Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697633925403.pdf (Australia)
5 March 2021 Secretariat Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training PO Box 6021 Parliament House CANBERRA Canberra ACT 2600 Via email: ee.reps@aph.gov.au Dear Secretariat Inquiry into Adult Literacy and its Importance Swinburne University of Technology welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the inquiry into Adult Literacy and its Importance.

Basic literacy skills are vital not just for social inclusion, but also for economic participation and productivity.
Therefore, we commend the Commonwealth for its willingness to thoroughly investigate the significance of adult literacy, and also to seek measures that will increase its level in our community.

Being a university of technology, at Swinburne we are concerned not only with general adult literacy, but also the digital literacy of Australians.

We see this as being of the same importance and thus it will be a focus of our submission.
As a dual‐sector university, Swinburne has a strong vantage‐point from which to survey the adult literacy situation.

We provide foundation skills training through our VET operations, and thus are privileged to see the difference that developing literacy skills can make to an individual’s life.

Our Adult Migrant English Program also helps new Australians from diverse backgrounds gain the basic language skills needed to navigate everyday life.
In recognition of the challenges faced by people new to Australian culture and the English language, students are given extra assistance through access to Student Success Coaches.

Swinburne also has a focus on improving the digital literacy of our students.

We are currently rapidly embedding digital literacy skills across our curriculum offerings in recognition of their importance to current and future work.
Swinburne is also proud to be Australia’s first and only Adobe Creative Campus, with students and staff having full access to Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.

This is stimulating innovation in assessment practices and learning experiences, leaving outdated educational models behind.

In recognition of the challenged posed by this transformation, we also have created a dedicated Digital Literacies Hub to support students and staff in developing their skills.
Thus, our students will graduate as digital natives prepared to enter the future workforce.

Swinburne’s Centre for Social Impact is also co‐author of the Digital Inclusion Index, and as such we have an in‐depth understanding of Australia’s digital skill levels and distribution.

As a result of all this activity, Swinburne’s leadership and innovation in digital literacy is well‐ recognised by industry, including by such organisations as the Australian Industry Group and Adobe.
Therefore, we believe we are highly capable in providing input into this inquiry and are eager to do so.

Swinburne University of Technology John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122 T +613 9214 8163 | vc@swin.edu.au swinburne.edu.au CRICOS 00111D | RTO 3059 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 33 Redefining literacy To truly appreciate the significance of adult literacy, we must first create a contemporary understanding of what literacy actually is.
It is more than simply the ability to read and write at a basic level.

Literacy is the possession of all skills needed to navigate information and mediums in our rapidly evolving culture and economy.

Therefore, a holistic definition of literacy must take into account the greatly increasing importance of digital skills.

To a large extent, digital platforms have become the media through which reading and writing take place.
As such, digital literacy has almost become a prerequisite for the utlisation of other literacy skills.

Therefore, it is just as vital as more general reading and writing ability, and individuals who have a deficit in this area are as likely to face social and economic exclusion as those who lack more basic literacy skills.

Therefore, any measures taken to improve adult literacy, and any attempt to understand it’s importance, must reflect this reality.
Current adult literacy levels As cited by the Productivity Commission, there are between 2 and 3 million Australians whose poor basic literacy skills prevent their full participation in society1.

There are also challenges to be overcome related to digital literacy levels.

According to the Digital Inclusion Index, the only age group in Australia to be rated in the high category for digital ability are 25‐34 year olds.

All other adult cohorts were rated as ‘medium’ or ‘low’.
In particular, there is a sharp drop in ability levels in age groups above 502.

This situation has significant social and economic impacts.

Poor digital or basic literacy is an impediment to gaining employment or remaining adequately skilled for an existing job.

Therefore, there is also a cost in lost productivity to the broader economy.
In addition, lack of these basic skills excludes individuals from full participation in society, so there is also an equity case for seeking to improve literacy levels in the population.

There are a number of government programs aimed at addressing adult literacy that are doing good work, such as the Skills for Education and Employment program (SEE), the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), and Foundation Skills for your Future.
The removal of the 510 hour cap for AMEP learners is an indication of the importance the Commonwealth places on developing adult literacy.

However, given the levels of poor literacy in the adult population, government programs need to intensify and expand to reach more people.

There are also more specific measures aimed at encouraging the development of digital literacy, such as the BeConnected grant program to support digital skills development in over 50s.
However, the impact of this initiative is still being established.

Swinburne’s Centre for Social Impact has been commissioned to evaluate the program and the results may indicate ways forward.

Therefore, there is also a strong case to keep exploring ways to improve digital literacy in the adult population.

This submission will further explore the importance of adult literacy, including digital literacy, and provide recommendations for ways forward.
1 Productivity Commission, National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development Review, 2020 2 Thomas, J, Barraket, J, Wilson, CK, Rennie, E, Ewing, S, MacDonald, T, Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2019, 2019 Swinburne University of Technology John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122 T +613 9214 8163 | vc@swin.edu.au swinburne.edu.au CRICOS 00111D | RTO 3059 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 33 Digital literacy Digital literacy, employment and lifelong learning Digital literacy skills are increasingly becoming a requirement across the workforce, with a recent report estimating that they are needed for 87% of all jobs3.
This is also reflected in the recruitment goals of employers, as between 2014‐2017 alone there was a 212% increase in demand for digital skills in Australian job advertisements4.

Therefore, individuals without adequate digital ability risk finding themselves left out of the labour market.

Also, if the digital skills development of Australian workers does not continue apace with the digitisation of the economy, this will result in missed opportunities.
Recent AlphaBeta research estimates that digital innovation could yield $315 billion5, but this will not happen without further development of digital literacy among adult Australians.

Current research suggests that upskilling is not happening at a rapid rate.

A Price Waterhouse Coopers survey found that 72% of workers have not received skills training in the last year6.

Thus, it is vital that the Commonwealth investigate ways to further develop digital literacy in the workforce.
One method could be to provide greater tax incentives or grants to companies that actively train their staff in digital skills.

Another, as recommended by the Productivity Commission7, could be to create a lifelong learning loan scheme, or a lifelong learning account as recommended by the Macklin Review8.

This could enable adults to undertake microcredentials in digital skills while still working.
In any eventuality, to adequately address digital literacy in the adult population, federal and state governments must actively promote a lifelong learning model and flexible options for training.

The rapid transformation of the economy and occupational requirements makes it a necessity.

Importance of digital literacy to participation in society In addition to its importance to employment, digital literacy is also required for full participation in modern life.
Most written content that exists is online, with the vast majority of what is created never making it to physical publication.

Thus, people with poor digital literacy miss out on many sources of news and other information, including dissemination of public health updates and emergency warnings.

They are also excluded from many avenues for self‐expression and communication.
3 RMIT Online, Ready, set, upskill: Effective training fort the jobs of tomorrow, 2021 4 Foundation for Young Australians, The New Basics: Big Data Reveals the Skills Young People Need for the New Work Order, 2017 5 AlphaBeta, Digital Innovation: Australia’s $315B Opportunity, 2018 6 Price Waterhouse Coopers, Where next for skills?, 2020 7 Productivity Commission, National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development Review, 2020 8 Macklin J., Future Skills for Victoria, Driving collaboration and innovation in post‐secondary education and training, 2021 Swinburne University of Technology John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122 T +613 9214 8163 | vc@swin.edu.au swinburne.edu.au CRICOS 00111D | RTO 3059 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 33 Given that there are over two million Australians currently not online9, there is a strong argument for greater investment in expanding internet access.
Evidence indicates that extending the NBN lead to increases in not only access but also digital ability10.

Therefore, continually improving internet infrastructure should be a priority, as access to faster broadband speeds encourages the development of digital skills.

Those with limited access or slow speeds are disadvantaged and more likely to face digital exclusion, and hence the associated disconnection from social opportunities and important information.
As might be expected, there is also a strong relationship between socio‐economic status and digital inclusion.

In the Index, the cohort with less than a secondary education was rated low for digital ability, compared to high for the tertiary educated cohort11.

This also relates to access, where the difference was 79.1% using the internet compared to 96.7%12.

This indicates that greater effort is required to ensure that Australians of all backgrounds are confident and capable in digital literacy.
While programs like Foundation Skills for Your Future and BeConnected are an essential part of developing digital skills, they don’t capture all who need assistance, and do not address access issues.

Digital Literacy and Covid The move to remote learning and working as a result of the pandemic has further magnified the necessity of digital literacy.

While overall Australians adapted well to the technical challenges of remote work, those without pre‐existing digital skills faced many hurdles in adjusting.
The pandemic has also intensified the intersection between digital literacy and the acquisition of basic literacy skills.

As adult English classes had to move online, those with poor digital skills struggled to access lessons and some dropped out of programs13.

This indicates that there needs to be more formal digital support integrated into wider literacy programs.
Therefore, investment in upskilling the current adult literacy workforce to ensure they are well‐placed to support basic digital skills training is essential.

Basic literacy Link between literacy and economic development As with digital literacy, there is a strong relationship between lifting basic literacy levels and economic growth.

A recent Deloitte report on literacy in Canada found that lifting the adult literacy rate by one percent would increase the nations GDP by $67 billion14.
In Australia, research by the Productivity Commission suggests that if the PIAAC level was able to be lifted by one, there could be a 10 percent rise in wages and improved likelihood of employment15.

There is also current Australian evidence that demonstrates the economic impact of literacy education.
An investigation into the Tasmanian governments 9 Thomas, J, Barraket, J, Wilson, CK, Rennie, E, Ewing, S, MacDonald, T, Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2019, 2019 10 Ibid 11 Thomas, J, Barraket, J, Wilson, CK, Rennie, E, Ewing, S, MacDonald, T, Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2019, 2019 12 Australian Digital Inclusion Index, Digital Inclusion in Australia, n.d. 13 ReadingWritingHotline, Online Learning, Digital Isolation and COVID‐19, 2020 14 Deloitte, An Economic Overview of Children’s Literacy in Canada , 2020 15 Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, Adult Literacy and its Importance, 2021 Swinburne University of Technology John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122 T +613 9214 8163 | vc@swin.edu.au swinburne.edu.au CRICOS 00111D | RTO 3059 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 33 26Ten Strategy for improving adult literacy found that for every dollar invested there was a return of $5.2016.
Thus, further expenditure on adult literacy nationwide should be seen as an investment rather than a sunk cost.

Importance of literacy to participation in society Those without basic literacy skills are not able to take full advantage of many of the benefits of our modern society.

The huge volume or rich written discourse in literature, science, humanities and current affairs is largely inaccessible to them.
Navigating processes for engagement with government, business and other institutions is also incredibly difficult.

Even the ability to express civic involvement through voting is a major challenge.

Exacerbating this situation is the fact that stigma around low literacy levels prevents many who would benefit from current programs seeking support.

However, research suggests that basic literacy training is transformative for those who access it.
Individuals who improve their literacy are likely to have better health outcomes and be more active participants in democracy17.

Furthermore, participants of the 26Ten Strategy in Tasmania reported that it improved their overall quality of life18.

Thus, the social and economic good of developing adult literacy makes it an obvious choice for further investment.
A coordinated holistic approach to addressing adult literacy In addition to some of the specific measures suggested in this submission, we concur with the Productivity Commission’s recommendation that a national LLND strategy be developed.

Rather than disparate measures addressing different aspects of literacy and different cohorts, there must be coordination and a vision for how all of these connect together.
It is also vital that digital literacy is integrated into the strategy as a key component, and that its interaction with basic literacy is considered.

There is also need to invest in the adult literacy workforce, and scale examples of best practice.

The current workforce is ageing19, and there is a decline in the availability of specialist teachers20.

Therefore, part of a new strategy must involve ways to most effectively provision a skilled training workforce.
While it is essential that job seekers have access to literacy programs, there also must be a concerted effort to reach individuals who are in the workforce or not eligible for unemployment benefits.

Currently there are gaps in these areas.

Therefore the strategy should also include an audit of current measures to see what cohorts and skills are not being adequately addressed.
Given that stigma is a key issue that prevents people from accessing existing literacy programs, it is important that individuals are empowered to seek support in an environment where they feel comfortable.
16 Institute of Project Management, 26TEN STRATEGY: The Socio‐Economic Impact of Tasmania’s Investment in Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2019 17 Hartley, R & Horne, J, Social and Economic Benefits of Improved Adult Literacy: Towards a Better Understanding, 2006 18 Institute of Project Management, 26TEN STRATEGY: The Socio‐Economic Impact of Tasmania’s Investment in Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2019 19 Medlin, J, The Australian literacy and numeracy workforce: a literature review, 2016 20 ReadingWritingHotline, “Sorry we can’t help you”: Current challenges facing Australian adult literacy, 2019 Swinburne University of Technology John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122 T +613 9214 8163 | vc@swin.edu.au swinburne.edu.au CRICOS 00111D | RTO 3059 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 33 Therefore, involving higher education, VET, adult and community education, and other providers in the strategy is essential to avoid a one‐size‐fits‐all approach.
Recommendations: 1.

In assessing the importance of adult literacy and measures to improve it, the Commonwealth should use a definition that incorporates digital literacy.

2.

The Commonwealth should consider further incentivising industry to train their staff in digital skills, through either greater tax incentives or expanded grants.

3.

The Commonwealth should further invest in developing internet infrastructure, due to associated benefits of increased digital inclusion and ability.

4.
4.

The Commonwealth should investigate ways to upskill the current adult literacy workforce to ensure they are able to provide digital literacy support to learners.

5.

The Commonwealth should view adult literacy through the prism of lifelong learning, and consider establishing a lifelong learning loan scheme or lifelong learning accounts.

6.

As recommended by the Productivity Commission, the Commonwealth should create a new LLND strategy to coordinate all efforts to improve adult literacy.

7.
7.

This strategy should explicitly incorporate digital literacy.

8.

The strategy should include an audit of current programs to identify demographic gaps.

9.

The strategy should include a plan to replenish the current adult literacy workforce with specialist trainers and scale best practice.

Conclusion Swinburne strongly believes that improving adult literacy transforms lives and provides a social and economic good.
We are also acutely aware of the rapidly increasing importance of digital literacy, and the necessity of a digitally skilled adult population for Australia’s future.

Therefore, we urge the Commonwealth to continue its investigation of adult literacy, while keeping in mind the importance of its digital aspect, and consider the above recommendations as possible steps forward.
Should your office require further information, please contact Mr. Tom Bradbury, Government Relations Manager at tbradbury@swin.edu.au.

Thank you for considering this submission, and the opportunity to participate in this vital inquiry.
Yours Sincerely Professor Pascale G. Quester Vice‐Chancellor and President Swinburne University of Technology John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122 T +613 9214 8163 | vc@swin.edu.au swinburne.edu.au CRICOS 00111D | RTO 3059 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 33