CAE Partners With Australia’s GOTAFE to Assess Student Employability Skills

• CAE’s assessment will provide insight into critical thinking, problem solving and written communication skills among Australian vocational education and training students

The Council for Aid to Education, Inc. (CAE), a nonprofit developer of performance-based and custom assessments that authentically measure students’ essential college and career readiness skills, announced a new partnership with GOTAFE, the largest vocational education provider in regional Victoria, Australia. The organizations’ first pilot project will use CAE’s Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) to study vocational education and training (VET) students’ criticae.

HR Technology News: beqom Announces New Module to Support Staff Cost and Headcount Planning

“CAE’s partnership with GOTAFE aims to strengthen what, until now, has been a lack of research into the implementation and impact of foundational skills in the Australian VET sector,” said Mark Keough, D. COMM., fellow for Asia Pacific, CAE. “Our assessments will greatly assist GOTAFE students by allowing them to understand their personal strengths and areas for improvement in the skills necessary for employability, and desirable job and community opportunities.”

The results and analysis from the CLA+ performance-based assessment will create benchmark measurements of essential skills relative to the general population. The data can then be used country-wide to enhance the quality of VET education programs to develop these skills, improving student outcomes.

HR Technology News: InterviewIA Launches Freemium Smart Interview Software to Address the Current Talent Shortage

CLA+ authentically measures the foundational or essential skills – critical thinking, problem solving and effective written communication – most in-demand by employers and post-secondary institutions. The assessment situates students in real-world scenarios where they must analyze and synthesize data, evaluate options, and recommend and defend a course of action.

“GOTAFE is thrilled to partner with CAE and positively impact the national landscape of quality improvement in Australian VET students,” said Karen Taylor, GOTAFE executive director of education. “By focusing on skills that are key to employability, we will create predictive measures of employment outcomes, giving these students the best possible opportunity for career success.”

HR Technology News: SS&C Partners With ActiveOps to Optimize Workforce Management