Employability Skills
Definintion
Employability Skills, like the Mayer Key Competencies before them are specific conceptualisations of what are known more broadly as generic skills. They are also referred to as generic capabilities, enabling skills or even key skills. What they describe are non-technical skills and competencies which play a significant part in contributing to an individual's effective and successful participation in the workplace.
Background
Key Compentencies
The Mayer Committee report in 1992 marked the beginning of the establishment of what was known as key competencies in Australian education.
Key competencies were described as
- essential to preparation for employment
- generic to kinds of work and work organisations
- equipping individuals to participate effectively in a wide range of social settings including workplaces and adult life more generally
- involving the application of knowledge and skill
- being able to learn
- being amenable to credible assessment.
Employability Skills
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), produced the Employability Skills for the Future report in 2002 in consultation with other peak employer bodies and with funding provided by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA). Officially released by Dr Nelson (Minister for Education, Science and Training) on 23 May 2002.
The report defined employability skills as:
... the skills required to gain employment or establish an enterprise, but also to progress within an enterprise or expand employment capability, so as to achieve one's potential and contribute successfully to enterprise strategic directions.
A key finding of this report was that skills and knowledge contained in the key competencies needed to be revised and reviewed to reflect the changing nature of the workplace and the broader range of skills which employers currently require. This report featured the Employability Skills Framework identifying eight Employability Skills.
