Notes to Facilitator

During the lecture you should provide definitions and a brief description of the concepts ‘key competencies’ and ‘functional skills’, explaining their importance for employment and personal well-being. You should highlight the fact that there are key concepts in specific subjects/learning areas that naturally align with personal development and provide examples. For example, the subject English provides students with communication skills.

The facilitator should help in-service teachers understand that in order for their students to be effective citizens outside of the school context, functional skills teaching must be relevant and allow students to engage with real situations in the real world. ICT, wielded appropriately by the teacher, can provide a meaningful context for academic content.