Compulsory FLC instruction for occupational training imparts communication and basic maths skills. These are the basic skills that your employees need to excel in occupational training at a National Qualifications Framework Level 2 to 4. Refer to NQF Levels – What do they mean (zabursaries.co.za). Therefore, employees need to have completed workplace FLC to enrol for all new Quality Council for Trades and Occupations’ courses. Workplace FLC includes FLC Communication, FLC Literacy or FLC English and FLC Mathematics or FLC Numeracy. Refer to QCTO Home of skills assurance.
Modern careers require creativity; critical thinking; interpersonal; writing; presentation; and negotiation skills. It is no longer enough to possess technical skills to be successful in a trade. For employees to succeed, they now need to be able to craft and present a reasoned argument and seek out answers by asking the correct questions. Employees who hold an FLC Occupational Qualification can do this.
The QCTO’s courses also respond to the ever-changing skills needs of industry, which is undergoing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Developed together with the private sector, these courses will ensure that employees are equipped with relevant skills.
Employees who have attended a QCTO-accredited FLC college can fully realise the benefits of all new things of the future. These include products; ways of working; and technologies. They also exhibit high emotional intelligence, including empathy, integrity and the ability to work well with others. Moreover, they can suggest innovative solutions and ideas; solve complex problems using reasoning and logic; and evaluate arguments. Because they have a growth mindset, they can take on new challenges; learn from mistakes; and actively seek new knowledge. They have learnt how to communicate effectively with other people by saying the correct things and using the right tone of voice and body language.
Compulsory FLC for modern workplaces
Compulsory FLC training is for modern workplaces, which are increasingly relying more on “soft” skills as they undergo 4IR.
FLC Communication, FLC Literacy or FLC English and FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics teach highly sought-after “soft” skills. This also includes the ability to work well in a team environment to find challenges to problems. Employees must also be able to understand and adapt to people who have different ways of perceiving the world. This ability facilitates teamwork, while also making a company’s products and services more inclusive and successful. Importantly, employees also need foundational skills to continue learning. This enables them to be agile workers who can quickly adapt to change. They do not fear adjustment, but rather embrace and celebrate it as an opportunity to grow and innovate. Refer to Preparing tomorrow’s workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.pdf (unicef.org) for more reading on this topic.
A QCTO-accredited FLC college focuses on imparting English reading, writing and active listening skills. The skills imparted by workplace FLC training are also required to cope with occupational training at a NQF Level. Bear in mind that these courses are taught in English, the formal language of learning and teaching in the country. Therefore, employees will also be expected to write their trade test in the language.
Meanwhile, the maths skills taught at a QCTO-FLC college enable employees to use and respond to mathematical ideas and applications in an occupational learning context. They also know how to apply this knowledge at different levels of complexity.
The average length of a typical workplace FLC programme is usually four months. Some employees may be able to complete compulsory FLC training, including FLC Communication, FLC Literacy or FLC English and FLC Numeracy or FLC Literacy, sooner. However, this depends on their competence levels.
Compulsory FLC Literacy and Numeracy
Compulsory FLC Literacy, FLC Communication or FLC English and FLC Mathematics or FLC Numeracy address critical skills gaps. Employees who hold a FLC Occupational Qualification understand and can apply language and mathematical literacy concepts in the workplace. Employees can often do their jobs, but their English language levels are lower. They are also usually unable to deal with theoretical concepts in learning material and acquiring new skills and knowledge in occupational training. This, in turn, hampers career progress.
Technical or hard skills are useless without “soft” skills. Tradespeople may be able to do their jobs in the literal sense. However, they will not be able to provide the same level of service as those who can properly communicate and interact with customers. It is also important to know how to work with other employees and customers, as well as prioritise work.
Employers also value the ability to listen; collaborate with others; present ideas; and communicate with other team members. This ensures a productive, as well as healthy and safe working environment.
Customers also demand good communication. Convenience and low prices are easy to come by. However, customer service is often what influences the choice to use a particular business. Therefore, your employees need to be able to communicate efficiently and effectively with customers. Many tradespeople communicate with customers on a daily basis.
Workplace FLC provides the minimum competence required in each learning area. In this way, it supports the objectives of the NQF. This includes redress; access to meaningful learning; the achievement of qualifications; and providing a basis for lifelong learning.
Compulsory FLC Literacy
Compulsory FLC Literacy, FLC Communication or FLC English impart knowledge of the English language. This is in addition to the thinking processes required to communicate effectively in the workplace. Enrolled at a QCTO-accredited FLC college, your employees will learn the basis in the language of instruction. This includes speaking, reading and writing in the language. Therefore, holders of a FLC Occupational Qualification, will be able to deal confidently and successfully with the language of learning and teaching.
There is often confusion between the English literacy skills taught by adult basic education and training (ABET) and FLC English. There is a significant difference between an ABET Level 4 certificate and an Occupational FLC Qualification. ABET teaches your employees how to read and write. Workplace FLC shows your employees how to use their reading and writing skills to learn. At an FLC college, employees are taught how to convey meaning in a logical and orderly fashion. FLC Communication or FLC Literacy is, therefore, the next step for your employees if they want to qualify as tradespeople. They are exempted from this requirement if they have completed adult matric with English literacy as a subject.
Students of FLC Communication will learn how to extract relevant information from a text; infer meaning; make deductions; develop logical arguments; and organise thinking.
The importance of effective communication in the trades cannot be overstated. Electrical work, for example, requires an ability to identify and solve problems. Accurate information exchange between electricians in your team enables them to get the work done quickly and efficiently. Through effective communication, all team members are on the same page, working closely to achieve a project’s objectives. As effective communicators, they can clearly explain work processes, timelines and any potential disruptions with customers. Clear communication also prevents accidents and minimises risks.
Compulsory FLC Mathematics or Numeracy
Compulsory FLC Mathematics or FLC Numeracy imparts the minimum, generic mathematical literacy skills required to cope with the technical concepts presented in occupational training. Holders of a FLC Occupational Qualification have the basis for the further development of mathematical concepts that are specific to an occupation or trade. Employees who have met all the requirements of FLC Mathematics and FLC Numeracy can solve problems in real-life contexts.
This is by responding to information about mathematical ideas that are presented in a variety of ways. A FLC college teaches them how to define problems; analyse and make sense of the information provided; and plan how to solve them. Employees are then taught how to execute their plan; interpret and evaluate the results; and justify their method and solution. In solving problems, they will apply skills, such as identifying or locating relevant information; ordering; sorting; comparing; and counting. This is in addition to estimating, computing, measuring, modelling and communicating.
Machinery operators in a factory use maths all the time. They add, subtract, multiply and divide both decimals and fractions. They also know how to reduce fractions; recognise equivalent fractions; and change fractions to decimals and vice versa. Moreover, they understand plotting points on the x- and y-axes. Machines ranging from drill presses to CNC machines operate on these principles. They move based on the precise x and y, as z, a and b coordinates provided by the operator.
Maths is also used to correctly program these machines. Moreover, these workers understand trigonometry. This is so that they can calculate the sides and angles of triangles using the Pythagorean Theorem, namely a2 + b2 = c2. This is in addition to the sin and cos trigonometric functions. Trigonometric relationships determine the sizes and angles of everything from automobile parts to zigzag scissors.
Enrol employees for compulsory FLC
Enrol your employees for compulsory FLC training at a QCTO-accredited FLC college. Make sure that your college has a track record providing quality workplace FLC training. This is considering the demands on training on business. A reputable training provider will be willing to undertake workplace FLC training at your premises and at time that suits your production schedule. Also be sure that this training provider is accredited by QCTO to provide workplace FLC training that will lead to a FLC Occupational Qualification.
QCTO accreditation is valid for a period of five years from the date that the FLC college has received permission to provide workplace FLC training. This includes FLC Literacy, FLC Communication or FLC English and FLC Mathematics or FLC Numeracy. Should the FLC college not meet its obligations stipulated by QCTO or contravene them, its accreditation will be withdrawn. Refer to SKM_C65819041809220 (qcto.org.za), the QCTO’s accreditation policy.
A QCTO-accredited FLC college will also have qualified mathematics and English teachers. This enables them to teach FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics and FLC English, FLC Literacy or FLC Communication. Meanwhile, the QCTO is developing a FLC training facilitator part qualification. This will standardise the quality of workplace FLC training in the country. The development has been welcomed by industry considering that some workplace FLC training programmes have failed to deliver according to expectation. This includes a high employee pass rate.
Employees who complete compulsory FLC
Employees who complete compulsory FLC training will then undergo a summative assessment. This will determine if they possess soft skills in each learning area. If successful, employees will be awarded an Occupational FLC Qualification.
The learning areas in FLC Communication, FLC English or FLC Literacy and FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics are assessed separately. Each assessment is 2,5 hours in duration and consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. Assessments are conducted at Independent Examination Board (IEB) centres. Exemplar assessment papers for both subject areas can be downloaded from its website. Refer to https://www.ieb.co.za/pages/assessment.
Learners are enrolled for external summative assessment with the IEB by an QCTO-accredited FLC college. The IEB will upload learner results to the QCTO.
To obtain an Occupational FLC Qualification, learners need to be competent in both learning areas. They need to pass FLC English, FLC Literacy or FLC and FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics with at least 50%.
The FLC Literacy component of the assessment must include speaking and listening activities. These are tested internally and need to meet the requirements for internal programme-based assessment. Extended writing is not assessed in the external summative assessment. However, it will soon be tested via report writing, summarising, evaluating and substantiation of a particular position. Reading for meaning and processing information in different ways as minimum requirements for engaging in further learning are also measured. As part of the test, learners are required to read a variety of texts, including diagrams and graphical representations. They demonstrate understanding of the information by making sound decisions based on the data.
The FLC Mathematics or FLC Numeracy component assesses knowledge of the use of numbers to describe and make sense of situations. Reading, interpretation and use of different numbering conventions in various contexts and the way in which they work are assessed.
Compulsory FLC training provider
Triple E Training is the foremost compulsory FLC training provider.
Notably, the FLC college was the first to have its workplace FLC training accredited by the QCTO. Holders of an Occupational FLC Qualification from Triple E Training have, therefore, been primed to succeed in vocational training at an NQF Level.
The accreditation was based on the company’s many years of experience providing FLC.
Among the first providers of workplace FLC, Triple E Training immediately set the standard for the quality for this type of adult literacy and numeracy training. This includes the comprehensive training material and quality assurance procedures that the company developed specifically for compulsory FLC. This is in addition to the overall quality of instruction that learners receive from its skilled and experienced facilitators. They are more than equipped to provide FLC English, FLC Literacy or FLC Communication and FLC Numeracy and FLC Mathematics. These traits have been widely adopted throughout the training industry as the norm for workplace FLC training.
Learn more about our FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics and FLC Communication, FLC Literacy or FLC English programmes. www.eee.co.za
