Transition and Post-School Education and Training

Publication Date

1-2017

Subjects

Aged care; Child care occupations; Early Childhood Education; Vocational education, Entry level training, Employers, Employment qualifications, Interpersonal competence, Work attitudes

Comments

Report prepared for the Skills and Employment Division, South Australian Department of State Development

Abstract

In the majority of vocational qualifications, assessment of competence incorporates a structured work placement (SWP). Increasingly, host employers are using these placements as part of recruitment strategies, particularly for entry level roles. In effect, the placement is becoming the new ‘interview’, and the new interview is morphing into an extended audition where a learner’s non-technical, ‘employability’ skills may play a critical role. But do learners know what their host employers are really looking for, and to what extent are their training programs helping them to develop and demonstrate the skills that are most likely to influence an employer’s recruitment decisions? This study explored the degree of alignment between the employability skills valued by employers, the skills learners bring to the new work context and the skills their training programs assess and/or actively foster. It was undertaken for the SA Department of State Development (SDS) in conjunction with the City of Playford, and focused on two industry sectors, child care and aged care. It involved employers, trainers and learners associated with two training programs operating in Adelaide’s northern suburbs and funded through the SA WorkReady Program. A key feature of the study was the trialling of the Core Skills for Work developmental Framework (CSfW) to explore its potential as a systematic mapping and consultation tool.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Place of Publication

Melbourne

Publisher

Australian Council for Educational Research

Geographic Subject

South Australia

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