Back to basics for apprentices
Electrical apprentices need to have sufficient knowledge of language, literacy and numeracy to complete different tasks on a daily basis. Dimi Kyriakou reports on a new standardised electronic test that can help bring them up to speed.
You can probably think back to more than one occasion at school where you sat in maths class, wondering if you would ever use the Pythagorean Theorem again in real life.
In fact, you could be sitting there right now thinking, “What the hell is that?”
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But if you work in the electrical trade, understanding this type of maths will come in handy more often than you realise. It is essential for any electrician to have a basic knowledge of language, literacy and numeracy in order to complete the many different challenges that will arise in your everyday work.
What’s more, technical trainers are often aware that an apprentice could risk failing to complete their apprenticeship if they aren’t well-learned in these areas. If this is the case, it can also be difficult for trainers to be able to pinpoint and address the issues.
To help with this problem, the Australian Government has funded the development of a standardised electronic test that was created by the NECA-owned Registered Training Organisation (RTO) 370° Group and Federal Government-declared training skills council, EE-Oz Training Standards. The Electro Critical Skills Resource Suite can be given to students who enter an electrical pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship to recognise and address any language, literacy and numeracy issues.
370° Group training manager Peter Parry says the resource aims to assess an apprentice’s skills against the Australian Standards Critical Skills Framework to make sure they can complete the course.
“Typically in the electrical area, there is a fairly strong emphasis on maths capability. The Electro Critical Skills Resource Suite is able to help RTOs identify if there is a need for further skill development in a particular area before a student gets to that section of the course.”
The test is based on grade 10 maths and English skills, aligning with the UEE07 Electrotechnology Training Package. When completed, a report is produced that identifies the student’s levels in each of these areas and if a problem exists with the recommended level of understanding for their course of study.
The report also includes specific support resources that allow the students to reach the recommended level, prior to starting their apprenticeship. The topics covered by these resources include trigonometry, the Pythagorean Theorem, transposition and fractions.
“We set the ‘Pass’ mark at about 66%, but the program isn’t about pass/fail or discipline. If the apprentice isn’t successful in this assessment it doesn’t prevent them from continuing in the course. Rather, they can be given additional work to bring them up to speed in that area.”
Peter says there was a need to develop this type of resource as many of the electrical apprentices coming out of the general education system, as well as mature-age students, had poor numeracy skills which could see them struggle to complete everyday tasks in the electrical trade.
“It can range from kids who are very good practically but not academically to those who haven’t seen a lot of reason to develop or remember certain skills. But once they start an electrical apprenticeship, they need to be able to understand different concepts,” he says.
“Like all trades, there’s no minimum qualification and we have a wide variety of kids who have either completed high school and continued further study in maths/science, or have left school at the end of year 10 and decided to do something practical. Basically this program helps them to stay engaged in the trade.”
This concept is also supported by NECA. Chief executive James Tinslay says while the electrical industry attracts a large number of apprentices, it is still important for the next generation of apprentices to have solid numeracy skills when they leave school and not rely on tertiary education to fill the void.
“As the number of new apprenticeships grows to help manage skills shortages in the electrical and communications industries, it is important that vocational training focus on workplace skills and not substitute for schooling,” he says.
“The industry will continue to grow and NECA expects to see more apprentices begin their careers in the coming years. There can be a gap between year 10, year 12 and entry levels of maths and physics required to undertake an electrical apprenticeship and this needs to be addressed.”
Meanwhile, the support resources in the Electro Critical Skills Resource Suite can be uploaded to any learning management system for easy usage. In addition, there is an assessor guide to help teachers administer and direct successful learning and development.
“The project in its entirety is currently being distributed to all training providers across Australia and can be accessed via a USB memory stick. Since November we have received very positive feedback, particularly because the program is targeted specifically at the electrical industry,” Peter says.
“The program is a fairly simple tool to administer and it gives you some good feedback on where the apprentices are at. If they need help, we can work with the students to get them up to speed and assist them with their studies.”
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