This paper was presented at the Australian Federation of Travel Agents Industry Leaders & Educators Engagement Symposium held in Sydney on February 12, 2015. With industry sustainability becoming a strong concern, even within growth sectors, this paper identifies issues to be considered in ensuring that the education and training system can…

The role of universities in preparing students to use spreadsheet and other technical software in the financial services workplace has been investigated through surveys of university graduates, university academics, and employers. It is found that graduates are less skilled users of software than employers would like, due at least in part to a…

Based on a three-semester design-based research study examining learning and teaching in a web-conferencing environment, this article identifies types of synchronous collaboration competencies and reveals their influence on learning processes. Four levels of online collaborative competencies were observed--operational, interactional, managerial,…

This paper presents the findings of a study that focused on developing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) competency in pre-service teacher education Units of Study. The study adopted a collaborative-learn-technology-by-design conceptual framework. One-hundred and twenty pre-service teachers participated in the semester-long study.…

Significant efforts have now been made to identify the generic competencies required to succeed across different workplace contexts. The aims of this paper were to: (i) outline factors that contributed to the increased demand for generic competencies seen over the last three decades; and (ii) review the early generic competency frameworks…

The revolution in digital communication is bringing about profound changes in the ways people live, learn, and work. Three topics that address these changes are discussed. First is a set of ideas about the nature of information and information processing. Second is an Australian National Framework for competence in language, literacy, and numeracy…

This report discusses the major issues addressed at a two-day conference of Australian and Canadian library and information science educators. Topics include education for the future; core competencies; institutional accreditation; trends in professional education; distance education; economic factors; management education; practical experience;…

The concept of information literacy is explored and the major issues to be developed in its pursuit of technical and further education (TAFE) in Australia are considered. Information literate people are those who have learned how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find it, and how to use it so that others can learn from…

This guide is designed to help workplace trainers in Australia's coal industry improve coal miners' operator and general communication skills through a curriculum that integrates training in language, literacy, and numeracy. The following topics are discussed in the guide's seven sections: the changing workplace (changing work environment;…

Papers from the 19th Adult Literacy Conference convened by the Australian Council for Adult Literacy include: "A Little to the Right on Writing" (Brendan Bartlett, Margaret Fletcher); "Deconstructing the 'Australian Language and Literacy Policy'" (Helen Beazley); "Comparing Content-Centered and Learner-Centered Approaches…

These selected papers from the First Conference on Tertiary Literacy focus on communication across differences of culture and discipline in Australian universities. Many of the papers have resulted from cooperation between applied linguists and specialist lecturers and describe cooperative models of literacy education based on interdisciplinary…