Towards Flexible Skill Formation and Technological Literacy: Challenges Facing the Education System

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Abstract
This paper looks at the changes occurring in Australia's economy and industry, and the challenges these pose for the education system. The paper outlines a response to these challenges that focuses on flexible skill formation and the development of technological literacy, which are taken to constitute the preconditions required of any citizen to be active in the democratic system. The paper draws on the literature that characterizes the current upheavals in industry as the transition from one technological paradigm to another - from a paradigm based on mass production, mass consumption and fragmentation of skills, termed Fordism, to a paradigm based on flexible production patterns, geared to quality rather than quantity, and based on skill enhancement as the foundation of productive work. In sketching an educational response to this change in the techno-economic paradigm, the paper focuses on five issues: coherent career paths; links with industry; linkage; cross-accreditation and work-study arrangements; breaking down curriculum barriers; and flexible learning strategies.