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This paper looks at the field of assessing workplace learning against competency standards in New Zealand, and tracks the development of the methodologies that are part of the current practice of the author and her associates. The paper describes the development of the 'Farm Gate Model' which integrates work and assessment using naturally occurring evidence and describes the selection of the theoretical framework which underpins the model. Three further models of standards/competence based assessment operating in New Zealand are briefly outlined: (i) behaviourist model; (ii) integrated assessment model; and (iii) collection of evidence model. Best practice in assessment is discussed with reference to a selection of current literature. The paper concludes with a section on the moderation process and the role of the moderator.

The volume from which this paper was selected may be found at TD/TNC 65.35. Other selected papers may be found from TD/TNC 65.36 to TD/TNC 65.44. Show less

This paper examines young workers’ beginning engagement in learning through work, placing it in the context of Australian policy on entry-level training. Eleven young people were followed through their first year of full-time work and the significant adults involved in their working and learning lives were also interviewed. The study demonstrates that the presence of a contract of training (an apprenticeship or traineeship) is a strong predictor of a young worker’s propensity to regard the workplace as a learning environment. However, unsatisfactory interactions with employment or training providers can create disillusionment with policy interventions that are meant to assist. Moreover, the habit of learning through work is not only a function of policy and training frameworks, but is also affected by individuals’ abilities to learn how to learn. The paper concludes by arguing that, for those young people starting work who are not in a contract of training, additional assistance may be required in order for them to continue the habit of lifelong learning in the new environment of work.

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This report looks at the evolution of initiatives related to older employees undertaken by selected organisations (case studies) in Sweden over the last decade. It reviews the following points: main impacts of measures/initiatives at the company level; driving forces for implementing good practice at the company level; characteristics of particularly successful measures/policies; key lessons that can be drawn from implementing measures and initiatives; future issues concerning age-management raised at company level; development of national policy concerning an ageing workforce; relevant actions of social partners and other key actors: policies and practices; and, finally, the status of the issue of older workers in current policy and public debates: identification of future issues.

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The National Reporting System (NRS) is a measurement tool for the workplace designed to indicate the multiple literacies that an individual may have. It has five levels of competence, six aspects, and indicator numbers relating to each skill area. Workplaces utilising Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) funding, are now required to incorporate the NRS to report on the outcomes of their training delivery to the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA). This chapter reports on an NRS mapping project on how it could be used in the workplace.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.251; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

Latinos have the highest labor force participation of all male worker groups. However, Latinos are overrepresented in high risk, low-skill/low wage work. This overrepresentation is due to low educational attainment or limited English language proficiency as well as other factors, and these limitations negatively affect their chances of moving into high wage jobs. Moreover, some of the workplaces that offer high risk, low skill/low wage jobs to Latinos establish English only rules that prohibit the speaking of any language other than English on the job. Such rules can cause hardship and sometimes injury to employees who do not speak English fluently and do not fully understand written and spoken safety instructions. This is not to say that limited language ability and limited education make Latinos less valuable employees. Rather companies who hire workers with limited skills should provide training especially workplace English as a Second Language classes. These classes can provide the vocabulary and language skills necessary to increase the comprehension of written and spoken instructions. In addition, the authors do not argue against the establishing of English only rules. On the contrary, the authors believe that businesses wishing to establish such rules seek competent legal assistance to ensure their English only rule fulfills the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's criteria that a legitimate business necessity exists that required the creation of the language rule. Furthermore, businesses establishing an English only rule should make every effort to explain to employees why creating this rule is in the businesses' best interest.

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In the context of government procurement policies that place requirements on suppliers to employ workers from disadvantaged cohorts, it is timely to consider demand-side strategies for achieving inclusive and sustainable employment. This report contributes to this effort by documenting employment and workplace-related barriers for jobseekers in groups targeted in the Victorian Government's Social Procurement Framework. The framework aims to improve employment outcomes for people from groups experiencing labour market disadvantage through requiring suppliers and contractors tendering for high value government contracts to employ people from these groups. The report was commissioned by Jobsbank, a Victorian-based not-for-profit organisation that works with business and other partners to support sustainable, inclusive employment and make social procurement work.

This report provides an overview of workplace and job-related factors found to act as barriers to sustainable and inclusive employment for people in groups likely to experience labour market disadvantage. It draws on recent Australian and international literature to identify some of the most important of those barriers. Key findings are that job quality, working arrangements, inclusivity and opportunity for participation at work all matter for inclusive and sustainable employment, along with individual and external systemic and structural barriers to work. The report calls for a greater focus on workplace and job-related factors, including employer knowledge, employment practices, work organisation, job quality and employment arrangements, to addressing barriers to employment for disadvantaged jobseekers. It recommends that employers be encouraged to develop strategies to meet the Victorian Government's Fair Jobs Code standards through collaboration with unions and community groups as one obvious way to address workplace and employment factors that create barriers to sustainable and inclusive employment for disadvantaged jobseekers.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website. Show less

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show that lack of training is a direct cause of about six per cent of all workplace injuries. The author suggests that there is inadequate competence in controlling risks and discusses some key areas in which competence through training needs to catch up with new regulations that have come into force in recent years. Show less

The Victorian Public Sector (VPS) is one of Victoria's largest employers of Aboriginal peoples and a job in this public service has the potential to provide stability and economic security for Aboriginal women. This research is undertaken by a team of Aboriginal researchers from Griffith University and Macquarie University in response to the paucity of qualitative data on Aboriginal women's experiences as employees in the VPS. Aligning with the goals and values of the Gender Equality Act 2020 and the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector, this project took an intersectional approach (Crenshaw 1989) to research on gender equality. The focus was specifically on the experiences of Aboriginal women, who are arguably one of the most under-researched yet most disadvantaged cohorts in the workplace (Bargallie 2020a).

Participants in this research spoke highly of wanting to secure ongoing employment in the VPS. The findings, however, also revealed that working in the VPS poses many challenges for Aboriginal women. The findings show that Aboriginal women in the Victorian public service sector experience high levels of both racism and misogyny in the workplace. The findings are presented across the five following themes: (1) navigating the 'bureaucratic nonsense': barriers to recruitment and progression; (2) the terms of inclusion: precarious employment and unpaid labour; (2) make us count!: authentic support, recognition, and value of Aboriginal women and their knowledges; (4) racisms at work: every day and in every way; and (5) denial and ambivalence: the failure of complaint policies, processes, and practices.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This paper discusses how, in the new economy, education and training will provide the single greatest source of security for workers, as job security as we once knew it barely exists today, and therefore skills security is the way for the future. It outlines how pressures in the workplace at entry level are getting tougher, and that these apply disproportionately to young people. It then goes on to describe the historic forces that have contributed to the present employment and training environment, and the future economic setting. It points out how Australia's traditional industries are changing to those in the services sector. However, new opportunities for employees, both the highly skilled and the less skilled, have arisen from the new service sector, such as in information technology.

The paper points out how there has been a major shift in the structure of the workplace. Instead of large organisations employing workers with traditional and standardised skill sets, corporations are now acting as umbrella organisations for small businesses, consultants and contractors. In the future, contracting in highly skilled occupations will be the employment arrangement of choice, the services sector will expand further, and areas such as biotechnology, telecommunications, chemicals and petrochemicals, engineering and environmental science will flourish. Finally, the paper points out that the role of government is to be a facilitator, to create opportunities for all in the new growth knowledge industry in a globalised world.

The main entry for the Working Visions Conference 2001 is at TD/WA 69.06. Individual presentations from the Conference can be found from TD/WA 69.07 to TD/WA 69.39. Show less

This material has been developed for use within the module 'The workplace'. This module aims to increase the student's awareness of business structures and functions, of the role and responsibilities of employees within business organisations and the concepts of quality assurance and budgetary control. Topics include: business ownership and sectors, organisational structures, rights and responsibilities, budgets, and total quality management. Show less