Some TAE Students studying for their TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment qualification tell me that they get no or very limited training. And other TAE Students tell me that the training they get does not cover the knowledge or skills they need to complete their assessments.
Some TAE Students are being told that they are expected to do their own research and figure it out for themselves. This is not always as simple as it sounds.
Fortunately, I offer a TAE tutoring service that can help fill in the missing pieces.
The new TAELLN421 Integrate core skills support into training and assessment unit of competency has specified that a person needs to know about the ‘Survey of Adult Skills’ in relation to the ‘Programme of the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)’.
This article shall answer the following questions:
- What is PIAAC?
- What PIAAC information is relevant?
What is PIAAC?
PIAAC stands for Programme of the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. It is a large-scale international survey that assesses and analyses adults’ proficiency in key information-processing skills, and how adults use their skills at home, at work and in the wider community. [1]
The key information-processing skills are:
- literacy
- numeracy
- problem solving .
The survey is known as the ‘Survey of Adult Skills’.
This survey has been completed twice so far, in 2011-2012 and 2018-2019. In the first cycle, the survey was administered in 24 countries, and in the second cycle, it was administered in 38 countries.
PIAAC is conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is an international organisation that provides knowledge and advice to inform better policies. It is one of the world’s largest and most trusted sources of comparative socio-economic data and analysis. [2]
What PIAAC information is relevant?
First, we need to find the PIAAC information relevant to Australia. On the 27th of July 2023, the following 3 steps .
Step 1. Googled ‘PIAAC’ and clicked the ‘Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)’
Step 2. Selected ‘Publications’ from the PIAAC Homepage menu.
Step 3. Selected ‘Country Specific Materials’ from the drop-down menu
Step 4. Use the links to explore information relevant to Australia
There are three links to follow:
- OECD Country Note
- Interactive country profile
- National Report
OECD Country Note
The OECD Country Note provides information about the Survey of Adult Skills was conducted in Australia from October 2011 to March 2012. It states:
- Adults (aged 16-65) in Australia show above-average proficiency in literacy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments compared with adults in the other countries participating in the survey, but only show average proficiency in numeracy.
- Foreign-language immigrants in Australia have lower levels of literacy proficiency than the native-born and native-language Australians, although the difference observed is amongst the lowest across the participating countries.
- The link between higher literacy and such social outcomes as trust in others, participation in volunteer and associative activities, belief that an individual can have an impact on the political process, and better health is stronger in Australia than in most other countries.
- Australia shows a good match between the literacy proficiency of workers and the demands of their jobs.
Interactive country profile
The Interactive country profile provides the following infomration:
- The mean proficiency score, in Australia, of 16-65 year-olds in literacy and problem solving in technology-rich environments is significantly above the average of the OECD countries participating in the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). Whereas in numeracy, the country shows average proficiency.
- On average, the young adult population (25-34 year-olds) scores at 287 in literacy, compared to 277 in the OECD countries participating in the Survey. In numeracy, they score at 275 (272 in average). In both domains, younger adults score higher than their older counterparts (55-65 year-olds).
- In Australia, 7.5% of the adult population (16-65 year-olds) report no prior experience with computers or lack very basic computer skills. In contrast, 38% of the adult population score at the highest levels in problem solving in technology-rich environments.
- In Australia, 12.6% of the adults score at the lowest levels in literacy and 20.1% score low in numeracy.
National Report
The ‘National Report’ link takes you to information published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). You you find a lot of information and many graphs based on the Survey of Adult Skills conduct in 2011-2012.
In conclusion
This PIAAC information published by the OECD is not be easy to navigate, is not easy to understand, and is not presented in a format that is relevant to TAFE teachers and trainers working in the Australian VET system.
I believe the Education Industry Reference Committee (IRC) included the ‘Survey of Adult Skills’ and ‘PIAAC’ in the new TAELLN421 Integrate core skills support into training and assessment unit of competency without really understanding what it was doing. It is another example of something that the Education IRC got wrong when it released the new TAE Training Package in 2022.
It is difficult to find a concise summary of outcomes from the most recent Survey of Adult Skills conducted in 2018-2019. And it is time-consuming to sort through, and summarise, the publicly available information.
References
[1] https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/ accessed 5 October 2023
[2] https://www.oecd.org/about/ accessed 5 October 2023
Do you need help with your TAE studies?
Are you a doing the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and are you struggling with your studies? Do you want help with your TAE studies?
Ring Alan Maguire on 0493 065 396 to discuss.
Training trainers since 1986
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