NCALNE (Voc) is now the implied minimum standard qualification for all tutors doing Level 1 and 2 training

Ok, I’m just going to come out and say it. No one else is so I will:

  • The minimum level of qualification for any tutor delivering training at levels 1 to 2 (but probably including level 3 as well) is the National Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (Vocational/Workplace) – otherwise known as the NCALNE (Voc).
Full disclosure: I deliver this training through my organization – ALEC including a FastTrack version for tutors with existing skills and knowledge.
Also, let me be clear, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) hasn’t actually come out and said this. Neither have the NZQA. Probably, they won’t.However, let’s face the facts. The most important fact to keep in mind is this one:
  • The TEC funds your job if you are a tutor in a training provider in New Zealand.
Here’s another important point. If you don’t deliver the goods, TEC may decide not to fund you.
The following is my understanding of what the TEC wants and why you’d better think about training your staff if you haven’t already:
  1. Embedding literacy and numeracy into trades and any vocational training (read “everything”) is now business as usual as far as the TEC is concerned.
  2. This means that your organization – if they do any kind of training at levels 1 to 3 – needs tutors and other people who understand what it means to be embedding literacy and numeracy into other stuff.
  3. It’s not much of a leap then to realize that most tutors don’t arrive with this very specific skill set built in. They need to be trained themselves in what I have now started calling the baseline knowledge for embedding literacy and numeracy.

So what is the baseline knowledge for embedding literacy and numeracy? Well, I’ll get to that in a moment. But first, consider this as well from the TEC website:

TEC Funding Requirements

Funding requirements

From 2013 organisations delivering SAC-funded provision must meet the following funding requirements for all Levels 1 and 2 provision:

  1. Organisations must offer qualifications with literacy and numeracy, and generic foundation skills embedded.
  2. Organisations must use the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool, to assess and report all SAC-funded learners at Levels 1 and 2, including pre and post learner assessments.

New Zealand now has a national infrastructure for literacy and numeracy. It includes the assessment tool mentioned in point 2 above as well as an implied basic skill set for tutors to do the embedding work mentioned in point 1.

The NCALNE (Voc) qualification training and credentialing process is the vehicle which we use to transmit the basic skill set required to do this work.

It’s not the be-all and end-all to embedding literacy and numeracy by any means. However, as a tutor or an organization, the NCALNE (Voc) qualification goes a long way to instilling confidence in your organization’s ability to deliver the goods noted above.

Baseline knowledge for embedding literacy and numeracy

So, what is the baseline knowledge for tutors embedding literacy and numeracy? There are seven key areas. The first two are things you need to know about. The rest you have to be able to do.

  1. The New Zealand context for literacy and numeracy.
  2. Maori literacy and numeracy
  3. Know the demands of your training
  4. Know your learners
  5. Know what to do
  6. Assess learner progress in literacy and numeracy
  7. Evaluate your work

Agree or disagree? Tell me in the comments below.

Author: Graeme Smith

Education, technology, design. Also making cool stuff...

2 thoughts

  1. Agree. It is the baseline. In fact I would go further. Our sector is being asked to not only cope with, but to correct, an issue (L&N) that the compulsory sector is paid and trained to do. This is an opportunity for those of us who really want to make a difference to peoples lives. I mean, the role of a tutor can either be one of rolling out a tired series of Unit standards to unmotivated learners or an opportunity to inspire, encourage and undo all the negative crap they have picked up in school. We may be the last educationalist our learners ever encounter before they enter a life of drudgery or fantastic opportunity.
    The more skills we develop the better we are at supporting young learners into tap into their potential and NCALNE is a step on this journey.

    Reply

    1. Awesome… Thanks buddy. Want a job? And in other news, TEC started following me on Twitter today. This post might have had something to do with it…

      Reply

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