Vocational Indicator

Contact us

Australian Council for Educational Research

19 Prospect Hill Rd,
Camberwell, VIC, Australia 3124

T: +61 3 9277 5498
F: +61 3 9277 5500
E: vi@acer.edu.au

From the Vocational Indicator to the Core Skills Profile for Adults

Evidence for Skill Improvement 

The 2006 international Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALLS) found that approximately 40% of employed and 60% of unemployed Australians had poor or very poor (Level 1 or 2) English language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills. 

Early identification of potential learning problems due to poor LLN skills is essential to support individuals to enter into and remain engaged with their studies, and to improve levels of productivity in the workplace.

In the face of a growing body of evidence highlighting the need for action at a national level, ACER has invested in the development of its existing Vocational Indicator (VI) assessment to support the measurement of adult's core skills.  This new assessment is the Core Skills Profile for Adults (CSPA).

Since its release in 2010 numerous clients across Australia have used the VI to identify gaps in the literacy, numeracy and reasoning skills of individuals.

Assessment results have enabled education providers to review their own Literacy and Numeracy strategies as well as match individuals to appropriate course levels and identify areas where interventions may assist.  Employers including business and government agencies have used the VI to screen recruits and provide support to staff (i.e. up-skilling). The new Core Skills Profile builds upon the existing VI by offering full coverage across the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) levels 1-5.  This means that the new assessment is designed to effectively discriminate at the lowest and highest skill levels. 

For more information about the Core Skills Profile for Adults and how it may benefit your organisation visit the CSPA site. 

What is the Vocational Indicator (VI)?

The Vocational Indicator (VI) is a secure, standardised, online assessment and reporting system for identifying a candidate's level of capability in:

• abstract reasoning
• literacy
• mechanical reasoning
• numeracy

The Vocational Indicator has been designed for individuals, educational and corporate institutions who are interested in assessing and determining a candidate's readiness for vocational study and training.

The Vocational Indicator can be utilised as:

• a screening instrument to identify 'best performance'
• a tool to identify literacy, numeracy and reasoning skill gaps
• a learning path for candidates to make progress towards the skills needed to succeed in gaining qualifications or managing work demands

Improving a candidate's confidence in reading, maths and generic reasoning ensures a smoother transition into further education.The Vocational Indicator provides teachers with information on an individual candidate's readiness to cope with a new learning or training environment.

As an aptitude test, the Vocational Indicator measures a candidate's ability to understand information presented to them and to apply this to practical and realistic 'real life' problems. 

The Vocational Indicator focuses specifically on skills deemed to be important for the study of a vocational qualification and associated future workplace skills.