Indigenous Literacy Day is held annually on the first Wednesday of September. This year it’s on Wednesday 6 September.
The Australian Government’s Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2023 has identified several opportunities to close the gap in the area of literacy for First Nations people.
The Plan sets the target of increasing the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55 per cent, by 2031. To achieve this, the Plan commits to ‘trial the design, implementation and evaluation of a new early learning teaching model that strengthens children’s literacy and numeracy learning through explicit instruction, with a focus on improving First Nations children’s school readiness outcomes’.
The Plan also aims to increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) to 70 per cent, by 2031. One of the proposed priority actions to support this objective recognises that ‘the provision of foundational English language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a key enabler for educational, social and economic participation’.
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) is leading the development of a new national study on adult literacy, numeracy, and digital skills including a feasibility study into how best to assess the literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy levels of First Nations people. The Plan outlines that a new National Study on Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy will include working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders on a feasibility study into how best to assess the skill level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including those in regional and remote communities. It’s expected that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations will be part of the membership of the Foundation Skills Advisory Group to guide the design of the new National Study.
Existing initiatives like the Foundation Skills for Your Future Program and the Remote Community Pilots initiative are part of the former federal government’s Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow 2019-20 budget package.
The Pilots will operate until 30 June 2024 to deliver tailored and flexible foundation language, literacy and numeracy (LLND) skills, assessment and training that meet local community needs.
The Pilots aim to:
Further Information:
The JSA has completed a First Nations People Workforce Analysis, which is available on its website here https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/work/first-nations-people-workforce-analysis
For more on Indigenous Literacy Day visit the Indigenous Literacy Foundation website here https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/ild
