Foundation Skills Discussion Paper

As part of Jobs and Skills Australia’s genuine commitment to consultation we released the Foundation Skills Study discussion paper asking for stakeholder input on the intent, design and desired outputs for our new national study on adult literacy, numeracy and digital skills (the Foundation Skills Study). 

Submissions overwhelmingly supported the need for current data on adult literacy, numeracy and digital skills in Australia.

Key themes summary

• Most stakeholders agreed with the proposed definitions for literacy and numeracy. Some stakeholders suggested including oral communication and productive literacy skills would provide a more complete definition.
• There is currently no agreed definition of digital literacy and there was no consensus among stakeholders on what elements need to be incorporated.
• Stakeholders expressed a need for literacy and numeracy data for various demographic groups and cohorts. For example providing outputs by educational attainment, employment status, socio–economic background, culturally and linguistically diverse background, and states and territories.
• Inconsistency, incompleteness and infrequency were highlighted as some of the main challenges with current foundation skills data.
• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Education and Skills Online tool was identified as the preferred literacy and numeracy tool for the national survey due to its comparability with the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).
• There were concerns with an option to use an online only survey approach to measure skills due to potential exclusion of certain groups of people.
• The majority of stakeholders thought the proposed age range (16–65 years) was too restrictive. Several submissions suggested raising the age above 70 years or removing the upper limit altogether.
• Stakeholders were supportive of the feasibility study proposal, acknowledging the importance of tailoring engagement with First Nations communities and individuals to be responsive to varying needs and characteristics rather than adopting a uniform approach.
• Several stakeholders noted the risk that foundation skills assessments of First Nations people can be perceived as punitive and reflective of negative experiences in educational institutions. This feedback further highlights the importance of forming genuine partnerships and engaging in culturally responsive ways.
• Submissions highlighted the importance of allowing time to build relationships with First Nations communities and to ensure engagement is respectful, culturally appropriate, culturally safe and strengths–based.

In addition to the discussion paper public consultation Jobs and Skills Australia directly engaged with individuals and groups with a strong practical relationship to foundation skills policy and program development.

We would like to thank everyone who took time to make a submission and engage in the public consultation process. We have used this feedback to make key decisions for the design of the Foundation Skills Study. This will enable us to better meet the needs and expectations of our stakeholders and produce high quality outputs.

Some actions include:

• revising the scope of the national survey to include people aged 15 years and over with no upper age limit
• continuing to investigate use of the Education and Skills Online tool for the national survey
• looking at digital literacy as a separate piece of work, focussing on developing a coherent and comprehensive national definition of digital literacy skills
• increasing investment in exploration of existing administrative data sources to provide key insights into Australia’s current skills data landscape
• developing a robust governance structure to provide strategic oversight and technical input to the Foundation Skills Study, including the establishment of a project steering committee and expert panels.

We are continuing to use feedback and information shared during the public consultation process to inform aspects of the design and development of the Foundation Skills Study. We are grateful to all those who shared their expertise and experience, and we look forward to continuing to engage widely as the study progresses.