LLN is essential

Essential skills: Workplace relevant training will begin in 2006. Language, literacy and numeracy will be required competencies.

A NEW workplace-based approach to language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) training will begin in 2006 as a part of the Subject 1 all-corps promotion courses for sergeants and warrant officers.

In the past 12 months, the Training Technology Centre (TTC) has worked with Headquarters Land Warfare Centre (HQ LWC) to develop workplace-relevant LLN training.

This comes after Subject 3 Sgt/WO all-corps LLN courses were suspended at the end of 2004.
Lt-Col Donna Weaver, Project Leader for the realignment of LLN content into Subject 1 courses, said to meet the Army’s needs, “the basic LLN skills required by soldiers have been identified through a training needs analysis”.

Maj Paul Ashman, OC LLN within HQ LWC, said under the new approach, Subject 1 Sgt/WO LLN training would cover numeracy (Subject 1 Sgt only), reading, the writing process, writing skills and spoken communications.

“Within Subject 1 courses, LLN will be a required competency and just like Leadership or Service Discipline Law, a soldier’s LLN ability will be assessed,” Maj Ashman said.

Before attending Subject 1 Sgt/WO courses, soldiers will have the chance to assess their LLN skill level online and may be required to undertake the Computer Based Learning (CBL) package.

Face-to-face training or support will be available to ensure soldiers have the necessary LLN skills to attend their Subject 1 course.

“The compulsory online assessment is formative and is not a precursor to being deemed competent for LLN competency, nor is it a barrier to attending a Subject 1 Sgt/WO course,” Maj Ashman said.

Students failing the initial diagnostic assessment will be required to complete a CBL package and seek individual tuition from LWC LLN education officers as required. After undertaking this LLN training students will be required to reattempt the diagnostic assessment. A second failure will require attendance at the pre-course residential LLN module, currently referred to as Module 1.

This module has been proposed to be between two to five days. LLN assessment will occur against existing Subject 1 TMP learning objectives and training objectives.

LWC LLN educational corps instructors will conduct retraining and retesting for any soldier who does not achieve LLN competency after the Subject 1 course. SCMA has noted that soldiers will not be promoted if they have not achieved the applicable Subject 1 Sgt/WO LLN competency.

From October 2005, LLN Computer-Based Learning Packages have been available to all soldiers. These packages are available in CD-ROM format and can be accessed through local LWCs. These discs contain individual lessons that can be completed at an individual’s own pace. Lessons have different levels of difficulty to reflect the roles of either a sergeant or a warrant officer.

Maj Claire Harvey, CBL Package Development Leader, said the package was interactive and contained text, audio, video, animations and graphic elements to explain and reinforce the lesson content.

“The learning content contains examples, activities and quizzes set in a military context to aid a soldier’s understanding and retention of facts,” she said.

Soldiers who require LLN training or support can contact HQ LWC or an LLN instructor at their local LWC. For more details visit intranet.defence.gov.au/armyweb/Sites/CSO/ or phone (07) 5541 6629.