International Workforce Literacy Review: Australia
Brief reviewer introduction
Louise Wignall
Louise Wignall has worked in the education sector for the past 25 years as a teacher, resource developer, policy advisor and quality assurance manager with a specialisation in adult literacy and learning in vocational education and training (VET). She works on a range of national and state-based initiatives.
She has been a consultant in the field since 2005. Before that her work with the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) saw her assist in the implementation of the 'built-in not bolted-on' policy of LLN integration into Training Packages as well as into other key policy documents, including the Australian Quality Training Framework and the National Strategy for VET.
For the last five years she has been the quality assurance mentor for 'Innovative projects' funded through the DEST Adult Literacy National Project, where she has further promoted the concept of the integrated model into community-based projects. She has also worked as a researcher, writer and project manager on a number of national Industry Skills Council WELL projects, and internationally on the Descriptor Bank Project for Workbase New Zealand.
Louise is currently working on a number of national strategic Industry Skill Council (ISC) WELL projects and an NCVER research project on new models of Enterprise Based Training.
Her key interest in looking at the big picture, and then 'joining the dots' between policy and practice, reflects the work she does towards improving the quality of VET learning experiences.
Robert Bluer
Robert Bluer has worked in various roles in education and training for 35 years. Robert’s most recent work (1998—June 2005) was with the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) where he dealt with a number of issues related to the National Training Framework, including aspects of Training Packages, the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF), the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and issues concerning adult literacy.
More specifically, his period with ANTA included working with training packages and training package developers on:
- creating a quality instrument for the delivery of competency based training
- Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS), especially in its relationship to the National Training Framework (NTF)
- developing and monitoring the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF)
- evaluating major aspects of the NTF i.e. Training Packages and the AQTF
- aspects of the Australian Qualifications Framework as it related to the NTF.
Most recently, during the last 18 months with ANTA, Robert worked on the Pathways into Training Packages project, which was designed to develop certificate I qualifications in training packages to provide pathways for those whom access to the formal (VET) system has been limited. At the same time he worked on a related project to incorporate employability skills in Training Packages. This work and its outcomes should prove to be highly significant for Australia’s VET sector because it takes the definition of workplace competency standards to a new and higher level, which should provide opportunities to more closely match literacy skills with workplace needs.
At ANTA Robert worked with Louise Wignall on a range of adult literacy issues for a number of years.