National Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference

Core Skills for Work

Core Skills for Work: A new approach to employability skills

Presenter: Sue Goodwin, General Manager, Ithaca Group

Friday, 10 May 2013

Breakout Session 4, 11.30 – 12:30pm

Ithaca Group has recently completed a Commonwealth-funded project to develop a new national, cross-sectoral approach to Employability Skills. The Core Skills for Work Framework has been designed for use in all three education and training sectors, and in the adult and community education and employment sectors. It makes more clear and explicit a set of non-technical skills, knowledge and understandings that underpin successful participation in work. This Framework differs from other approaches to Employability Skills, by:

incorporating a developmental approach
‘unpacking’ what employers say they are looking for and presenting this in a way that makes sense to people in education, training and employment services sectors
acknowledging the importance of culture, attitudes, workplace context and other environmental factors, while emphasising that they are not aspects that can be measured.

These features have been designed to help educators, trainers and those who work with job seekers to more easily assist learners to understand and develop these important skills, and to recognise and articulate those skills they already posses. Working sessions across the sectors have identified many ways in which the Framework could be used, as well as much enthusiasm for using it.

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