The skills assessments helping vocational students on their way
less than 1 day ago 7 minute readHelping those distanced from education or employment reconnect with learning for better life outcomes is a complex task. Having the right entry skills assessment is a vital first step for individuals, and for filling jobs in a nation’s priority areas.
The transition into vocational education is harder for some than others, but the right approach to assessing the relevant skills of young people and adults before undertaking courses, could improve their experience of learning, course completion and entry into the workforce.
Research shows this is particularly important for early school leavers, those in custodial care or detention, those who have had limited access to digital technology and adults returning to education after a long absence.
With Australia’s fee-free TAFE program exceeding enrolment expectations, identifying and addressing gaps in the skills of those embarking on further education has never been more important.
And because those fee-free courses are tied by government to priority areas – including care, technology and digital jobs, construction and agriculture – supporting applicants from the beginning will be as important for individuals as it is for the nation.
Another significant challenge for educators will be to lift completion rates; the latest figures show that in 2023 just 47.3% of students who sought nationally recognised Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in 2019 had achieved them.
Who is studying VET in Australia?
More than 1.2 million people were enrolled in government-funded VET courses in Australia in 2023, with the greatest increase from 2022 being in TAFE institutes (8.3%), the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) reports.
Of those in government-funded places, 24.2% were aged between 15 and 19, 7% were Indigenous and 8.8% reported having a disability.
Two of the fastest growing age groups between 2022 and 2023, were those aged between 30 and 39 and 40 to 49.
Research shows that those who enter VET with year 10 or lower school achievement are more likely not to complete their courses than those with higher school achievement.
Significantly, among the VET cohort analysed in 2023, the highest level of previous education for 75,155 people was ‘year 9 or lower’. There were 184,245 people who had completed their schooling at year 10, and 9,325 students reported that they had not attended school at all.
The challenges faced by students in government-funded vocational education are highlighted by an Australian Education Union survey from 2024.
Comparing those enrolled in free TAFE courses with the wider cohort, 74% of teachers said there were more students with mental health needs, 79% reported more with additional literacy and numeracy needs, and 66% reported more with additional digital skills needs.
Why initial skills assessments are critical
ACER’s assessments have helped a broad range of companies and organisations, including multi-nationals, elite sports organisations, universities, and VET providers, to determine skills in reading and numeracy since 2011.
They have been designed for adult learners, from young school leavers to those who are studying, working or returning to training and study.
ACER has now added a digital literacy assessment to its suite of online tests. It will help educators meet new Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) regulations to ensure students have the digital skills to meet the basic requirements of study.
ASQA advises on its website that it will be necessary for educators to ‘work out if any gaps can be resolved with little or no financial or time cost to students’.
Tanya McErlain is the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) portfolio manager of Tertiary and Industry Tools.
She says the responsiveness of ACER’s assessments – taking test takers to different levels of questions according to the skills shown in an initial series – is key for feedback.
‘Feedback will provide information to learners about areas they could improve on, and information to educators about how best to support learners to achieve their learning goals,’ she says.
‘By having precise information about someone’s abilities they can be directed to an appropriate course where they are more likely to have success.’
Preparing detainees for life on release
ACER’s reading and numeracy assessments have long been used to support prisoner learning in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria, with around 149,000 sittings over the past decade or so.
In Western Australia assessments are also used to support young people at the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre, where on-site certificate courses include construction and horticulture.
Ben Hasler, a Justice Reintegration Team leader with Programmed (a contractor working with Banksia Hill), summed up the importance to young people of having work prospects in an interview in February.
‘Even though they’re young, some of the decisions they’ve made make them feel like they’ve blown their chances and employment and that’s far from the truth,’ he said.
Digital literacy in the workplace
Beyond study, digital literacy has long been recognised as a critical skill for participation in the workforce, with 87% of Australian jobs requiring it in 2021.
ACER’s new digital literacy assessment measures a broad range of skills with relevance to multiple environments, including skills related to cybersecurity, identifying file types and uses, and reading digital tables and calendars.
The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies broadening digital access as the most transformative trend in business – driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles.
A survey of global employers across 55 economies, shows that 60% plan to transform their businesses by broadening digital access between 2025 and 2030.
Are students prepared?
ACER’s latest analysis of findings from the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study showed the average Australian student had greater belief in their digital literacy than the average student internationally.
However, the achievement gap between students with this greater belief and those with low digital self-efficacy at Year 4 was significant – at 86 points in mathematics and 76 points in science.
At Year 8, the achievement gap between students with greater belief in their digital skills and those with medium belief was about 40 points in mathematics and 46 points in science.
Looking at Australia’s year 10 students, the results of the NAP ICT literacy assessment conducted in 2022 showed fewer than half (46%) attained a proficient standard, down from 54% in 2017.
The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) that tests 15-year-olds’ ability to apply their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems, will this year (2025) also assess ‘Learning in the Digital World’.
Reporting by ACER, which is implementing PISA 2025, will shed more light on students’ reading, numeracy and digital skills across the world at an age where they are considering their next steps – to continue studying or apply for work.
For those welcoming young and older adults into vocational education, the ability to answer those skills questions – and map a way forward – is here now.
