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This paper arises from an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project The Generic Competencies and Workplace Reform in the Australian Construction Industry. The New South Wales (NSW) Government has a strategic vision for the State’s construction industry, much of which has to be implemented through training and reform. Many building and construction subcontractors are also small businesses. The construction industry comprises about 25,000 enterprises in New South Wales alone. Sixty-five per cent of these enterprises fit the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 1998) classification of ‘small business’, that is a business employing less than 20 people. The NSW government strategy for implementing its strategic vision is to focus on the major construction companies and their contractual arrangements with subcontractors. Research into issues concerning training and small business has shown that small business is often a reluctant participant in formal training. This encourages the perception that subcontractors’ resistance to reforms are due to their reluctance to undergo training. This paper questions this simple diagnosis of the problem, arguing the existing structures in the industry ensure that subcontractors will avoid reform measures where possible.

Published abstract.

The two volumes of collected papers are indexed at TD/TNC 64.287 and TD/TNC 64.355. Selected papers from volume one are indexed from TD/TNC 64.288 to TD/TNC 64.320; selected papers from volume two are indexed from TD/TNC 64.321 to TD/TNC 64.354. Show less

The changes taking place in the building and construction industry have been accompanied by a growing recognition of a need for generic skills such as teamwork, communication, planning and organisation. This article is based on research conducted by the authors on the move towards soft skills. It covers the benefits of having these skills as well as strategies that can be adopted to enhance and develop them. Show less

Future-proofing our students so that they will have the skills to negotiate and thrive in increasingly complex global workplaces is a challenge for all educators. These crucial capabilities are often referred to as 21st-century skills, general capabilities, graduate attributes, or transversal skills. For students to thrive they need to become expert learners. They need to acquire a body of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that enable them to adapt and contribute in an ever-changing environment. These capabilities can be learned, taught and assessed. Becoming an expert learner allows a person to master what they need to know in any circumstance. Some of the capabilities required to be a good learner are now included in various Australian and international curriculum statements. Education institutions - schools in particular - typically regard development of such capabilities as being at the heart of their teaching. However, consensus remains elusive about their definition and their significance. Debates ensue about whether or not it is feasible to formally teach these capabilities, as well as how, or indeed whether or not, these should be assessed and then reported on to students, parents and other stakeholders. In this paper, we present evidence and discussion in support of an argument that capabilities for learning, or learning capabilities, should be taught, assessed and recognised. We also examine how to assess, report and credential the degree to which young people have developed these capabilities.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

This paper was presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) conference, ‘Education research: towards an optimistic future’, held in Sydney on 4-7 December, 2000. The paper arises from an ARC funded project of the Australian Construction Industry focusing on the generic competencies in relation to workplace reform. As a SPIRT (Strategic Partnership with Industry - Research & Training) project, the industry partner is the [New South Wales] Department of Public Works and Services (DPWS). The construction industry in NSW has been undergoing significant change and the strategic vision for the industry developed by the NSW government promotes ongoing development through continuous improvement. One of the outcomes of the project was to use the knowledge gained about generic competencies in the construction industry to inform best practice and provide mechanisms that enhance continuous improvement. The research identified the generic competencies of communicating ideas and information, planning and organising, teamwork and collecting, analysing and organising information as very significant to the industry. This paper [reports] on how these generic competencies can assist the construction industry in its pursuit of continuous improvement.

Extract from published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This research report focuses on the emergence of new forms of credentials for post-compulsory schooling. It explores how issuers of these credentials are building trust in them and utility for stakeholders. It explores implications for assessment and qualifications used in post-compulsory schooling in Australia. The report joins others in noting recent shifts in learning ambitions for Australian students. What they are expected to know and be able to do as a result of their schooling is changing. Curricula reforms of the last 15 years have extended learning ambitions beyond the academic achievements usually captured in current senior secondary qualifications to include attainments in the general capabilities. Proficiency in general capabilities is required to thrive in chosen fields of endeavour, and in family and community life.

The report draws upon six case studies of Australian and international organisations that have re-positioned these general capabilities at the heart of learning, to complement and deepen the domain-specific learning of more traditional disciplines and subjects. The case studies described in this report are: (1) Philippines Alternative Learning System (ALS); (2) Big Picture Learning; (3) High Tech High (HTH); (4) International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme Certificate (IB Career Programme); (5) Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC); (6) Action Learning Institute. A premise of this report is that the changes illustrated in these case studies, which seek to better align assessment and credentialing with new learning ambitions and emergent learning designs, should be brought to scale. Every young person should have access to the advantages that accrue to the young people whose learning is supported in these organisations. The report explores features of a suitable framework for senior secondary qualifications in Australia that would better support the emergent learning ambitions and their associated learning designs of the kind represented in these cases.

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