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What are Employability Skills?
Employability skills are also sometimes referred to as generic skills, capabilities, enabling skills or key competencies. An Employability Skills Framework was developed in 2002 by the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in consultation with other peak employer bodies, and outlined in the Employability Skills for the Future report with funding from the Australian Government.
- Employability Skills for the Future report (
PDF 1.3MB)
The report identifies eight employability skills and a set of personal attributes which employers believe contribute to overall employability.
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New Employability Skills and Attributes Framework
The Government is funding the development of a new employability skills and attributes framework. This will ensure that Australia has an up-to-date framework which is empirically based and understood and utilised by many. The first stage of this work involves research and broad consultation to develop a draft framework.
The second stage will include the design and testing of an assessment tool to measure language, literacy, numeracy and employability skills using the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) and the new employability skills and attributes framework.
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Employability Skills in Training Packages
Employability Skills are embedded in Training Package units of competency, and Employability Skills Summaries are prepared for each Training Package qualification. The assessment of Employability Skills is undertaken through the standard integrated assessment of competency with Employability Skills reported via the Employability Skills Summaries. Resource material for trainers has been developed by the National Quality Council.
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Job Ready Certificate
A job ready certificate was explored by the Australian Government, to assist with assessment and reporting of employability skills of VET in Schools students.
A discussion paper informed national consultations in 2009. A summary of the report on the consultations is available.
The department will now take forward work on the development of a new employability skills and attributes framework funded under the Skills for Sustainable Growth package. This work will be extended to cover school students, resulting in a framework that has broad application across all ages and education, training and employment sectors.
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Other Information on Employability Skills
Study into the Assessment and Reporting of Employability Skills of Senior Secondary Students
In June 2007, the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) undertook a study to investigate the most effective ways of assessing and reporting on the employability skills of senior secondary students. The report highlights six approaches through which senior secondary students’ achievement of employability skills can be assessed and reported. The report is available below:
- Study into the Assessment and Reporting of Employability Skills of Senior Secondary Students Report ( PDF 643KB)
Development of a strategy to support the Universal Recognition and Recording of Employability Skills
The Department completed a project consultancy, managed by The Allen Consulting Group and the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, to develop a universal recognition and recording strategy for the eight groupings of employability skills. The project website can be found at the Allen Consulting Group website and the final report is available below. The project consultations supported a 'skills portfolio' approach.
Development of a national employability skills e-portfolio website
An e-portfolio was developed and trialled by education.au limited. e-portfolios are a skills portfolio database that allows people to record their academic, vocational and employability skills to support job applications, career planning, and entry into further education and training. More information on the project can be found at Education Services Australia.
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