Lifting participation in education and training
Action 4: Build foundation skills to enhance workforce participation
Accredited and pre-accredited foundation skills support skill development across a range of areas to enable individuals to participate in education and training, work and life. This includes language, literacy (reading, writing and oracy), numeracy and digital, and employability skills (such as teamwork, planning and organising).
Through its network of around 230 Learn Locals in 2023, Victoria’s Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE) sector is helping people acquire and develop these skills.
Learn Local Industry Practice Networks
Since the release of the Victorian Skills Plan 2022, Learn Local Industry Practice Networks have been established across the aged care, health support services, and building and civil construction industries to support Learn Local providers to work together to build capacity and capability, and engage with employers in the design and delivery of pre-accredited training.
Stronger by Design model
Following the release of the first skills plan, the pilot of the Stronger by Design (SbD) model continued. It involves working with Learn Locals to co-design and update the Pre-Accredited Quality Framework tools and processes to sharpen the learner focus of pre-accredited training.
The SbD model supports the pre-accredited program model to better target and support learners who have experienced educational disadvantage. It seeks to enhance the quality and impact of pre-accredited foundation skills training while retaining flexibility and place-based responsiveness to learner needs. The SbD model also aims to identify the learners most likely to benefit from a pre-accredited program.
Just-in-Time initiative
The Just-in-Time initiative supports industry partnerships between Learn Locals and employers, and enables educationally disadvantaged learners to gain work contextualised core skills required to transition to work or to remain in an entry-level job. These partnerships strengthen the Learn Local providers’ responsiveness to existing and future workforce needs in communities by developing relationships and
co-developing programs with local industry.
The place-based partnerships benefit industry sectors facing key skill shortages, including:
- construction
- hospitality
- health care and support
- cleaning
- agriculture and horticulture
- food processing
- manufacturing.
Place-based officers
The Victorian Skills Authority's place-based officers play a key role in developing and progressing place-based relationships between Learn Local providers, local communities and industries to understand and support current core skill shortages and future industry workforce needs. One example is connecting Federation TAFE and Horsham’s Centre for Participation to ensure continued delivery of specialised training in the region.
The Office of TAFE Coordination and Delivery is actively working with the Victorian TAFE Network providers to assist TAFEs in planning their delivery to align with the training needs outlined in the skills plan, including those related to foundation skills.
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