Building Foundations: ASQA Standards for Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Support

Registered Training Organisations (RTO) have a responsibility to ensure high-quality learning and training for students. It is their fundamental duty to provide excellent RTO training material while providing the best learner support tools. So, it is of prime importance that a learner must possess sufficient language and numeracy skills to understand their respective course.

RTOs must advise them on the requirements and assess their existing skills and competencies.

So, every RTO assesses students at the beginning of the course through a Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) test. This test helps them identify the areas that need support.

This blog focuses on ASQA Standards for Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Support for building a foundation. Additionally, this blog will cover the Language, Literacy and Numeracy assessment strategies and their relationship with RTOs.

ASQA

ASQA is the Australian Skills Quality Authority. They regulate vocational education and training (VET) nationwide. Their goal is to ensure quality education and training. They want students, employers, governments, and the community to trust qualifications from training providers in Australia.

ASQA values collaboration, consistency, and continuous improvement. They work with the VET sector to achieve quality outcomes for students.

Foundational Skills (LLN)

Skills that help individuals to actively engage in the workplace, training and education are foundation skills. These skills are equally effective when partaking in the community.

Language, literacy, and numeracy (LLN) skills with employability skills make Foundation skills.

LLN skills involve listening, speaking, reading, writing, using digital tools, and applying mathematical concepts.

Employability skills encompass collaboration, problem-solving, self-management, learning, and utilising technology.

Prioritising foundation skills enables RTOs to meet regulatory standards, enhance learner support, address barriers, and improve industry relevance. This results in high-quality RTO training material that caters to the needs of learners and industry partners.

Addition of Digital Literacy to LLN

The impact of COVID-19 has significantly increased the use of digital technologies by educational institutions.

This increase happened because staying connected with students was necessary. It led many organisations to adopt the ‘Cloud’ for remote learner support.

The demand for digital technology has also created more opportunities for cybercrime and cyber-security issues. This has intensified the need for organisations and students to become more digitally savvy.

Therefore, just as VET trainers are responsible for developing student’s Language, Literacy, and Numeracy (LLN) skills, it is now more important than ever for VET trainers to focus on developing student’s digital literacy skills, expanding from LLN to LLND (Language, Literacy, Numeracy and Digital).

ASQA Standards for LLND

ASQA plays a role in ensuring that VET providers incorporate and address foundation skills (LLND) within their training programs. ASQA’s quality standards likely include requirements for VET providers to assess and develop learners’ language, literacy, numeracy, and employability skills, which are part of foundation skills.

ASQA has mandated the outline of the LLND assessment tool to comply with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF).

Let’s look at some examples of foundation skills (LLND) in a unit of competency that aligns with ASQA and ACSF:

1. Reading skills:

• Read workplace instructions and messages.
• Understand basic job requirements.
• Evaluate ideas and information from different texts.

2. Writing skills:

• Complete forms.
• Write orders and basic customer notes.
• Record calculation steps and results.

3. Oral communication skills:

• Adapt language to suit the audience, context, and purpose.
• Explain procedures effectively to clients.

4. Numeracy skills:

• Interpret and apply mathematical information related to statistics, trends, and classifications.
• Estimate timeframes and schedule tasks efficiently.

5. Learning skills:

• Identify reliable sources of information about workplace requirements.
• Continuously research and find complex information on current service trends.

6. Problem-solving skills:

• Identify innovative strategies to solve problems.
• Monitor machinery efficiency and make adjustments during operation.

7. Initiative and enterprise skills:

• Promote and demonstrate changes to improve work practices and procedures.
• Negotiate with clients.

8. Teamwork skills:

• Direct and supervise staff responsibilities.
• Share customer information with team members to ensure adherence to organisational procedures.

9. Planning and organising skills:

• Sequence service preparations for efficient customer service.
• Coordinate services and support activities.

10. Self-management skills:

• Handle hostile and uncooperative customers professionally and follow organisation procedures.
• Work within confidentiality guidelines.

11. Technology skills:

• Use a scientific calculator.
• Utilise computers and software programs to calculate costs and document findings.

Trigger Words

Trainers can use the following trigger words to identify foundation skills within units and assessment requirements, pinpointing the specific areas that need to be addressed. By incorporating these foundation skills into vocational training programs, learners can develop the necessary skills relevant to their work. The provided list can assist trainers in locating foundation skills within units.

How is LLND Support delivered by RTOs

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) can deliver foundational skills in different ways based on learner needs and training context. They can approach LLND in the following ways:

• Specialist LLND teachers, in collaboration with industry specialists, deliver and assess foundation skills pathway qualifications.
• Combine LLND specialists and vocational practitioners for team teaching integrated vocational and foundation skills programs.
• Vocational practitioners deliver contextualised foundation skills within vocational programs with support from LLND specialists for pre-training assessment and program design.

These approaches stress on collaboration and involvement of specialists in delivering and assessing foundation skills for the best learner support. RTOs should select the most appropriate approach or combination based on learners’ needs. They should also contextualise their RTO training materials based on the assessment.

RTO and LLND Support Relationship

RTOs (Registered Training Organisations) and LLND (Language, Literacy, Numeracy and Digital) closely collaborate in delivering training and assessing foundation skills. Here are key points about their relationship:

1. Learner needs:

RTOs acknowledge diverse LLND skills among learners. LLND refers to essential skills for effective learning, work, and life. RTOs aim to address learners’ LLN needs for full participation and success in training.

2. Specialist LLN support:

RTOs employ or collaborate with LLND teachers or practitioners experienced in addressing language, literacy, and numeracy challenges. These specialists support learners in developing their foundation skills.

3. Pre-training assessment:

LLND specialists assist in pre-training assessments to identify learners’ LLND levels and needs. This assessment guides appropriate learner support and strategies to address foundation skills gaps.

4. Contextualised delivery:

RTOs integrate foundation skills into vocational programs with LLND specialists’ assistance. This ensures relevant teaching of foundation skills aligned with learners’ vocational goals, enhancing understanding and application.

5. Collaborative approaches:

RTOs foster collaboration between vocational practitioners and LLND specialists to deliver integrated vocational and foundation skills programs. This team-based approach covers a full range of skills for better learner support.

In summary, the relationship between RTOs and LLND involves recognizing and addressing learners’ language, literacy, and numeracy needs to ensure their successful participation and achievement in training programs.

Benefits to RTOs When Providing LLND Support

RTOs (Registered Training Organisations) can benefit from providing foundation skills training to students in various ways. Here are the potential benefits:

1. Attract more students:

Offering foundation skills training draws a wider range of students, including those needing additional support in language, literacy, and numeracy. This leads to increased enrolment and a broader student base for the RTO.

2. Build reputation and marketability:

RTOs excelling in high-quality foundation skills training and RTO training material gain a strong reputation, making them more marketable and attractive to students and potential partnerships.

3. Meet industry demands:

Foundation skills training addresses industry needs for employees with strong foundational skills. RTOs can establish partnerships with industry stakeholders and meet the demand for skilled workers.

4. Ensure compliance with standards:

Providing foundation skills training helps RTOs meet regulatory requirements and standards. For example, the Standards for Registered Training Organisations demand trainers and assessors with current industry skills relevant to the training/assessment. Offering foundation skills training ensures compliance and learner support.

5. Contribute to national productivity:

Equipping students with solid foundation skills enhances national workforce productivity, benefiting the economy and fostering long-term industry growth and development

Assessment Parameters of Language, Learning, Numeracy and Digital Skills by ACSF

ASQA mandates RTOs to create support RTO training material for LLND support. The material must comply with ACSF to provide the best learner support.

(Note- As Digital Skills was added in 2020 the parameters are discussed below these LLN parameters)

The Core Skills according to ACSF are:

1. Learning
2. Reading
3. Writing
4. Oral Communication
5. Numeracy

To assess each core the Australian Core Skills Framework has these key features:

1. It defines five levels of performance for each core skill, ranging from low to high.
2. Four performance variables are taken into consideration:
   a. support
   b. context
   c. text complexity
   d. task complexity
3. The ACSF covers three domains of communication:
   a. personal and community
   b. workplace and employment
   c. education and training.
4. Detailed descriptions for each level provide:
   a. indicators
   b. focus areas
   c. performance features
   d. sample activities.

Interpreting indicators with the performance variables gives an assessment of performance.

Digital Literacy Skills Framework

The Digital Literacy Skills Framework is similar to LLN.

The key features:

1. It defines four levels of performance: Pre-Level 1 Stage A and Stage B, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.

2. Performance variables are: Support, Context, Text complexity, and Task complexity.

3. There are three domains of communication: Personal and community, Workplace and employment, and Education and training.

Strategies to Develop LLND Skills

Based on the parameters defined by ACSF an assessor or RTO can implement these strategies to prepare LLND assessments:

1. Familiarise yourself with the ACSF:

Gain a thorough understanding of the ACSF and its performance indicators, which outline the five core skills areas (Learning, Reading, Writing, Oral Communication, and Numeracy and digital) and their levels of proficiency. This will help you align your LLND assessments with the ACSF levels for the best learner support.

2. Identify the LLND requirements:

Determine the LLND requirements of the training program or qualification you are assessing. Consider the specific language, literacy, and numeracy skills learners need to complete the program or qualification successfully. This will also help to contextualise your RTO training material.

3. Design assessment tasks:

Develop assessment tasks that align with the LLND requirements and ACSF levels. Ensure that the tasks are relevant, authentic, and reflect real-world contexts. Consider using a variety of assessment methods, such as written tasks, oral presentations, group discussions, and practical demonstrations, to assess different LLND skills.

4. Align assessment criteria:

Develop clear assessment criteria that align with the ACSF performance indicators. Clearly define the expectations for each level of proficiency and provide specific criteria for assessing each core skill.

5. Provide support materials:

Provide learners support with RTO training materials, such as sample questions, practice activities, or resources, to help them prepare for the LLN assessments. These materials should be aligned with the ACSF levels and provide opportunities for learners to develop and practise their LLND skills.

6. Conduct assessments:

Administer the LLND assessments to learners, ensuring that the assessment conditions are fair and conducive to demonstrating their LLND skills. Use appropriate assessment tools, such as rubrics or checklists, to evaluate learners’ performance against the ACSF levels.

7. Provide feedback and support:

Provide constructive feedback to learners based on the assessment results. Identify areas for improvement and offer guidance on how learners can further develop their LLND skills. Provide additional learner support or RTO training material as needed to help learners progress.

It is important to note that the specific process of preparing LLND assessments according to the ACSF may vary depending on the training program’s context, qualifications, and requirements. Consulting the ACSF documentation and seeking guidance from LLND specialists or relevant training authorities can provide more detailed information on aligning LLN assessments with the ACSF.

RTOs and LLN Kits

Buying LLN kits would be beneficial because they help identify students’ LLND needs, enabling you to provide necessary learner support and increase your RTO’s completion rate. These kits are aligned with ACSF requirements, ensuring compliance.

Benefits of the assessment services include hassle-free compliance care with Audit Assist Guarantee, saving time and money in resource development, and having an unlimited student licence. The kits are adaptable to e-learning, fully editable, and come with lifetime updates. They are developed in consultation with industry experts to meet industry standards and vet students’ needs.

If you are looking for quality LLND kits for your RTO, connect with VET Resources. We have an extensive library of LLN Assessment Kits that are fully compliant with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF).

Conclusion

As the world is moving towards advanced technology and jobs, students need to be prepared for it. The students also need to have Language, Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Skills to be able to do these jobs. If you are an RTO, make sure you prepare your RTO training material based on LLND assessments. Build foundations with ASQA standards for Language, Literacy and Numeracy and Digital Support.

For more information on our RTO resources contact us here at VET Resources.