Tracking your experience to equip you for the future
The Australian National Committee for Archaeology Teaching and Learning (ANCATL) is proud to launch the first iteration of the Australian Archaeology Skills Passport. In the same way that a passport shows where you have been on your travels, so too does a skills passport; it provides a record of your journey through your archaeological training. It also offers advice on the next steps in your professional journey.
Based on the highly successful UK model developed by David Connolly, the AAA approach has been broad-scale, integrative and discipline wide. Informed by the continuing skills gaps identified in ANCATL’s Profiling the Profession surveys, the passport provides greater transparency to trainers, students and employers on what practical skills are needed within the discipline and when and how these are to be provisioned.
‘It was with the greatest pleasure I responded to the initial discussions about using the BAJR Skills Passport as a template for this new Australian version. It exceeds what I had hoped to achieve with my version due to the remarkable collaborations and talents of institutions and individuals who brought it together into the document you see today. I am rightly proud to acknowledge this Australian skills passport as a landmark document and hope all that use it in the future will reap the huge benefits it provides.’
-David Connolly BAJR
The passport will be available in both hard copy and open access digital form. Digital skills sheets will be housed online with the Australian Archaeology Association, providing guidance on how a candidate is to be assessed for each skill within the three tiers of experience: that a skill can be completed under full supervision, moderate supervision, or no supervision.
The Skills Passport will be officially launched at the December 2019 Australian Archaeology Conference in Surfers Paradise.
For Students and Practitioners:
- Provides students with a clear guide as to what is expected of them as a professional archaeologist.
- Directly linked to the national benchmarks for archaeology honours degrees.
- Emphasises critical skills shortages within the sector that professionals can target for professional development.
For Aboriginal Site Officers and Rangers
- Recognition of the importance and value of practical experience and knowledge.
- Encourages the equal weighting of experience gained during life and study.
- Supports alternate entry methods into the discipline.
- Can be used to support applications for further employment in the sector.
For The Public
- Can be used in primary and secondary school contexts.
- The open access format can contribute to curriculum focussing on Australian archaeology, the First Australians and contemporary Australian culture.
- The passport can contribute to promoting greater understanding and appreciation of the longevity and complexity of Australian culture.
https://australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/skillspassport/