplanation,however,TheJoyceReviewomits

employmentskillsentirely,alongwithanyreference,directorindirect,tothe

coreskillsoftheACSF.Witheightyearsofreferringtobothoftheseaspectsof

‘foundationskills’ingovernmentdocuments,albeitinsporadicandinconsistent

ways,TheJoyceReviewseemstoabandonthemandinsteadusestheterm

‘LLND’withoutprovidingexplanationofwherethattermoriginatesfrom.

Inthe2019-20budget,thefederalgovernmentannouncedthefour-year

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allocationoffundsfortheFoundationSkillsforYourFutureProgram,developed

to“supporteligibleAustralianswithameanstodeveloptheirLanguage,

Literacy,NumeracyandDigitalLiteracy(LLND)skillstohelpthemup-skillorre-

skillfornewroles,toobtainandretainsecureemploymentandtoundertake

furthereducationandtraining”(DepartmentofEmployment,Skills,Smalland

FamilyBusiness,2019).Whilstnotprovidingaspecificdefinitionof‘foundation

skills’,thisprogramseemstohavebeeninfluencedbyTheJoyceReview,

publishedjustmonthsearlier,orevenestablishedasaresultofthereview,in

thatitalsorestrictstheterm‘foundationskills’to“Language,Literacy,Numeracy

andDigitalLiteracy(LLND)skills’(p.4).LikeTheJoyceReview,itdoesnot

mention‘employabilityskills’ortheCSFW,however,consideringthepurposeof

theprogramistoimprovetheskillsforemployment,itmustbeassumedthat

LLNDdevelopmentistobefocusedonworkplacecontexts.Theguidelinesofthis

program,however,doincludetheACSF,alongwithanewly-created(2020)

frameworkfordigitalskills,theDigitalLiteracySkillsFramework(DLSF),stating,

“ServiceProvidersdeliveringRTOPersonalisedTrainingprojectsand/or

EmployerWorkplaceTrainingprojects,arerequiredtoassesseachParticipant’s:

• Language,LiteracyandNumeracySkills,throughtheAustralianCore

SkillsFramework(ACSF);and

• DigitalLiteracySkills,throughthedepartment’sDigitalLiteracySkills

Framework(DLSF)”(p.5).

Here,then,isadirectlinkbetween‘LLN’andthefivecoreskillsoftheACSF,

alongwiththeformalelevationof‘digitalliteracyskills’tobeseeminglyequalin

standingtoeachofthefivecoreskills.Infact,theDLSFattributestheelevationof

‘digitalliteracyskills’toTheJoyceReviewitself,statingthatJoyce“acknowledges

theimportanceofdigitalliteracyskills[by]renamingthecorefoundationskills

asLanguage,Literacy,NumeracyandDigitalLiteracy(LLND)skills.Theinclusion

ofdigitalskillsalongsidethefoundationskillsoflanguage,literacyandnumeracy

recognisesthatdigitalliteracyhasbecomeincreasinglycriticalforindividuals’

participationintheworkforce”(McLean,Oldfield&Stephens,2020,p.4).

Thusfar,avarietyofdefinitionsandtermsfromanumberoffederalgovernment

documentshavebeenpresented.Somereferto‘LLN’,whereasothersrefertothe

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fivecoreskillsoftheACSF,whileothersrefertoboth.Somedocumentsusethe

term‘employabilityskills’andsomeofitsexamplesfrom2002,whereasothers

useskillsfromtheCSFW,whileothersrefertoboth.Whatisclear,however,

especiallywhenviewingthetablebelowofacollationofthedocumentsand

terms,isthatveryfewofthedocumentsareconsistentwitheachother.

Year Document TermsUsed

2002 EmployabilitySkillsfortheFuture Employabilityskills=Communication,teamwork,problem-solving,initiativeandenterprise,planningandorganising,self-management,learningandtechnology

2012 NationalFoundationSkillsStrategyforAdults

Foundationskills=LLNplusemployabilityskills,butincludesACSFandCSfW

2012 AustralianCoreSkillsFramework(ACSF)

ACSF=Learning,reading,writing,oralcommunicationandnumeracy

2012 StandardsforTrainingPackages Foundationskills=ACSFcoreskillsplusCSfWskills

2012 StandardsforVETAccreditedCourses

LLN

2013 FoundationSkillsTrainingPackage ACSFcoreskillsplusdigitaltechnology

2013 CoreSkillsforWorkDevelopmentFramework(CSfW)

CSfW=Threeclusteredskillsofnavigatetheworldofwork,interactwithothersandgettheworkdone

2015 StandardsforRegisteredTrainingOrganisations2015

LLN

2019 Users’guidetotheStandardsforRegisteredTrainingOrganisation2015

Foundationskills–nodefinitionorexamples

2019 Users’guidetotheStandardsforVETAccreditedCourses

Foundationskills=ACSFcoreskillsplusemployabilityskillsorCSfW

2019 FoundationSkillsTrainingPackage:ImplementationGuide

FoundationSkills=ACSFcoreskillsplusemployabilityskills/CSfW

2019 StrengtheningSkills:ExpertReviewofAustralia’sVocationalEducationandTrainingSystem

Foundationskills=LLND

2019 FoundationSkillsforYourFuture:ProgramGuidelines

Foundationskills=LLND

Itisobvioustoseethatthefederalgovernmenthasbeenunabletoprovidea

clearandconsistentuseoftheterm‘foundationskills’.Whatstartedoutin2012

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asapurposefulpushforabroadersetofskillstodefine,identify,developand

measureskillsthat“underpinworkforceparticipation,productivityandsocial

inclusion”(SCOTESE,2012,p.2),andincludingtheminpolicyandStandards,has

resultedinanassortmentofvariationsovertime,leadingtoanewredefiningin

2019/20assimply‘LLND’,despitethecontinualuseoftheoriginalterm

‘foundationskills’.

ThestateofVictoria,ontheotherhand,maybeanidealplacetolookfor

consistencysinceitsVETsystemisthemostde-centralisedinAustraliaandhasa

diverseTAFEsystem,meaningitmayrequireagreaterneedforconsistent

terminologytohelpmanagethediversityofstakeholders.Below,anumberof

documentsareexaminedandlistedinchronologicalorderoftheirrelease,

providinganinsightintotheVictorianstategovernment’sview.

2018: FutureopportunitiesforadultlearnersinVictoria:Pathwaysto

participationandjobs–Discussionpaper

ProducedbytheVictorianDepartmentofEducation,thisdiscussionpaper

“considerswhethertheadultcommunityeducation[ACE]sectoris

equippedwiththesystem-levelsupportsandcapabilitiesitneedsto

supportat-riskVictoriansintosocialandeconomicparticipation”

(DepartmentofEducationandTraining,2018,p.7).Certainly,the

Victoriangovernment’sendeavourtosupport‘at-risk’Victoriansmustbe

recognised,alongwithnumerousreferencesto‘foundationskills’.Inthis

document,however,nodefinitionof‘foundationskills’isprovided,with

pages4,7,8,14and36allreferringto“literacy,numeracyandfoundation

skills”inaninnovativetwist,seeminglyasifliteracyandnumeracywere

separatetoanddistinctfromfoundationskills.

2019: TheFutureofAdultCommunityEducationinVictoria2020-25:Ministerial

Statement

OutliningtheVictorianAdultandCommunityEducationreformagenda

for2020-25,thisdocumentalsoprovidesnodefinition,but‘foundation

skills’ishighlyprominentinthereforms,statingthethreecorerolesof

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ACEare1)toengageandsupportadultlearnerswhoneedtodevelop

theircorefoundationskillsforwork,furtherstudy,andtoparticipatein

societyasvaluedcitizens,2)toplayaleadroleinadultliteracy,

numeracy,employabilityanddigitalskillseducationandtrainingfor

Victoriansand3)tosupportworkerswhomaybevulnerabletobecoming

unemployedtodeveloptheskillsnecessarytoremainandthrivein

employmentasworkchanges”(DepartmentofEducationandTraining,

2019,p.6).Whilstthesignificantdevelopmentof‘foundationskills’

becomingattheheartofACEreformsmustberecognised,theterm‘core

foundationskills’inthefirst‘corerole’,seemstobeavariationof

‘foundationskills’itself.Nowhereinthedocumentisanexplanationof

thistermprovided,and,tospeculate,itmayrefertothecoreskillsofthe

ACSForperhaps‘LLN’,oritmayevenbethecoreskillsoftheACSFplus

theskillsareasoftheCSfW.

2019: 2018-19StandardVETFundingContract(extendedto31December2020)

Section5ofthiscontractrelatestotheplanningoftrainingand

assessment,specificallythePre-TrainingReview.Inlinewiththefederal

government’sStandardsRegisteredTrainingOrganisations(RTOs)2015,

section5.1oftheVictorianVETfundingcontractstates,“ForeachEligible

Individual,theTrainingProvidermustconductaPre-TrainingReview,as

partofenrolment,orpriortothecommencementoftraining,toascertain

asuitable,andthemostsuitable(asdefinedintheQualityCharter),

courseforthatstudenttoenrolin”(TheStateofVictoria,2019,p.9).In

relationto‘foundationskills’,section5.1statesthePre-TrainingReview

must(amongstotherpointsnotincludedhere):

• considertheindividual’sexistingeducationalattainmentand

capabilities;

• includeconsiderationofliteracyandnumeracyskills;

• wheretheproposedlearningincludesportionsdeliveredonline,

identifytheindividuallearner’sdigitalcapability,includingaccess

tonecessarytechnology,andwherenecessaryidentifystepsto

overcomeanybarriersinthisregard(p.9).

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Withoutprovidingadefinitionoralistof‘foundationskills’,this

documentincludes‘literacy’,‘numeracy’,‘digitalcapability’andanyother

existing‘capabilities’,whichmayormaynotberelatedto‘foundation

skills’.

2020: SkillsFirstLiteracyandNumeracySupportImplementationGuide

InVictoria,RTOscanreceiveSkillsFirstfundingtoenroleligiblelearners

intounits“specificallydesignedforlearnersrequiringliteracyand

numeracyskillstosupporttheachievementofvocationalcompetence”

(DepartmentofEducationandTraining,2020,p.1).Whilst‘literacy’and

‘numeracy’arethetwotermsusedinthetitleandthroughoutthe

document,theapprovedunitsare“groupedintoReading,Writing,

Numeracy,OralCommunication,LearningandDigitalTechnologytoalign

withtheFSKFoundationSkillsTrainingPackage”(p.6).Noexplanationis

providedastowhy‘literacy’and‘numeracy’areusedinthetitleofthe

documentandthroughout,butitcanonlybeassumedthatthefivecore

skillsoftheACSFtogetherwith‘digitaltechnology’arewhatconstitute

‘literacy’and‘numeracy’here.

2020: Victoria’sGrowingEconomy:IssuePaper

Outliningcriticalissuesforstudents,governments,industryandproviders,itis

theoneVictoriandocumentthatprovidesaglossaryoftermsandincludesa

definitionfor‘foundationskills’,whichstatesitis“acombinationoflanguage,

literacyandnumeracyskills(e.g.listening,reading,speaking,writing,digital

literacy,mathematics)andemployabilityskills(e.g.collaboration,problem

solving,self-management,learning,informationandcommunicationtechnology)

thatareincludedinVETcoursesandunitsofcompetency”(p.59).Here,theterm

‘foundationskills’matchesvirtuallyword-for-wordthedefinitioninthe2012

NationalFoundationSkillsStrategyforAdults,withoutanyrecognitionofthecore

skillsoftheACSFortheskillareasoftheCSfW,eventhoughunitsofcompetency

explicitlylisttheseACSFandCSfWskills.

Itseemsthen,Victoria,likethefederalgovernment,doesnothaveclearand

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consistentusageanddefinitionsofterminology,butinstead,anumberofwaysto

stateandusethevarietyofskillsthatmakeup‘foundationskills’.Unfortunately,

thisinconsistencyinbothfederalandstategovernmentdocumentspotentially

createsanumberofuncertaintiesforVETfoundationskillssupportservices,

servicesthatareresponsibleforsupportingVETlearnersintheir‘foundation

skills’developmentastheyprogressthroughtheirprograms,intotheircareers

andintothenextstagesoftheirlives.

Uncertainties

Afterexaminingthedocumentsabove,fourmainthemesemerge:1)the

interchangeabilityof‘LLN’withthecoreskillsoftheACSF,2)thedefiningof

‘digitalliteracyskills’,3)theinterchangeabilityofthe2002employabilityskills

withtheskillsareasoftheCSfWand4)thevariationsinStandards.The

followingparagraphsdiscusseachofthesethemesseparately.

EightyearsaftertheintroductionoftheACSF,theterm‘LLN’stillendures,now

extendedto‘LLND’.ForfoundationskillssupportserviceswithinVET,however,

theterm‘LLN’/’LLND’alonedoesnotfullyencompasstheskillsorissues

involvedinthisparticularfield.Certainly,thereisagreatdealofoverlap,with

‘LLN’beingrepresentedinthereading,writing,oralcommunicationand

numeracyskillsoftheACSF,butthe‘learning’skillcannotbeignored.Withinthe

ACSF,thetwoperformanceindicatorsof‘learning’are1)Awarenessofselfasa

learner,planningandmanagementoflearningand2)Theacquisitionand

applicationofpracticalstrategiesthatfacilitatelearning.Itispreciselythese

aspectsoflearningthatmanyVETlearnersneedsupportwith,andbyonly

referringto‘LLN’,evenif‘learning’isimplied,theimportanceofdirectly

identifyingandaddressingtheabilityformanyadultstolearnisdiminished.

Hence,anumberofquestionsthatmayariseforsupportservicesare:

• Doesthe‘learning’abilityofaprospectivelearnerneedtobeidentifiedat

thepre-trainingreviewstage?

o Ifso,howcanitbeidentified?

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• Asidefromenrollinglearnersintospecific‘learning’unitsoftheFSK,how

can‘learning’betaughtandwhatstrategiescanbeprovidedtoassist

learners?

• Dotheidentification,deliveryandoutcomesofsupportfor‘learning’needto

berecordedandreported?

2019sawtheterm‘LLND’usedinTheJoyceReview,with‘LLND’nowbeingthe

subjectoftheFoundationSkillsforYourFutureProgramand‘digitalliteracy

skills’nowhavingitsownframework,TheDigitalLiteracySkillsFramework

(DLSF).Thisisanimportantdevelopmentforsupportservices,markingapoint

intimewhen‘digitalliteracyskills’becomeformalisedwithitsownframework

toarticulateandmeasurestagesofdevelopment.Thequestionsraisedabovefor

’learning’are,however,alsorelevantfor‘digitalliteracyskills’,alongwiththe

importantquestionof:

• Doalltrainerspossessthenecessary‘digitalliteracyskills’themselves?

Aswith‘LLN’andthecoreskillsoftheACSF,thereisoverlapbetweenthe2002

term‘employability’andskillareasoftheCSfW.Yet,theyareverydifferent,and

byreferringtobothofthemsimultaneously,thereislesscommonlanguage,

resultingindislocationanduncertainty.Also,theCSfWprovidesamorerecent

frameworkthatenablesfoundationskillsserviceproviderstoidentifyand

addresslearnerneedsforamoremodernenvironment,sorepeatedreferences

toapreviouslist,ratherthanaspecificallydesignedframework,canresultina

reducedabilitytosupportlearnersfortheirmoderncareers.Furthermore,the

omissionofallspecificreferencestoemploymentskillsinrecentdocuments

introducesdoubtintothescopeofwhatsupportservicesshouldandmust

providesupportwith.Here,anumberofquestionscanberaised,suchas:

• Like‘learning’and‘digitalliteracyskills’,doemploymentskillsneedtobe

identifiedatthepre-trainingreview,thentaught/supportedandthen

reported?

• DothecoreskillsoftheACSF(or‘LLND’)onlyneedtobetaughtand

supported,butwithinthecontextofemployment?

• Havespecificskillsforemploymentbeenabandonedcompletely?

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Thegreatestcauseofuncertainty,however,resultswhenoverlayingthe

StandardsforRegisteredTrainingOrganisations(RTOs)2015(where‘foundation

skills’arenotreferredtoatall)withtheStandardsforTrainingPackages(which

notonlyrequiresunitsofcompetencytospecificallyidentify,embedand

communicatethefivecoreskillsoftheACSFandthethreeclusteredskillareasof

theCSfW,butalsoforVETtrainerstoteachandassessthem).TheStandardsfor

RegisteredTrainingOrganisations(RTOs)2015requireRTOstoundertakean

initialassessmentoflearnerskillsandknowledge,identifyindividuallearners

requiringsupport,provideeducationandsupportservicesandmaximisethe

chanceforlearnerstocompletetheircourses.Theapplicationofthetwo

Standards,therefore,generatesnumerousquestionsforRTOsintheirplanning,

providing,recordingandreportingofsupport,manyofwhichhavebeen

presentedindetailbelow.Onemajorconsiderationisrelatedtowhetherornot

RTOsarerequiredto1)documentthefullrangeofACSFandCSfWskills(and

theirlevels)intrainingandassessmentstrategydocumentsand2)identifythe

capabilitiesofeachprospectivelearnerforeachofthosesameskillsandtheir

levels,sincethefullrangeofACSFandCSfWskillsarenowembeddedwithin

unitsofcompetency.Theanswer(oranswers)tothisaspectofVETalonecan

havedramaticeffectsonstaffing,stafftraining,funding,services,reportingand

communications.Withoutclearguidance,thebreadthanddepthoffoundation

skillssupportservicesandtheircontributiontolearneroutcomesisdifficultto

determine.

Beforeintroducingpossiblequestions,however,thefollowinglist(adaptedfrom

theUsers’guidetotheStandardsforRegisteredTrainingOrganisations(RTOs)

2015,2019)providesaninferredsummaryofRTOregistrationobligationsthat

relatetofoundationskills.Note:Thislistdoesnotincludemattersrelatingto

communicationswith,costsorlimitationsforstudents,forexample,theneedto

informstudentswhenchangesoccur.

Identifyingsupport

• Developatrainingandassessmentstrategyforeachtrainingproduct

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registeredtodeliver,identifyingparticularrequirementsalearnerwould

needtomeettoenterandcompletetheircourse

• Determinethesupportneedsofindividuallearnerspriortotheir

enrolmentorcommencement(whicheverisearliest):

o throughapre-enrolmentorpre-trainingcheck,forexample,by

requiringstudentstocompleteanAustralianCoreSkills

Framework(ACSF)testoraself-assessmentaspartofthe

enrolmentprocess

o byaligningthemwiththerequirementsoftrainingandassessment

strategies

• Developandimplementstrategiestomakesupportavailabletolearners

wheregapsareidentifiedastheylearnandprogress

Providingsupport

• Provideaccesstotheeducationalandsupportservicesnecessaryfor

learnerstomeettherequirementsoftrainingproducts,maximisingthe

chanceforlearnerstosuccessfullycompletetheirtraining

• Provideaccesstotherequiredsupportthroughouttheirtraining

• Provideequitableaccesstoallrequirededucationalandsupportservices

sothatnolearnerisdisadvantagedregardlessoftheirmodeofstudyor

location

Teachingelements

• Demonstratethroughtrainingandassessmentpracticesthatlearners

gainalltheknowledgeandskillsrelevanttotheirqualification

• Whendevelopingassessmentmaterials,usetheinformationfromtheunit

ormoduleelements,performancecriteriaandassessmentrequirements

todeterminewhatcompetencelookslike

• Employskilledtrainersandassessors:

o toensurestudentsgainallrelevantskillsandknowledge

o whosequalificationsincludeanLLNcomponent

Whilstitisimpracticalandpossiblycounter-productivetoimposeasinglesetof

definitivefoundationskillsobligationsonallRTOsacrossAustralia,considering

thevarietyofsizes,regionsandcohorts,theoverlayingoftheStandardsfor

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RegisteredTrainingOrganisations(RTOs)2015withtheStandardsforTraining

PackagesleavesthereasonableextentofapplicationoftheStandardsopenfor

debateand,ultimately,uptotheinterpretationofindividualauditors.Itisnot

theintentionheretostatetheexactrolessupportservicesmustengageinin

ordertoreasonablyfulfilltheirregistrationrequirements,so,inanattemptto

provokethoughtanddiscussionandtohelpstakeholdersfindclarity,the

followingquestionsareasked;with‘foundationskills’herebeingdefinedasthe

fivecoreskillsoftheACSFplusthethreeclusteredskillsoftheCSfW(as

documentedinunitsofcompetencydirectedbytheStandardsforTraining

Packages).

• Doallfoundationskillsofaparticularprogram(listedinallitsunitsof

competency)needtobedocumentedintheprogram’strainingand

assessmentstrategy?

o Ifnot,whichandhowmanyofthemneedtobedocumented?

• Howcanentryandcompletionlevelsofeachoftheseskillsbeascertained?

• Dothecapabilitiesofprospectivelearnersneedtobeidentifiedinall

foundationskillslistedintherelevanttrainingandassessmentstrategy

beforetheyenroland/orcommence?

o Ifnot,whichandhowmanyskillsneedtobeassessed?

• When,whereandhowshouldthisidentificationtakeplace?

• Howreliablearetheresultsofidentification?

• Onceidentified,areRTOsobligatedtosimplyinformlearnersoftheservices

availableordevelopandimplementlearningplansforeachindividual

learneridentified?

• Oncecommenced,howcanlearnersnotidentifiedpre-traininglaterbe

identified?

• Arethereareasonableminimumand/ormaximumnumberofhoursa

learnercan/should/mustreceivesupport?

o Ifso,whatarethey?

• Isprovidingone-on-onesupportforeachidentifiedlearnerarequirement

orcanafoundationskillstrainerteachingtoaclassbethesoleformof

support?

19

• Ifidentifiedlearnersfromavarietyofcoursesareenrolledtogetherina

specificunitoffoundationskillsstudy,isthattrainingrequiredtobe

contextualisedtothecourseofeachlearner?

• Canaspecificunitoffoundationskillsstudy(withidentifiedlearners

enrolledinit)beembeddedwithinoneoftheircourse’sunitsandtaught

concurrently?

o Ifso,howdoestheRTOmanageappropriatehours,trainingand

assessmentforboththecourseandthestudyunit?

• IsanLLNunitwithintrainerqualificationsadequateforalltrainersto

identifylearnerfoundationskillsneedsandteach/assessallthespecific

foundationskillsaspectsinunitsofcompetency?

o Ifnot,whatfundingandstaffingprovisionsdoRTOsneedtoprovide

inorderforlearnerstogainalltheknowledgeandskillsrelevantto

theirqualification?

Thereare,ofcourse,manymorequestionsthatcanbeaskedinrelationto

foundationskillssupportservicesinVET,butthelistaboveismorethanenough

todemonstratetheuncertaintyinnot,firstly,definingwithconsistencywhat

foundationskillsareand,secondly,notprovidingguidanceontheextentof

requirements.Thiscreatesasignificantnumberofgreyareasthat1)create

confusionanddivergencewithinservicesandacrossproviders,2)leave

interpretationoftheadequacyofsupportservicesandtheapplicationof

Standardsinthehandsofindividualauditorsand3)jeopardisethefoundation

skillsdevelopment,careersandlivesofadultAustralians.

Callforaction

ToassistfoundationskillssupportservicesinVETfullyunderstandtheirscope

andobligationsandremoveinconsistenciesanduncertainties,thequestions

raisedabove(andothers)needtobeanswered.Thefollowingisacallforaction

that,oncecompleted,caninstilcertainty,clarityandconsistencyinVETsupport

services.

20

1. Anationaldiscussion(involvingfederalandstate/territorygovernments

andindustryprofessionals)on:

a. whetherornottheterm‘foundationskills’shouldcontinuetobe

usedinthefuture

i. Ifso,forthediscussiontoupdatethedefinitionof‘foundation

skills’andprovideasetlistofskills

ii. Ifnot,forthediscussiontoprovideanalternativetermand

listofskills

b. thescopeandpurposeofVETfoundationskillssupportservices

c. theapplicationofStandardsforVETfoundationskillssupport

services

2. Thefederalgovernmentandstate/territorygovernmentstoformalisethe

agreeduponterm,skills,scope,purposeandapplicationofStandardsin

documentedannouncements

3. Allpreviousandrelevantfederalandstate/territorygovernment

documents,suchasStandardsandguides,tobeupdatedandamendedto

includetheagreedupontermandskills.

4. Afuturedateproposedtoreviewtheagreeduponresultsof1a-c,knowing

thatterminologyandrelativeimportanceofskillschangeovertimeas

societychanges.

Aspresented,therehavebeennumerousgovernmentdocumentsalongsideand

sincethereleaseoftheNationalFoundationSkillsStrategyforAdultsin2012,yet

therehavealsobeennumerouswaystoreferto‘foundationskills’.Thislackof

commonlanguagecancreateconfusionanduncertaintyforVETprovidersand

distortionsinservices.Whilstacknowledgingthatterminologyandmeanings

changeovertime,notingoncemoreWignall’sexpression“inconstantflux”

(Wignall,2017,p.3),onesingle,commondefinitionandusageof‘foundation

skills’tobereviewedandadjustedperiodically,anditsapplicationforVET

supportservices,wouldalleviatemuchofthisuncertaintyandvariance.The

benefitsforthesesupportservicesare,however,secondary,withthebenefitsto

learnersinthestudies,theircareersandtheirlivesbeingmostimportant.

21

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