FACT SHEET

1. INNOVATIVE SKILLS SHORTAGES PROJECTS
2. REGIONAL SKILLS SHORTAGES
3. TRANSITIONS AND STUDENT TO WORK ARRANGEMENTS
4. ‘ADOPT A SCHOOL’ – INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT IN LOCAL SCHOOLS
5. NEW APPRENTICES ROUNDTABLE
6. LABOUR MARKET PROJECTIONS TO SUPPORT INDUSTRY SKILLS ANALYSIS AND PLANNING
7. BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE NATIONAL INDUSTRY SKILLS INITIATIVE (NISI)
8. SCIENCE AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY CAREERS
9. REPORT OF THE SENATE INQUIRY INTO CURRENT AND FUTURE SKILLS NEEDS

1. INNOVATIVE SKILLS SHORTAGES PROJECTS

The Australian Government will pilot a range of approaches to recruiting and training new entrants in industries suffering skill shortages.

Each project will assist a different industry group to explore better, quicker and more flexible methods of skilling people in skill shortage areas.

First round pilot projects include:

Shorter duration apprenticeships

Shorter duration apprenticeships to investigate and trial shorter traditional trade apprenticeships

One of the most often cited disincentives for young and mature age potential New Apprentices is the duration of traditional apprenticeships – normally between three to four years.

Under this pilot, the Australian Government will investigate and trial shorter traditional trade apprenticeships to meet the changing needs of employers and more mature, better qualified young people entering trade training on completion of Year 12. The Government will work in partnership with the building and construction and automotive retail and repair industries to assess how the training system can accommodate flexible apprenticeships and encourage new entrants into these industries. One of the groups targeted to widen the pool of industry entrants is migrant workers.

Qualifications in Specialised Skills in high demand

Qualifications in Specialised Skills in high demand to address the increasing demand for a workforce that can be quickly trained in defined, highly sought-after skills

Today, not all skilled tradespeople need the full range of competencies in a full qualification to build a diverse and lucrative career.

Changing technology and building techniques have led to an increasing demand for a workforce that can be quickly trained in defined, highly sought-after skills, rather than a broad, traditional qualification encompassing skills which may have limited use in the modern workplace.

Many industries have called for specialised qualifications below the full-trade level.

With the help of the Australian Government the housing industry will develop a pilot project for specialised training programmes which meet the demands of this industry for concentrated, specialised skills.

Targeting new entrants to the skilled workforce

Targeting new entrants to the skilled workforce by attracting people who are looking for a career change, migrant workers with relevant overseas qualifications and Indigenous people into trade occupations

Through the 11 National Industry Skills Initiative (NISI) projects funded by the Australian Government, Australian industries have identified the need to attract new entrants into training. The usual pool of talent, being school leavers, is finite, and today, there are not enough young Australians going into trades to meet the requirements of industry. While this is one of the natural consequences of a strong economy, steps need to be taken to attract new pools of talent into the traditional trades.

Attracting people from different areas into trade occupations will be considered in the projects on shorter apprenticeships and specialised skills. These groups will include mature age workers who want to upgrade their skills or who are looking for a career change, migrant workers with relevant overseas qualifications and Indigenous people. For example, migrant workers who have automotive or similar qualifications from overseas, will need a shortened apprenticeship with ‘top up’ skills training only, to be able to fully participate as a qualified tradesperson in the automotive industry.

top

2. REGIONAL SKILLS SHORTAGES

The Australian Government will work with regional stakeholders such as industry, education providers and the broader community to profile existing and potential industries in a region, identify common factors and solutions to skills issues, engage relevant national, state and local industry and training bodies, identify skills and training needs, and pilot practical strategies that could be used in other regions.

Since 1999, the Australian Government has approached skill shortages on an industry by industry basis.

Over the last five years, we have assisted the Electrotechnology, Engineering, Retail Motor, Food Trades, Rural, Building & Construction, Emerging Technologies, Retail, Road Freight Transport, Aerospace and Marine Manufacturing industries to analyse skill needs, and identify and implement actions to attract new entrants into each industry.

But today, skills shortages are not just felt on an industry by industry basis. Today, skill shortages occur on a region by region basis. This happens in some areas where a new industry comes into town, such as the Alice to Darwin railway from 2002 to 2004, or where an existing industry closes down, and new industries, such as tourism or business services, spring up where old industries existed and their skills are no longer in demand.

Under the National Skills Shortages Strategy, the Australian Government will undertake regional skills pilots to identify and develop practical strategies to address a region’s current and future skills.

In each pilot, the Australian Government will work with regional stakeholders such as industry, education providers and the broader community to:

• profile existing and potential industries in a region;

• identify common factors and solutions to skills issues;

• engage relevant national, state and local industry and training bodies;

• identify skills and training needs; and

• pilot practical strategies that could be used in other regions.

It is expected that each pilot will require a coordinated approach which may involve State and Territory and local agencies, local government, group training organisations, local community partnerships, the Australian National Training Authority, the Department of Transport and Regional Services, Area Consultative Committees, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Job Network and the Department of Family and Community Services and their funded community organisations.

As a pilot, the Australian Government will work with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to tackle skill shortages in the Townsville region which has a diverse and rapidly expanding industry base – creating severe skills shortages. The regional pilot would identify areas of skill needs and forge partnerships between government, industry and the training sector to address these needs.

The Townsville region is a major centre for manufacturing industries such as metals processing, aviation and aerospace, marine, engineering and textiles and clothing. In addition, the region is a hub for transport, communications and community services.

Townsville is now suffering from acute skills shortages in the traditional trades and related occupations following a boom in the local building and construction sector. The boom has been driven by the housing construction sector and construction work associated with major projects such as Queensland Nickels’ plan to upgrade their Townsville operation with a $400 million project linked to the further processing of mine products.

top

3. TRANSITIONS AND STUDENT TO WORK ARRANGEMENTS

Young people need assistance to make successful transitions from school to work or from school to further study. They need sound advice from professional careers advisers, and need to balance their skills, interests and potential with a range of expectations and pressures from parents, peers and friends.

Today, our society tells young Australians, in all kinds of ways, that success is a university degree, a mobile phone, a fancy car, and all the material trappings of life.

Today, we don’t tell our children often enough – success is finding what you are good at in life, and giving it your best.

The Australian Government supports young people in making career decisions through a network of 220 local community partnerships, bringing together schools, universities, TAFEs, local government, industry and government services to assist students in trying different occupations through structured workplace learning, and navigating their way from school to beyond.

Through the Jobs Pathways Programme, the Australian Government aims to assist up to 70,000 young Australians a year through the provision of personalised services and support to help them through schooling and to help prepare them for the transition to further education, training or work. Assistance may include, but is not limited to, transition planning including help with curriculum choice, development of resumes, job search preparation, and information about the local labour market.

Over the next 12 months the Australian Government will work with career practitioners to develop professional standards and a national accreditation scheme for all careers advisers, including those providing vital assistance to young Australians in schools.

The Howard Government will develop a professional development package for careers advisers comprising a resource manual for careers advisers containing information, advice and practical tools, an on-line professional development programme for careers advisers who seek to develop their skills, and a course elective for careers education to be offered as part of a Bachelor of Education.

Through the National Skills Shortages Strategy, the Australian Government will also be directly supporting the provision of quality careers information in the retail automotive and building and construction industries, building on the work done under the National Industry Skills Initiative (NISI).

top

Today, industries visit schools on an ad hoc basis. They may make an appearance at careers days or visit school assemblies or attend other meetings. Some may participate in vocational education in schools, on a formal, or informal basis.

The Australian Government will promote and encourage local industries to ‘adopt their local school’ improving awareness of training opportunities and inviting students to undertake VET through their senior secondary school years and beyond.

Industries that ‘Adopt a School’ will increase:

• students’ awareness of career paths, qualifications and New Apprenticeships opportunities in their industry;

• the uptake of vocational education and training in their industry in secondary schools and beyond; and

• effective communication between secondary schools, their students and industry.

The initiative will assist senior secondary students, careers advisers, teachers, trainers and industry by providing valuable information on VET and New Apprenticeships opportunities.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Australian Industry Group will work closely with their members to strengthen their links with local schools, particularly through the Local Community Partnerships programme.

top

Anyone interested in being involved in the New Apprentices Roundtable should contact us at nsss@dest.gov.au. 

Our best information on why young Australians are interested in or reluctant to consider traditional trades and other industries suffering skill shortage comes from young people themselves.

We know some young people think that trades may be dirty, dangerous and difficult. But in reality, young Australians who take up trades enjoy strong prospects of lucrative, long term, challenging, and rewarding careers.

This year, the Australian Government will host a roundtable discussion between New Apprentices and the Minister for Education, Science and Training.

This will be the first formal event of its kind giving political and policy decision makers the opportunity to hear directly from those participating in the training system and to provide an ideal opportunity for New Apprentices to tell the Government what attracts them to New Apprenticeships in skill shortage areas.

Around 20 New Apprentices will be invited to participate in the New Apprentices Roundtable drawn primarily from industries identified as experiencing skills shortages.

The roundtable will include New Apprentices from all States and Territories, metropolitan, regional and rural areas and Indigenous and culturally diverse backgrounds.

The roundtable will meet bi-annually. Once with policy advisers, and once with the Minister for Education, Science and Training.

Participants will be encouraged to consult with other New Apprentices on issues relating to career decision making, the experience of New Apprentices, on-the-job and off-the-job training, and managing their developing careers to develop a comprehensive picture of the views and attitudes of New Apprentices.

Anyone interested in being involved in the New Apprentices Roundtable should contact us at nsss@dest.gov.au. 

top

Since the late 1990s industry has expressed frustration at the lack of readily accessible, industry specific, forward looking labour market and skills data.

Lack of ready access to this information has impeded effective industry planning and the implementation of strategies to address skills shortages.

The Australian Government will improve the quality of national labour market and skills information.

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) produces a range of quality, existing data resources that will contribute to this national, co-ordinated data package. These include:

• the Job Outlook report with detail on the trends and characteristics of 400 occupations; and

• the Skills Shortages List with detail on jobs supply and demand by state, territory and region.

Job Outlook and the Skills Shortages Lists can be found under the employment section of DEWR’s Australian Workplace Portal at http://www.workplace.gov.au/Workplace/WPHome.

A national taskforce will be established to better inform labour market and supply projections for Vocational Education and Training (VET) occupations.

A national taskforce will be established to better inform labour market and skills supply projections for Vocational Education and Training occupations. Representatives from the Departments of Employment and Workplace Relations and Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian National Training Authority, and the National Centre for Vocational Education and Training Research will be invited to participate in the taskforce. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Industry Group and the National Farmers’ Federation will be invited to provide industry advice.

top

7. BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE NATIONAL INDUSTRY SKILLS INITIATIVE (NISI)

The National Skills Shortages Strategy will build on the strengths of the National Industry Skills Initiative – furthering a number of key recommendations arising from the engineering, energy, retail, building and construction, hospitality, automotive, rural and road freight projects.

National Industry Skills Initiative (NISI)

Since late 1999, through NISI, the Australian Government together with industry has spent more than $11 million assisting 11 industry sectors to investigate current and future skills needs.

The well-recognised success of this initiative has proven the benefits of an industry Government partnership to address skills needs and the importance of industry taking a leadership role in developing strategies to address them.

The Action Plans deriving from the activities of the Working Groups established for each industry articulate strategies which enable industry to shape recruitment, skills recognition and training to address existing and projected skills needs.

National Skills Shortages Strategy (NSSS)

The National Skills Shortages Strategy will build on the strengths of the National Industry Skills Initiative – furthering a number of key recommendations arising from the engineering, energy, retail, building and construction, hospitality, automotive, rural and road freight projects.

• Engineering: The Australian Government will work with the AiGroup to update and promote the ZOOM Careers materials promoting careers in engineering (see www.zoom.aigroup.asn.au). The Australian Government will assist AiGroup to raise awareness among teachers and careers advisers of the lucrative, high-tech and interesting careers available in today’s modern engineering industry.

• EE-Oz Training Standards for the energy/utilities industry: will assist workforce participation and development in the energy and utilities sectors through a comprehensive analysis and recommendations for action on worker and industry skill needs, areas of skill shortage, overcoming barriers to skills acquisition and other solutions to meeting skills needs.

• Building and construction: is set to undertake two major activities - market apprenticeships as partnerships between employers, schools and the training system to address the skills needs of young industry entrants and, secondly, investigate and respond to the skills needs and training capacity of small employers, including sub-contractors.

• The automotive retail sector: will widely distribute careers information on the quality, high tech work now available in this industry, to secondary schools nationally. Work completed under NISI included the development of a careers website - www.autocareers.com.au.

• Road Freight will form a Task Force coordinated by Transport and Distribution Training Australia under the National Skills Shortage Strategy that will implement the Action Plan for the industry developed under NISI.

• Retail: a widely representative industry Task Force will oversee a number of innovative retail industry projects, including a recruitment package to assist employers to attract and retain career retail employees and will present more diverse models and strategies for addressing skills shortages.

• Food and hospitality: will build on the work of the NISI Task Force on Commercial Cookery by adopting a whole of industry approach to address the skills needs of all the major occupation groups employed in the accommodation, cafes and restaurants industry, including ‘front and back of house’.

top

8. SCIENCE AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY CAREERS

Australia’s science and emerging technology industries are growing quickly, and have strong demand for skills in innovative, science-related, leading edge activity.

Australia’s industries need people trained in science with good technical skills as well as with higher-level and research qualifications.

Skill shortages don’t occur only in traditional trades.

Skill shortages occur in any growing industry, where demand for skills outstrips supply.

Today, Australia’s science and emerging technology industries are growing quickly, and have strong demand for skills in innovative, science-related, leading edge activity.

Australia’s industries need people trained in science with good technical skills as well as with higher-level and research qualifications.

In 2002, 8,500 people trained in science-based VET qualifications. There were 300,000 subject enrolments in science-related subjects. 

In January this year, the Australian Government introduced a special additional incentive for innovation industries. The amount of $1,210 is paid as a special incentive to employers taking on a New Apprentice in an identified innovation training qualification such as Aeroskills, Electrotechnology, Information Technology, Process Manufacturing and Telecommunications at the Certificate III/IV level.

Science Project

The Australian Government is now working on the development of a project to promote the diverse range of science-related career options which are accessible through VET.

It is proposed that under this project, the Howard Government will develop careers materials, a web site, and an education strategy which could be implemented through industry-based science careers liaison officers promoting a range of information products through schools, career expos, industry and trade fairs.

Emerging Technology Project

Through the National Industry Skills Initiative the Australian Government has worked with industry to produce a number of objectives and strategies aimed at addressing the skills development issues associated with the implementation of new and emerging technologies.

This project focused in particular on Photonics and Nanotechnology areas. However, it aimed to provide guidance on new and emerging technologies in general.

An industry-led Task Force will be established to conduct research and analysis to identify and document the skills needs of industries using new and emerging technologies and identify the extent to which existing mechanisms anticipate, forecast and address skills needs.

Research will also be undertaken to identify the skills and competencies necessary for employees to work with new technologies. The establishment of focus groups will help industry stakeholders identify and endorse the skills needed to work with emerging technologies, including the mapping of potential career paths.

The project will ensure that skills and competencies required to work with emerging technologies are identified and included in existing National Training Packages.

top

9. REPORT OF THE SENATE INQUIRY INTO CURRENT AND FUTURE SKILLS NEEDS

In November 2003, the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education References Committee released a report, Bridging the skills divide after a 12-month examination of Australia’s skill needs and training system.

The report contained constructive suggestions for improvements to the existing training framework. There was also strong support for the Australian Government’s current policy directions
and initiatives.

Among its 52 recommendations, the report called for:

• improved labour market and skills needs forecasting;

• responsiveness of the national Training Packages to industry and individual learners’ needs, including generic employment skills;

• greater use of group training arrangements;

• consideration of regional skills needs;

• action on careers services; and

• the investigation of innovative and effective models for the local delivery of vocational education by both public and private providers.

The report is available online at www.aph.gov.au.

To address many of the recommendations of the Senate Report, the Australian Government has a range of initiatives in place including:

• the National Industry Skills Initiative;

• the targeting of New Apprenticeships incentives rewarding high-skill intensive training;

• the continuing focus of Training Packages on quality training and skills, and flexibilities to meet changing industry skills needs; and

• intensive work to support students’ transition from school to work and further training or education.

The National Skills Shortages Strategy will further implement the recommendations of the report, working in partnership with industry, education providers and the broader community.

top