We can’t teach them that! Reinstating the place of generic skills in VET

In a number of overseas countries, the delivery and assessment of generic skills has become an issue of considerable interest. Likewise, in Australia there has been an increasingly obvious shift by vocational education and training (VET) policy makers and major industry representatives, away from a complete focus on technical competencies to one that promotes an enhanced positioning for generic skills in VET. In their simplest form, generic skills are currently represented in Training Packages and in practitioners’ minds, by the Mayer Key Competencies. However, research indicates that the teaching and assessment of Key Competencies is relatively problematic. Learners’ achievement of Key Competencies is generally inferred, and is only rarely directly delivered and evaluated. This paper reports on a series of case studies of RTO approaches to assessment of generic skills. It examines the issues and concerns raised by practitioners currently engaged in the delivery and assessment of generic skills and offers some suggestions for supporting more effective approaches in a range of VET environments