General Links

Centrelink

Australians Working Together

Australian Education Portal

InfoCat - An online catalogue of DEST's research and data.
 

Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) is a not-for-profit, Australian organisation dedicated to empowering those who are Deaf or have a hearing, speech or communication impairment, to obtain access to the telephone and other telecommunication networks.
 

Blind Citizens Australia provides World Wide Web development guidelines and accessibility standards to assist people with vision impairment access on-line communication.
 

EdNA provides access to quality Internet sites for the education and training community.
 

Established by the Australian Government in January 2001, The Enterprise and Career Education Foundation (ECEF) is helping all young people develop the skills and knowledge needed to make a successful transition to work, further study and adult life.
 

Descriptions of jobs with education and training pathways in Australia.
 

National Accrediting Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) for translation of documents and interpreter services.
 

A list of national industry bodies, including contact details and links to annual strategic plans.
 

The National Training Information Service database provides access to current and emerging training market information and products in VET in Australia. It holds detailed information on accredited courses/qualifications, competency standards and training organisations, training packages, VET initiatives and useful links.
 

What's so New about New Apprenticeships? Find out here.
 

Olympic Global Village is a website containing a range of online learning options for ESL and literacy learners. This site contains a link to another useful site – English at the Beach.
 

Plain English at Work provides information about writing in plain English and streamlining documentation.
 

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Indigenous Training

Indigenous training information website provides training related information and links to other relevant websites.
 

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Policy/Provision

CAVSS Discussion Paper about the WA Department of Training funding model to support concurrent language, literacy and numeracy assistance in vocational education and training
 

Covers disability issues within the AQTF.
 

Understanding and applying vocational language, literacy and numeracy within the AQTF is a resource containing a wealth of practical information.
 

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Professional development bodies and associations

Adult Learning Australia promotes and fosters the value of learning. It has a very varied membership, reflecting the extraordinary diversity of adult learning, which includes adult educators in universities, TAFEs, and community education providers; as well as community health and environment workers, librarians, individual tutors and trainers, volunteers and students. The association is a national body with members in all States and Territories and a national office based in Canberra. It is funded by a grant from the Australian National Training Authority, membership dues, subscriptions and project revenue.
 

The Australian Council for Adult Literacy Inc (ACAL) was established in 1977 to promote issues regarding adult English language, adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice. This site has information on national policy issues, conference information and links to State and Territory professional associations.
 

This national organisation represents and support the interests of teachers of English to speakers of other languages. Membership of ACTA is through an affiliated State or Territory association listed on this site.
 

National Assessors and Workplace Trainers (NAWT) has operated for over nine years as the key advisory body in Australia on competency based workplace training and assessment

NAWT provides advise, support and assistance to all individuals and organisations involved in competency based training delivery and assessment across the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.

NAWT is responsible for developing and maintaining the Training Package for Assessment and Workplace Training.

On the NAWT website you can access information about the :

• revision of the Training and Assessment Training Package including specialist literacy units.

• range of literacy related PD and assessment resources available, and

• assessor networks available in your State or Territory.

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Professional development resources

Equity Toolboxes are range of training products to assist users of Training Packages.
 

EdNA online is a service that aims to support and promote the benefits of the internet for learning, education and training in Australia.
 

Flexible Learning website offers resources to support online learning.
 

Online Literacy and Numeracy Resource Centre for Trainers and Assessors is a Toolbox you can purchase containing specific Training Package language, literacy and numeracy resources.
 

TAFE Frontiers website offers resources to support online learning.
 

Provides users of the Training Package for Assessment and Workplace Training with information about language, literacy and numeracy issues.
 

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International links

Essential skills such as reading, writing, numeracy, oral communication and problem solving. This Canadian site contains a wealth
 

The National Adult Literacy Agency contains practical literacy resources for student use and related links
 

Workbase, the National Centre for Workplace Literacy & Language is an independent non-profit organisation that improves literacy, numeracy and communication skills of the New Zealand workforce. Established in 1996 Workbase works in partnership with business, the tertiary education sector and government and contracts to a wide range of private and public sector organisations in recognition that literacy impacts across many policy and practice contexts.
 

The Basic Skills Agency is the national agency for basic skills in England and Wales.
 

BBC Skillswise: Skillswise is an interactive adult literacy and numeracy resource from the BBC for tutors and learning. It aims to help adults improve their reading, writing and maths skills.
 

The Campaign for Learning (UK) operates as a unique partnership of public, private and voluntary sector organisations, all dedicated to developing a learning society.
 

The Further Educational National Training Organisation is the national lead body for the development, quality assurance and promotion of national standards for the FE sector in Britain.
 

The National Grid for Learning is the (UK) gateway to educational resources on the internet.
 

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education is the leading non-governmental organisation for adult Learning in England and Wales.
 

British Government department for education and skills. Contains Skills for Life policy.
 

2003 - 2012 is the United Nations Decade of Literacy. Find out more about what is occuring around the world and read the International Plan of Action.
 

The Educational Testing Services is the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organisation and a leader in educational research.
 

LINCS (USA) is the literacy community's gateway to the world of adult education and literacy resources on the Internet. The goal of LINCS is to bring adult literacy-related resources and expertise to a single point of access for users throughout the world.
 

The National Center for Family Literacy is the leading family literacy site in the USA
 

The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) is a federal organisation (in the USA) that shares information about literacy and supports the development of high-quality literacy services so all Americans can develop essential basic skills.
Two interesting reports on essential/generic language, literacy and numeracy policy are:

National Institute for Literacy, Equipped for the Future Content Standards: What Adults Need to Know and Be Able to do in the 21st Century

National Institute for Literacy, Equipped for the Future Research Report: Building the Framework, 1993-1997
 

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