Abstract:
The need to retrain workers when there are changes in technology is
seemingly circumvented by the teaching of generic skills in VET. Generic skills have
moved on and off the Australian VET policy agenda since the early 1990s and in the
form of the Mayer Key Competencies they have been given much attention from time
to time. However there is little evidence that policy makers have any real
understanding of what generic skills involve and their link to transfer of learning.
Recently there has been a move to focus upon another set of generic skills,
employability skills, with this seeming to be an acknowledgement of the failure of the
Mayer Key Competencies in policy terms. This paper looks at what needs to be done
to ensure the effective teaching and transfer of generic skills and to move beyond
mere policy rhetoric. Employers have key roles to play and in this there may be an
opportunity for establishing an appropriate, practical relationships between on- and
off-site workplace education.
