Delivery of the SEE Program 2023 submission

The Australian Government’s Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) Program supports people to enter employment and higher education by building their language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy skills (LLND). In response to the Department of Education, Skills, and Employment’s discussion paper on delivering the program in 2023, we have submitted our recommendations to boost engagement and participant outcomes.

Our submission emphasises the need to view SEE Program delivery through a holistic digital inclusion lens, especially as more SEE providers offered hybrid online-in person delivery throughout COVID. ¹

We also draw upon our experience coordinating our 3,500-strong network of community organisations to deliver tailored training and digital skills support on the ground, and the flexibility of this delivery model to account for in-language and culturally appropriate support, community trust and different levels of literacy.

In order to engage more people and improve their outcomes through the SEE Program, we recommend:

• LLND training is offered to program participants through community-based providers, who receive upskilling and funding support to deliver programs tailored to their local community’s needs.
• Contracting options are updated so that national peak bodies and non-registered training organisations can provide expert LLND services through their local member network in a multi-provider model, to reach more people and boost participation.
• Program participants are fully digitally included, which may involve intensive digital upskilling and the provision of affordable data and an appropriate device through this program.
• Digital skills training resources are produced in multilingual and Easy English formats to accommodate learners who have English as a second language, people with low English literacy levels or people with learning difficulties.
• Digital mentors are provided with professional development, resources, networking and funding support to effectively deliver quality digital skills programs tailored to their learners needs. This does not necessarily require that the mentors have formal education qualifications – particularly for mentors providing pre-training skills pathways.

^{1. Discussion Paper – Delivery of the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) Program 2023, pg. 12↩}

Download our full submission below.