Information and Digital Technology Employability Skills

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Employability Skills in Information and Digital Technology

based on the Information and Communication TechnologyTraining Package (ICA11) version 1

Effective from 2013

Date published October 2012


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ContentsEmploy abi l i ty Ski l l s in the Inform at ion and Digi ta l Technology Curr iculumFramework

Delivery and assessm ent of Emplo yabi l i ty Ski l l s

Employ abi l i ty Ski l l s summ aries

Employability Skills 1 in the Information and Digital TechnologyCurriculum FrameworkThe Employability Skills build on and replace the Mayer Key Competencies (developed in1992) which attempted to describe generic competencies for effective participation in work.

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (ACCI), in consultation with other peak employer bodies, produced the Employability

Skills for the Future report which was officially released in May 2002.The report indicated that business and industry required a broader range of skills than theMayer Key Competencies Framework provided and recommended the following eightEmployability Skills:

communicationteamwork

problem-solvinginitiative and enterprise

planning and organisingself-management

learningtechnology.

The report described how Employability Skills can be more appropriately described for particular occupational and industry contexts by sets of facets or important work skills.The following table contains the Employability Skills and facets identified in the report:

Table 1 Employability Skills

Skill Facets

Aspects of the skill that employers identify as important. The natureand application of these facets will vary depending on industry and job

type.

Communication that contributes to listening and understanding productive and harmonious relations speaking clearly and directlyacross employees and customers writing to the needs of the audience

negotiating responsivelyreading independentlyempathisingusing numeracy effectivelyunderstanding the needs of internal and external customers

persuading effectivelyestablishing and using networks

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1 Employability Skills is adapted from DEEWR, 2011, Information and Communications Technology Training Package (ICA11).


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Table 1 cont/d

Skill Facets

Communication cont/d being assertivesharing informationspeaking and writing in languages other than English

Teamwork that contributes to productive working relationships andoutcomes

working across different ages irrespective of gender, race, religionor political persuasionworking as an individual and as a member of a teamknowing how to define a role as part of the teamapplying teamwork to a range of situations, eg planning and

problem-solvingidentifying the strengths of team memberscoaching and mentoring skills, including giving feedback

Problem-solving that contributes to productive outcomes

developing creative, innovative and practical solutions

showing independence and initiative in identifying and solving problemssolving problems in teamsapplying a range of strategies to problem-solvingusing mathematics, including budgeting and financialmanagement to solve problemsapplying problem-solving strategies across a range of areastesting assumptions, taking into account the context of data andcircumstancesresolving customer concerns in relation to complex project issues

Initiative and enterprise that adapting to new situationscontribute to innovative outcomes developing a strategic, creative and long-term vision

being creativeidentifying opportunities not obvious to otherstranslating ideas into actiongenerating a range of optionsinitiating innovative solutions

Planning and organising thatcontribute to long and short-termstrategic planning

managing time and priorities setting timelines, coordinatingtasks for self and with others

being resourcefultaking initiative and making decisionsadapting resource allocations to cope with contingenciesestablishing clear project goals and deliverables

allocating people and other resources to tasks planning the use of resources, including time management participating in continuous improvement and planning processesdeveloping a vision and a proactive plan to accompany it

predicting weighing up risk, evaluating alternatives andapplying evaluation criteriacollecting, analysing and organising informationunderstanding basic business systems and their relationships

Self-management that contributes to having a personal vision and goalsemployee satisfaction and growth evaluating and monitoring own performance

having knowledge and confidence in own ideas and visionsarticulating own ideas and visionstaking responsibility

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Table 1 cont/d

Skill Facets

Learning that contributes to ongoing

improvement and expansion inemployee and company operations andoutcomes

managing own learning

contributing to the learning community at the workplaceusing a range of mediums to learn mentoring, peer support andnetworking, IT and coursesapplying learning to technical issues (eg learning about products)and people issues (eg interpersonal and cultural aspects of work)having enthusiasm for ongoing learning

being willing to learn in any setting on and off the job being open to new ideas and techniques being prepared to invest time and effort in learning new skillsacknowledging the need to learn in order to accommodate change

Technology that contributes to the having a range of basic IT skillseffective carrying out of tasks applying IT as a management tool

using IT to organise data being willing to learn new IT skillshaving the OHS knowledge to apply technologyhaving the appropriate physical capacity

There is an Employability Skills Summary for each AQF VET qualification level available inthe Information and Communications Technology Training Package (ICA11) . Thesesummaries capture the key aspects or facets of the Employability Skills that are important tothe job roles covered by the qualification. Summaries are designed to assist trainers andassessors to identify and include important industry application of Employability Skills in

learning and assessment strategies. The Employability Skills Summaries for the qualificationsavailable in the Framework are included in this document on page 7.

Employability Skills are essential features of each of the qualifications available in theFramework and therefore consideration must be given to the ways in which they can beaddressed when designing learning activities and assessment instruments.

It is important for trainers and assessors to know that Employability Skills Summaries: provide examples of how each skill is applicable to the job roles covered by thequalificationcontain general information which is further explained as measurable outcomes of

performance in the units of competency in each qualificationhave varying detail depending on the range of job roles covered by the qualification inquestion

are not exhaustive lists of qualification requirements or checklists of performance (whichare separate assessment tools that should be designed by trainers and assessors afteranalysis at the unit level)

contain information that may also assist in building learners understanding of industry andworkplace expectations.

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http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/ICA11http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/ICA11http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/ICA11http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/ICA11http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/ICA11


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CompetencyStandards

LearningOutcomes

Reflection

WorkplaceActivities

AssessmentStrategies

LearningStrategies

Integrationof

EmployabilitySkills

2Delivery and assessment of Employability Skills Employability Skills are integral to workplace competency, and, as such, must be consideredin the design, customisation, delivery and assessment of vocational education and training

programs in an integrated and holistic way, as represented diagrammatically below.

Training providers must analyse the Employability Skills information contained in units ofcompetency in order to design valid and reliable training and assessment strategies. Thisanalysis includes:

reviewing unit(s) of competency to determine how each relevant Employability Skill isfound and applied within the unit

analysing the Employability Skills Summary for the qualification in which the unit(s)is/are packaged to help clarify relevant industry/workplace contexts with regard to theapplication of Employability Skills at that qualification level

designing learning and assessment activities that address Employability Skillsrequirements.

The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) developed a resource to assisttrainers and assessors unpack the Employability Skills requirements contained in units ofcompetency and integrate them into training and assessment practice. This resource is titled,

Employability Skills: From Framework to Practice

An Introductory Guide for Trainers and Assessors .

DEEWR, 2011, Information and Communications Technology Training Package (ICA11) .

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http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/221448


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Employability Skills summary

ICA30111 Certificate III in Information, Digital media and Technology

The following table contains a summary of the employability skills required by industry forthis qualification. The employability skills facets described here are broad industryrequirements that may vary depending on qualification packaging options.

EMPLOYABILITYSKILL

FACETS ADDRESSED Industry/enterprise requirements for this qualification include:

Communication liaising with clients to determine requirements and ensure that they are metinterpreting software manual instructions

producing user documents

Teamwork contacting operating system vendors to obtain technical specifications andsystem requirementssubmitting developed user documentation to the target audience for review

Problem-solving determining the uses and audience of a simple markup language documenttroubleshooting and running diagnostic tests and providing solutions tohardware or software faults

Initiative and assessing and recording information from various sourcesenterprise identifying and applying skills and knowledge to a wide variety of contexts

investigating and documenting solutions to client problemscustomising packaged application software to client requirements

Planning andorganising

planning for the implementation of software changes by seeking technicaland client information and organising the process

Self-management prioritising and taking responsibility for own outputs in working andlearningimplementing safe and sustainable work practices

Learning adopting and transferring skills and knowledge to new environmentskeeping up-to-date with current industry-accepted hardware and software

products and services providing one-to-one instruction for clients about operating systemsoftwarereviewing client feedback and identifying areas for improvement

Technology selecting, installing and using computer software and hardware productsconfiguring, optimising and testing system software for a small homeoffice or a small to medium business network

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Information and Digital Technology Employability Skills