How did communication skills become so important for the workplace?
In the past, training focused more on the technical aspects of a job. If trainers thought about reading and writing, it was probably only as a problem that literacy teachers dealt with. Numeracy and interpersonal skills were the more hidden aspects of work and training. In 1995, the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers for Vocational Education and Training decided that English language, literacy and numeracy competencies must be incorporated into industry competency standards. This meant that industry had to re-write competency standards, which led to a big change in the way communication skills are viewed. As a result, terms like ‘workplace communication skills’ began to creep into the language of training. People now recognise that you can’t separate communication skills from technical skills. Every workplace has a communication system, and people have to work co-operatively, be able to follow instructions, read signs, talk to customers, take messages, maintain safety standard
