Employability Skills (QTIU)

Background information

In 2001 the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA) undertook research around generic and employability skills required by industry. This project culminated in a report titled Employability Skills for the Future 2002, providing the Department of Education, Science and Training with consolidated industry views on the range of Employability Skills desired by industry. The report identified eight Employability Skills that are broadly consistent across industry sectors:

1. Communication that contributes to productive and harmonious relations between employees and customers
2. Teamwork that contributes to productive working relationships and outcomes
3. Problem solving that contributes to productive outcomes
4. Initiative and enterprise that contribute to innovative outcomes
5. Planning and organising that contribute to long-term and short-term strategic planning
6. Self-management that contributes to employee satisfaction and growth
7. Learning that contributes to ongoing improvement and expansion in employee and company operations and outcomes
8. Technology that contributes to effective execution of tasks

Employability Skills

The ACCI/BCA 2002 study defined employability skills as:

Skills required not only to gain employment, but also to progress within an enterprise so as to achieve one's potential and contribute successfully to enterprise strategic directions. Employability skills are also sometimes referred to as generic skills, capabilities or key competencies.

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New Resources

• ACCI Employability Skills
• Employability Skills: From Framework to Practice - An Introductory Guide for Trainers and Assessors
• "Assessment and Reporting of Employability Skills and Training Packages", The Allen Consulting Group, DEST Report March 2006
• LINKup website (TAFE South Australia) - assess and improve your Key Competencies - otherwise known as Employability Skills Generic Skills
• Employability skills at Swinburne TAFE
• Employability Skills PD : Pilot Workshop
  go to: videostreaming solutions and enter the password ps, click on the video employability skills PD: pilot workshop.
• Charles Darwin University employability skills page.
• The Higher Education Academy

For further information contact leoni.arandez@vu.edu.au