MARCH 2014 EDITION

• WHAT'S HAPPENING
• TRAINING PACKAGES NEWS
• FACES OF EXCELLENCE
• UPCOMING EVENTS
• RESOURCES
• USEFUL LINKS
• CONTRIBUTIONS

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Improving the vocational education and training (VET) system so that it better meets the needs of students and industry is critical to creating the skilled and flexible future workforce that Australia needs. The Minister for Industry, the Hon Ian Macfarlane MP, has established a VET Reform Taskforce within the Department of Industry to listen to the views of industry, employers, training providers, VET service providers and students on the strengths and weaknesses of the training system and ideas for reform.

The Department of Industry will be hosting national workshops in capital cities throughout March 2014. The purpose of the workshops is to discuss the current VET system and to listen to ideas for potential future reform.

These workshops are part of an initial consultation phase that commenced in January 2014 when Minister Macfarlane convened an industry skills roundtable with peak industry representatives to talk about VET issues. Following the roundtable, the Taskforce convened the first round of the national workshops in Canberra. A summary of the key issues raised at those workshops will soon be available on the VET Reform website.

The department is also setting up a VET Reform LinkedIn group over the coming weeks for additional VET reform discussions. Information on how to register for the workshops or join the LinkedIn discussion will be provided on the VET Reform website.

The Australian Training Awards are the peak, national awards for the vocational education and training (VET) sector, recognising individuals, businesses and registered training organisations for their contribution to skilling Australia.

Applicants may have the opportunity to reach the national stage in November this year and gain Australia-wide recognition for their work.

There are 18 awards, including seven ‘direct-entry’ awards:

Individual
National Leadership Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice Award

Business
Disability Training Initiative Award
Australian Apprenticeships – Employer Award

Registered training organisation
School Pathways to VET Award
International Training Provider of the Year Award*.

Applications for the above direct entry categories close on Friday 30 May 2013. For more information on all awards to be presented at the 2014 Australian Training Awards, visit www.australiantrainingawards.gov.au or phone 13 38 73.

A short video discussing the Awards process, as well as interviews with some 2013 winners, is now available on You Tube.

* Applications for this award is made directly to the Australian Training Awards in all states except Western Australia where applications must be made to the WA Training Awards.

This year’s Australian Training Awards will be held in Adelaide on 21 November 2014. For regular updates about the Australian Training Awards, please follow the Australian Training Awards on Twitter @AusTrainAwards.

Back 2 Basics has been revised and will be progressively published as a series of fact sheets as follows:

Introduction

System Basics
• The national VET system
• Training packages
• The Australian Qualifications Framework
• The Australian Quality Training Framework
• The National Skills Standards Council
• Industry Skills Councils
• National coding system for training packages
• Australian Apprenticeships
• VET in Schools
• Rewards and recognition

Delivery Basics
• Implementation and use of training packages
• Contextualisation and packaging of training packages
• Skill sets
• Assessment and moderation
• Foundation skills
• Flexible learning
• Reasonable adjustment
• Training and assessment resources and support materials
• Financial assistance

Basics Help
• Key resources
• Key contacts
• Glossary

Please advise us of any topics you are seeking information on that are not listed above and we will develop a fact sheet that can be added to this resource.

Edition 5 of Back 2 Basics will be available for download and printing through the Department of Industry's website.

The MSS11 Sustainability training package was released in 2011, bringing together and capturing critical learning that would be invaluable to industry to ensure a viable and sustainable future for all Australian businesses. MSS11 has three distinct pathways which allows learners and businesses to work together to identify the most suitable outcome:

• Competitive systems and practices
• Sustainable operations
• Environmental monitoring and technology.

Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) is now looking for feedback from individuals who have taken up any of these qualifications, or from businesses who have implemented these programs. This feedback will assist in improving the qualifications and give clarity to industry's understanding of available opportunities. MSA will be grateful if you please take a few moments to complete a short online survey.

If you would like more information about the survey, please email MSA’s Workforce Development Coordinator, Gary Dunshea, or call him on 02 9955 5500.

Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) and the International Specialised Skills Institute (ISS Institute) are offering one International Innovation Fellowship to the value of $12 500.

The Fellowship award will provide an opportunity to gather international intelligence on skills and technologies not available in Australia - ones that will benefit the Australian manufacturing industry and support workforce skills improvement and development.

The successful applicant will spend three to four weeks involved in a study program and/or visits to industry and/or educational training institutions outside Australia. The recipient of the Fellowship must complete his/her travel by December 2014.

The Fellowship is open to people involved in any sector covered by MSA, including:

• competitive systems and practices
• aerospace
• chemicals, hydrocarbons and refining
• furnishing
• laboratory operations
• manufactured mineral products
• metal, engineering and boating
• plastics, rubber and cablemaking
• recreational vehicles
• sustainability
• textiles, clothing and footwear.

Applications for the Fellowship close on Monday 24 March 2014.

Please send your application directly to the ISS Institute. You can access the application form and more information about the award via MSA’s website.

For further information please email the ISS Institute or phone 03 9347 4583.

The Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships (AAT) Information Service publishes a ‘Pre-apprenticeships Course Finder’ (PCF) allowing course providers to upload pre-apprenticeship type courses to an online database. This allows people to search for courses by location and broad industry groups.

The PCF now has a new menu item, ‘Courses by State and Territory’. This quickly identifies where courses have been listed by providers across states and territories. From that information people can click through to view the details of a course including the key contact information.

The resource receives approximately 5000 visits per month, mainly from jobseekers, students and their support service providers, so it is a good promotional avenue for course providers to reach this audience.

Go to either www.aapathways.com.au/pcf or www.aatinfo.com.au/pcf to view the resource.

Course providers are encouraged to upload relevant pre-apprenticeship course information to this free service. This can be done by registering an online account. Providers can click on ‘Login or Register’ at the bottom of any page of the websites, or call the AAT Information Service on 1800 338 022 for more information and assistance.

The new Local Government Careers website was developed and has been launched by Government Skills Australia (GSA) in direct response to local government stakeholder requests to:

• promote the diversity of roles in local government
• increase the uptake of the suite of LGA04 qualifications
• encourage new entrants to the sector or up-skill those within the sector
• assist RTOs and HR / learning development practitioners to meet the training needs of the sector
• demonstrate the variety of career pathway opportunities within the sector.

The website is an interactive career search tool with the following uses:

Promotion of the local government sector
In addition to a variety of job role search options, the printable career poster can be used to demonstrate the diversity of job roles and career options to school leavers, university graduates, mature age workers and those working in the sector.

A professional development tool for HR / learning development practitioners in local government
VET sector training options are aligned to job roles and links to the contents of qualifications and training providers available to deliver them are provided.

A professional development tool for RTOs and trainers
By linking job roles to VET qualifications, RTOs and trainers can improve their understanding of local government training needs and the qualifications required by their workforces.

You can access the website by visiting www.localgovernmentcareers.com.au.

Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA) invites you to join the newly released online VET Capability Communities. Four communities have been developed to align with the four domains of the VET Capability Framework. The online communities provide practical content, blogs and discussions relevant to VET practitioners. The aim is to create a professional, informed environment that supports quality practice and elevates the status of VET professionals and RTOs.

You can find more information on the VET Capability Communities on IBSA's website.

The Service Skills Australia (SSA) Excellence Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding contribution made by individuals and organisations in the training and development of the service industries. The awards recognise individual trainers, registered training organisations and employers across Australia which are setting the benchmark in the delivery of quality skills training and workplace learning.

The Trainer Excellence Award recognises individual trainers and assessors who strive for excellence, best practice and innovation in the delivery of nationally recognised training that meets the needs of the service industries. SSA would like to congratulate the following finalists:

• Penny Curnow, Response Learning
• Emma Kummsing, Woolworths Ltd
• Mark McCrum, Ocean Recreation Careers Australia
• Reyna Mendes, Barringtons Training Services
• Garry Stokes, Evolution Hospitality Institute.

The Industry Collaboration/Partnership Award recognises businesses and registered training organisations that have formed innovative partnerships to develop programs and strategies that meet the needs of the service industries. SSA would like to congratulate the following finalists:

• Australian Liquor Stores Association and Austrain Academy
• Clubs NSW and Barringtons Training Services
• Flying Fish & Pilu at Freshwater and TAFE Illawarra
• Indigenous Land Corporation and William Angliss Institute
• Tasmanian Hospitality Association and Franklyn Scholar.

The awards were presented at the SSA awards dinner on Monday 3 March at Sydney’s Sheraton on the Park in conjunction with the SSA 2014 Conference. The winners will be announced in the April edition of Skills@Work.

Do you know someone who is weighing up their career options?

Tell them to check out the fantastic personal stories of more than 120 Australian Apprenticeships Ambassadors who have found career and personal success through completing an Australian Apprenticeship.

To learn about the amazing opportunities an Australian Apprenticeship can provide, like Australian Apprenticeships Ambassadors on Facebook and follow @AusApprentice on Twitter. You might even see some well-known faces!

Have your say in the re-design of the CPC08 Construction, Plumbing and Services training package and the CPP07 Property Services training package

The Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC) is contacting all stakeholders in its national database.

As you may be aware, all training packages must undergo a major re-design to meet the new standards for training packages, introduced in late 2012. More information on the re-design program is available on CPSISC's website, while information on the new standards can be found on NATESE’s website.

CPSISC urges you to become involved in the re-design work for its training packages. It is in your interest to make sure you have a voice in this major review, and also to stay informed so that you can decide how the re-design may impact on your industry sector.

Feedback and comments can be provided through the Members area of CPSISC’s website. If you are not already a member, you can sign up. Existing members can update their details, if required. You will need to type in your username and password.

After logging in, you will be asked a few simple questions about the sectors that you are most interested in and then asked to provide your contact details.

CPSISC encourages you to pass this information onto other relevant stakeholders within your own networks.

If you require any further information, please email CPSISC.

MEA Aeroskills training package

Consultation drafts of new and updated MEA units and qualifications are now available for feedback. More information is available on MSA’s website.

MSA07 Manufacturing training package, release 8.3

MSA’s water jetting units have been updated to comply with new the Australian Standard, and have been uploaded to training.gov.au.

Correction

In the February edition of Skills@Work the training packages update for MEM05vII noted that there was a new Certificate III in Engineering Pathways. This was incorrect. The qualification is a Certificate II in Engineering Pathways. We apologise for any confusion this caused.

The scope of the Fitness and Community Recreation projects has now been approved and first drafts of the revised qualifications and units are being written.

Consultation workshops will take place around the country across March and April 2014. If you are passionate about the fitness or community recreation industry skills and qualifications, Service Skills Australia (SSA) encourages you to be part of this process!

Please visit SSA’s website to register interest in the Fitness Consultation workshop and or the Community Recreation Consultation workshop.

For more information about the development of the SIS10 Sport, fitness and recreation training package and the projects currently being undertaken, please visit SSA's project page.

TAE10 training package - Embedding new requirements. This is your last chance to have a say!

Visit IBSA's website to be kept up to date about when draft materials for the reviewed TAE Training and Education training package will be available for public feedback. This will be your last opportunity to have your say about the changes being made to this training package, including the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Building Strong Foundations - online information and advice to support users of the FSK Foundation Skills training package

Building Strong Foundations is designed to help assessors, trainers, registered training organisations (RTOs) and enterprises to use the FSK Foundation Skills training package to support effective vocational education and training. It includes implementation advice, examples and a series of videos to help VET practitioners build their ability to address foundation skills within vocational programs. IBSA’s Building Strong Foundations website has recently been updated to include eight new videos, updated content and additional resource information.

New NBN qualifications and units now available from training.gov.au

IBSA is pleased to announce ICT10 Integrated Telecommunications v3.0 was endorsed by the National Skills Standards Council in December 2013 and is now available for download from training.gov.au. This update included new NBN related qualifications and units, as well as other continuous improvement work. Please visit IBSA’s telecommunications website for more information.

New learning and assessment materials to support the delivery of TAELLN411

The unit TAELLN411 Address adult language, literacy and numeracy skills is destined to become a core unit in the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment in 2014. Please visit IBSA’s TAE website for more information.

To support delivery and assessment of this unit, IBSA has developed a suite of resources including a participant workbook (spiral-bound or hole-punched) and a facilitator and assessor guide (available on CD). e-Learning resources for this unit are currently being developed. You can purchase these products and view samples at IBSA’s online store.

Did you know?

IBSA has over 200 entertaining and interactive e-Learning modules, workbooks and facilitator / assessor resources to support the BSB07 Business Services and TAE10 Training and Education training packages!

For a full list of available units, visit IBSA’s online store or product catalogue.

If you wish to purchase in bulk, please send an email or call 03 9815 7000 and speak with an IBSA Account Manager.

Dates announced for the CHC08 and HLT07 training package reviews

Consultation on the draft two components of the CHC08 Community Services and HLT07 Health training packages will begin on Monday 10 March 2014.

The next wave of sectors to be included in the review will include:

• aged care
• disability
• home and community support
• mental health
• alcohol and other drugs
• allied health assistance
• selected technicians and health support
• dental assisting
• complementary and alternative health
• selected community sector development
• community sector coordination
• general community services
• selected cross sector units.

Consultation will run for eight weeks, closing 9 May 2014. Stay tuned for more details, which will be available on CSHISC's website.

Process plant operator: Joshua Antunovich
Certificate III in Process Plant Operations

With a keen interest in the oil and gas industry, Joshua Antunovich embarked on a two-year traineeship in Process Plant Operations as a mature-age student.

Having previously worked in the air-conditioning and refrigeration trade, the change in career enabled Joshua to earn a wage whilst completing a qualification in a highly sought-after industry.

“An Australian Apprenticeship provides endless opportunities and a chance to gain world class skills that will provide a future for the country and individual,” Joshua said.

“The current skills shortage that Australia is facing almost guarantees a bright and stable future for the motivated student.”

Joshua’s traineeship has enabled him to develop confidence in his capabilities while providing a foot in the door to the lucrative oil and gas industry.

While most of the training was carried out onsite with host employer Woodside, Joshua also completed units at Challenger Institute of Technology’s Australian Centre for Energy and Process Training campus at Henderson, allowing him to gain valuable theoretical and practical experience.

“The training was a great mix of theory and hands-on experience and I had the opportunity to work with competent operators who helped me to develop my skill-set,” he said.

“In addition, I had the chance to showcase those skills to my future potential employer, Woodside.”

The 30-year-old has earned multiple awards including Group Training Western Australia Trainee of the Year, Group Training Australia Trainee of the Year and runner-up in the Australian Apprentice (Trainee) of the Year at the 2013 Australian Training Awards.

Joshua plans to develop his skills by completing his Certificate IV and Diploma in Process Plant Operations, followed by a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment in order to mentor and teach upcoming trainees in his field.

Electrician: Sarah Jayne Flatters
Certificate III in Electrotechnology

Sarah Jayne Flatters hopes her experience as an electrical apprentice will inspire other females to pick up the tools.

Sarah Jayne started her Australian Apprenticeship at 21, having previously studied at university, worked as an occupational health and safety officer and volunteered in South America.

She says she was shocked to discover the average starting age for Australian Apprentice electricians was mid-20s.

“More people my age are realising the advantages of doing a trade, particularly in Australia,” Sarah Jayne said.

“I found that getting respect for completing my apprenticeship as a woman was outstanding.”

The Perth-based electrician was employed by EGT and hosted by four different companies during her Australian Apprenticeship, which she completed in October 2013.

She is now employed with one of her host employers, Programmed Electrical Technologies, and recently took part in Group Training Australia’s Today’s Skills: Tomorrow’s Leaders program. This experience led to Sarah Jayne to be invited to join the Australian Apprenticeships Ambassadors program which she was delighted to accept.

The 25-year-old has also launched a non-profit organisation, TradeUP Australia, which encourages women to see the trades as a viable career option.

“My interest in mentoring and leadership has helped me be a successful apprentice and opened up many opportunities,” she said.

“I want to keep building on my knowledge and moving up through the industry to prove to myself and everyone around me that starting at the bottom and working your way up is possible.

“I am passionate about getting more women in Western Australia into the trades, so they can take advantage of the endless opportunities that an apprenticeship provides.”

13 March 2014, Canberra

The TaTE branch of the ACT Education and Training Directorate holds quarterly stakeholder forums to provide an opportunity for TaTE stakeholders to engage with the Directorate on current and future VET activities and related matters in the ACT.

The forums are free and all stakeholders are invited to attend. Registrations for the forums will be available closer to each date. The first forum of the year will be held 13 March 2014. An email notification will be sent out to the TaTE Consultation email distribution list notifying stakeholders of the agenda, when and how they can register to attend. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, simply email your request to tateconsultation@act.gov.au.

17 March 2014, Perth
18 March 2014, Adelaide

• Are you an RTO in the construction or property services industry, interested in learning about how e-learning can support your delivery and assessment practices?
• Are you overloaded with information about e-learning technologies and need information about where to start?
• Are you worried about compliance issues such as authenticity?
• Do you need guidance or want to work with a group of RTOs to share e-learning experiences?

The Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC) is holding two further RTO e-learning professional development workshops to demonstrate the latest products and techniques available within the VET sector. These workshops finalise the series held during October/November 2013.

Perth      17 March 2014, 9.00 am – 3.00 pm
Adelaide 18 March 2014, 9.30 am – 4.00 pm

The workshops will provide interactive forums to demonstrate and discuss the latest technologies being used for e-learning in the implementation of CPSISC’s training packages. Other initiatives which will be showcased at the workshop include:

• Learning objects which can be uploaded into various technologies and platforms
• Smart phone applications in key areas such as recognition of prior learning (RPL)
• Learning management systems – case studies which highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of popular platforms such as Moodle
• Ways to ensure authenticity using quizzes and other e-learning methods.

For more information, please email Danielle Calcutt at CPSISC.

19 March 2014, online

If you missed Manufacturing Skills Australia’s (MSA) first webinar on 19 February, don’t worry! Chris Parish, MSA’s Workforce Development Coordinator, and Stephanie Miler, NWDF Administration Officer, will be conducting a second FREE NWDF webinar for small to medium manufacturing enterprises on 19 March 2014.

To register, visit MSA’s website. Further information about free NWDF webinars is available from Chris or Stephanie by calling 02 9955 5500.

24 March 2014, Hong Kong

Service Skills Australia (SSA) represents Australia as one of the five countries who benchmark educational qualifications and industry standards through the International Professional Standards Network (IPSN) to improve the industry recognition and mobility of skills based occupations worldwide.

On 24 March 2014, the IPSN is hosting a one day conference in Hong Kong. The conference theme, ‘Skills Benchmarking – Benefits and Value’, will focus on global labour mobility, international trends in the hairdressing and beauty industries and the latest in education and training.

International speakers include:

• Robert Fearnside, Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, Hong Kong
• Dr Ivor Blumenthal, Ark Consulting South Africa
• Maureen Houssin-Mustafa, Australasian College, Australia
• Sylvie Mong, La Prairie, Switzerland.

You can download the flyer for the conference program from SSA’s website.

For more information or to register, please email Karen Banks or Lina Robinson at SSA.

3 April 2014, Melbourne

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) is hosting a national research forum on social inclusion, which will showcase work from across three consortia research programs.

The forum, Realising our potential: widening participation through education and training, will be held on Thursday 3 April 2014 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The program will focus on three projects:

• Promoting social inclusion for disadvantaged groups through education and training
• The role of training in social inclusion: geographic and regional aspects
• Social and economic outcomes for apprentices and trainees with disability.

Further information is available at NCVER's website.

29 April 2014, Brisbane
5 May 2014, Melbourne
12 May 2014, Sydney

Velg Training’s 2014 VET Summit dates have been released for registration, along with a new program format targeted at RTO staff that will allow for more in-depth content and interaction.

Events will consist of two streams, one for trainers and assessors and the other dedicated to RTO managers. Attendees will be given the opportunity to choose between two registration options, which both include a combined keynote session:

Option 1: a stream only registration allowing participants access to one stream of their choice, either trainer and assessor or RTO manager

Option 2: a combined registration allowing movement between streams, which will include video recordings for every single session (over the two streams) following the event, sent electronically.

Presenters at the 2014 VET Summit will include:

• Laurie Kelly, Director and senior presenter, Mindworks Australasia
• John Dwyer, consultant with Velg Training
• Kerri Buttery, consultant and member resource developer with Velg Training
• John Price, consultant with Velg Training
• Angela McGregor-Goodwin, owner and principal consultant of RTO Consulting
• Carol Hunter, Principal of RTO Services and Consulting.

This event is a pre-approved professional development opportunity as part of Service Skills Australia’s Right Way Program for trainers and assessors, and has been allocated 30 points.

For more information on the 2014 VET Summit program, please visit the Summit website.

1–2 May 2014, Melbourne

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) will hold its third National Adult LLN Assessment Conference in Melbourne in May 2014.

The theme is ‘Foundation skills and lifelong learning – what does the evidence from international assessments tell us about improving work and life skills?’

This year the conference has been extended to include a full two-day program featuring practical workshops and presentations spanning a range of sectors. The line-up will explore how to improve work and life skills for youth and adults by investing in effective programs, policies and practices that target the core skills of literacy and numeracy.

Who should attend?
The conference is aimed at people from a range of areas such as policy, education and training, research, curriculum and assessment, industry, unions, business, government and peak bodies.

For further information or to register, please visit the conference website.

19-20 May 2014, Perth

This two day conference and exhibition hosted by the Department of Training and Workforce Development will provide the latest updates on training and workforce development and showcase examples of innovation and good practice. The program will feature a range of keynote speakers and workshop sessions and is a great professional development and networking opportunity for all training professionals.

One of the keynote speakers for 2014 is Anders Sorman-Nilsson. Anders is a futurist and innovation strategist who helps executives and business leaders decode trends, answer disruptive questions and strategize for foreseeable and unpredictable futures. His latest book Digilogue; how to win the digital minds and the analogue hearts of tomorrow's customer is hot off the press, and is featuring in top end business media like BRW, The Financial Review, Sky News Business, Qantas Magazine and ABC National Radio.

The Forum also includes an exhibition comprising approximately 40 booths featuring the most up-to-date information on services and products available to the VET sector.
It is anticipated that approximately 600 delegates will attend the

Forum in 2014 from private and public training providers, industry training councils and skills councils, schools, universities and Government agencies.

Please visit the Training Providers Forum 2014 website for the latest information and to register.

11-12 September 2014, Brisbane

The 2014 National VET Conference Program has now been released!

Registration is open for Velg Training’s 2014 National VET Conference, which will be delivered over two days, providing attendees the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of plenary and elective sessions from 11-12 September 2014 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The theme for this year’s event is 'Impossible is Possible Together' and will focus on bringing vocational education and training (VET) professionals together to discuss recent updates to the sector and best practices for registered training organisations (RTOs), acting as a platform for networking and collaboration.

The conference will feature three distinct streams, Policy and Reform, RTO Management & Compliance and Training & Assessing. By popular demand, the Master Class elective stream will be returning in 2014.

Attendees of the 2014 National VET Conference will be divided into two client groups - RTO Management and RTO Trainers and Assessors. More information about the conference, including the program, is available on Velg Training’s National Conference website.

The 2013 National VET Conference attracted just over 950 attendees, making it the largest annual gathering of VET practitioners from across Australia.

Registration for the 2014 National VET Conference is now open for delegates, with ‘Early Bird Catches the Worm’ pricing available until Monday 31 March 2014. You can register online.

17-19 September 2014, Darwin

Join VETnetwork Australia for its 2014 Biennial National Conference in Darwin. The conference theme of ‘Sustainability, Skills and Strategy’ focusses on the long term future of vocational education and training (VET) in an increasingly complex educational context.

Three key themes will run throughout the conference’s program - sustainability for VET practitioners, skills for VET learners and strategy for the VET sector.

VETnetwork Australia looks forward to seeing you at the conference and hope you can join the Master Class which offers delegates the opportunity to be involved in the most up to date research information regarding VET in Australia and then tour one of three esteemed Northern Territory educational facilities.

For more information about the conference and to register, please visit the website.

18-20 September 2014, Perth

The 2014 WorldSkills Australia National Competition will be held in Perth in September 2014. The three day event will see over 500 of Australia’s most talented students, trainees and apprentices, from 30 regions, battle it out for gold medal success and the prestigious title of ‘Australia’s Best’ in their chosen skill or trade. The 2014 national competitors, selected from the 2013 round of regional competition winners, will be announced soon.

For more information please visit the WorldSkills Australia website.

20-21 November 2014, Melbourne

eWorks is excited to announce that conVerge14 will take place in Melbourne in November 2014.

Being the tenth (!) conVerge e-learning conference, it will be bigger and better than previous years with lots of surprises in store. Mark you diary now – this event is not to be missed.

Stay tuned for keynote speaker announcements, a call for presentations and early bird registration.

Why not follow eWorks on Twitter for e-learning news and updates?

Visit the NSW State Training Services website to view upcoming events and professional development for New South Wales training providers in 2014.

Ideas That Work has just released another nine new language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) videos for the What Works for LLN training and professional development video library. These new videos contain practical LLN tips and good practice examples to help build vocational trainers’ and assessors’ capacity to support learners with LLN needs.

There are now 18 What Works videos available to view or download for free from the new What Works for LLN website. The What Works videos are grouped into three series:

1. Introduction to LLN series (the original nine videos)
2. Practical LLN tips for trainers and assessors series (nine NEW videos)
3. Introduction to workplace LLN series (new videos coming in 2014).

These LLN videos can be used for:

• your own professional development as a VET practitioner or workplace trainer
• supporting the delivery of LLN specific units such as TAELLN401A / TAELLN411 Address adult language, literacy and numeracy skills
• LLN professional development for RTOs and their non-training staff
• learners undertaking qualifications such as TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

These videos were funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Industry under the Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) program.

To view or download a copy of these free What Works for LLN resources, please visit the website.

The Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) program provides funding for the development of resources and strategic projects to support the development of adult English language, literacy and numeracy skills aligned to accredited training packages and units of competency. WELL resources that have been developed include assessment tools, companion documents supporting the delivery of units of competency, and online and interactive learning modules. Many target Indigenous or culturally and linguistically diverse learners. WELL resources have been developed across all industries and several have received awards for best practice in resource design. A list of these resources and information about how to access them is available on the LiteracyNet website.

The biannual e-newsletter, Doing WELL with WELL Resources, alerts subscribers to newly completed WELL resources. If you would like to receive this newsletter, please send an email with your contact details.

Stay in touch with current research, policy and practice across a broad range of areas affecting the VET sector in Australia and internationally.

FREE ACCESS

Produced by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and funded by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, VOCEDplus is a free online resource offering international coverage of issues as well as an Australian focus. It currently holds over 57 000 entries, many providing instant access to full text via your desktop, with around 400 new titles added each month. Where possible, NCVER will supply items as requested according to its Conditions of Use.

You can search VOCEDplus using basic or advanced search or browse options. Topics covered include:

• teaching and learning in the tertiary sector
• assessment
• professional development for practitioners
• labour market trends
• the relationships between education and work
• skills and workforce development needs
• pathways between VET and higher education
• education industry partnerships in education and training
• social inclusion.

FIND OUT WHAT'S NEW

Subscribe to new titles or Twitter on the home page for automated notifications.

Subscribe to VOCEDplus Highlights.

Subscribe to specific RSS feeds wherever you see the ‘Subscribe’ symbol above.

‘Purpose build’ feeds on your own topics, e.g. a feed on practitioners in VET can be set up in your browser using the following steps:

1. From the Home Page click on Advanced Search
2. Add the words practitioners to the top search box
3. Click on the drop down menu and select the Title field
4. Click on Search
5. Click on Providers of education and training in the Subject facet box on the left of the results page
6. Click on your browser’s RSS icon and subscribe to the feed.
7. VOCEDplus services.

Expert reference service – for details visit the Client Service Charter or Ask a Librarian.

Citation tool – My Selection acts like a shopping cart, select records from search results or full record pages, email or save records in formats (e.g. author-date citation modelled on the Harvard style; tagged format for import into EndNote).

Value added products – these include:

• current and archived NCVER statistics via Statistical Resources
• user guides
• subject guides
• VET online glossary
• special collections, e.g. National landmark reports and Pathways support for practitioners.

To find out more, visit VOCEDplus.

Government Skills Australia (GSA) has completed a range foundation skills resources to support the development of learning, reading, writing, oral communication and numeracy in work and training contexts. The resources include:

• Industry-specific foundation skills brochures outlining current policy initiatives and the key foundation skill demands within that industry at a range of employment levels e.g. low–mid–high level ‘core’ skills demands across a range of work roles
• a suite of 11 short videos highlighting the need for specific core skills across a range of industries e.g. reading procedures and instructions in the workplace, oral communication skills for workplace meetings and numeracy skills for creating tables, graphs and charts
• a professional development resource comprising a facilitator guide to outline a background to foundation skills initiatives, strategies to address foundation skills issues in a range of work and training contexts and industry-specific foundation skills data on the foundation skills demands of units of competency.

Please visit the website to download the resources or email a request for a printed copy.

Government Skills Australia (GSA) has developed Meeting the Foundation Skills Demands of Training and Work as a professional development resource to raise awareness of foundation skills issues amongst workers and learners in the Australian context. Its primary aim is to support the key messages outlined in a range of foundation skills documents developed by GSA to support the newly endorsed foundation skills training package.

The guide is accompanied by short videos that build awareness of the language, literacy and numeracy or ‘core’ skill demands of tasks embedded in work roles within the government and community safety industries.

Vocational course developers, trainers and assessors are provided with information about how to identify the foundation skills embedded in both work and training contexts. They are easily disguised in a variety of tasks and roles so often go unnoticed. It also offers some strategies to develop an understanding of what foundation skills are, where they can be found and how they can be addressed in practical terms.

You can view and download the resource from GSA's website.

With so many events coming up in 2014, it’s timely to consider the Events Alive Flexible Learning Toolbox.

Event management is an increasingly popular course of study, largely due to the focus on business management skills in a high pressure, project-driven environment.

In addition to major events, there is an increasing reliance on events as a source of revenue and promotion for not-for-profit organisations, local councils, industry, and community-based organisations. Many event organisations are micro- to medium-sized businesses, and training will become critical in this sector to remain sustainable and competitive, particularly in regional areas.

A major source of recruits for this industry is owner/manager roles. Recognised training needs will be in customer service and best practice, information technology, compliance, risk and human resource management. Community events and festivals, which play a vital role in regional Australia, also require skills development to sustain and grow these events. The skills identified include risk management and business planning.

Events Alive covers four units of competency from the Tourism, Hospitality and Event training package. Three of the units chosen are new units developed for this recently endorsed training package.

You can order the Events Alive toolbox by visiting the online shop.

Teachers and trainers who are new to e-learning, or those already using e-learning content developed through the National VET E-learning Strategy, are set to benefit from the newly launched National VET Content website.

This new site brings together thousands of freely available learning objects from the following national collections: Flexible Learning Toolboxes, Generic Skills, E-learning Innovations, Industry Integration of E-learning, and the National Digital Learning Resources Network.

You can find out more by visiting the Flexible Learning website.

MSA’s Putting the Jigsaw Together numeracy resources and the Making the Connections workshop for vocational education and training (VET) trainers have proved to be extremely popular. Over 900 RTOs, individual trainers and educators nationally have accessed the resources since their release.

Putting the Jigsaw Together is designed as a series of tool kits to support VET trainers with practical strategies to assist apprentices to develop their numeracy skills. Making the Connections is a two day workshop providing the key concepts of language, literacy and numeracy and foundation skills in VET training. Identifying core skills in a unit of competency and working with the Australian Core Skills Framework is included in the resource.

These resources are now available for FREE download at MSA's website. For further information contact Kathy Higgs, MSA Foundation Skills Project Officer, on 02 9955 5500 or via email or
Bernadette Shiel, MSA Marketing and Communications Manager, on 02 9955 5500 or via email.

On behalf of the WELL/Foundation Skills network, IBSA has compiled into a single repository all the free foundation skills resources developed by each of the Industry Skills Councils to support VET practitioners. IBSA hopes you find it useful, and looks forward to receiving feedback.

Please visit the website for more information and to access the resources.

Are you looking for new ways to engage with adult learners? Perhaps you are interested in finding out more about Australia’s adult community education (ACE) sector? If so, the Tap Into Learning Today (TILT) website is for you.

The TILT website is Australia’s national communication strategy for ACE.

TILT provides information and resources for the ACE sector. It enables ACE providers to promote their services and engage adult learners in their communities. Through the website, providers can find resources and strategies to access potential learners, including templates for promotional materials and information about funding and professional development opportunities.

TILT also provides an avenue for individuals to find learning opportunities in areas such as community engagement and foundation skills. Links to key contacts, and the ability to locate ACE providers in their local areas are provided to direct individuals to the support they need.

The TILT Community Calendar is a great way to find out about ACE-related events. While you are there, check out some of the case studies and success stories of ACE projects in Australia through AceTV.

To find out more about TILT please visit the website.

Numeracy in Practice is a free professional development resource to support the development of practitioner numeracy proficiency skills and numeracy training skills including:

• overcoming maths anxiety
• building numeracy proficiency skills
• building specialist adult numeracy teaching skills
• building knowledge of numeracy in the workplace context.

This resource has been developed in response to the NCVER report Seeking the N in LLN. This report found that there may be a need to increase the capacity of the VET workforce to meet the numeracy skills needs of existing workers.

Numeracy in Practice includes:

• a Numeracy in Practice guide with professional development activities
• a numeracy proficiency assessment tool
• six ‘snapshots’ exploring different workplace numeracy skills.

Numeracy in Focus is a free professional development resource to build practitioner workplace numeracy awareness including:

• identifying maths anxiety
• understanding the importance of numeracy
• raising awareness of numeracy in the workplace context
• raising awareness of workplace numeracy in the VET sector.

Numeracy is an important core skill. All practitioners must be up to date and confident in their own numeracy skills, their numeracy training skills and their understanding of typical workplace numeracy activities.

This resource is designed to be used by practitioners who:

• have basic numeracy skills but need to update in respect to changing technology and numeracy practices
• have basic numeracy skills but need to contextualise to the world of work
• have numeracy skills but need to increase their numeracy confidence
• are reluctant to assess and teach numeracy skills in the workplace
• are not sure if their numeracy skills are sufficient to complete the Graduate Certificate in Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice.

These resources were developed by Oggi Consulting and funded by the Australian Government.

For more information on these resources, email Tina Berghella at Oggi Consulting.

CPSISC received funding under the Australian Government’s Clean Energy and Other Skills Package. This Commonwealth funding has allowed CPSISC to undertake a series of interlinked projects to support VET and other higher education providers to build the skills, knowledge and capability to deliver clean energy services, products and advice to the Australian community and businesses.

The project has seen the development of a suite of resources to support the professional development needs of RTOs. The free downloadable resources also support the delivery and assessment of four new ‘Energy Efficiency’ units of competency recently endorsed and included in the CPC08 (Version 9) Construction, Plumbing and Services training package and the CPP07 (Version 14) Property Services training package.

These free energy efficiency resources available for download include:

• Energy efficiency - fact sheets
• Learner and assessment guides to support delivery and assessment of energy efficiency
• Energy efficiency - RTO professional development kit (contains a professional development kit and PowerPoint presentation for RTOs).

To download a copy of these free resources, please visit CPSISC's website.

training.gov.au - the official national register of information on training packages, qualifications, courses, units of competency and registered training organisations, developed for experienced training sector users.

MySkills.gov.au - provides information about vocational education and training to future and current students, jobseekers and employers to help them make informed choices about training.

StudyAssist.gov.au - one stop shop for information on government assistance while studying. Students can use the website to determine their options for financing their tertiary study. The course search function allows students to look for courses offered by approved VET FEE-HELP providers.

LiteracyNet - information about Australian adult literacy activities and links to a range of additional program, professional development, resource and research sites (including training programs).

National Skills Standards Council - provides advice on the national standards for regulation of vocational education and training.

Industry Skills Councils - bringing together industry, educators and governments, and uniting them on a common industry-led agenda for action on skills and workforce development.

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) - a not for profit company responsible for collecting, managing, analysing, evaluating and communicating research statistics about vocational education and training.

Australian Apprenticeships - provides quick and easy access to information regarding Australian Apprenticeships, including Australian Apprenticeships programs, employer incentives and support for apprentices during their apprenticeships.

Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships Information Service and Australian Apprenticeships Pathways - provide apprenticeships and traineeships information and resources.

Australian Training Awards - the peak, national awards for the vocational education and training sector, recognising individuals, businesses and registered training organisations for their contribution to skilling Australia.

CONTRIBUTIONS, FEEDBACK AND SUBSCRIPTION REQUESTS

If you would like to provide feedback or supply an article for inclusion in the next edition, or join our list of subscribers, please email skillsatwork@industry.gov.au. The next edition will be published in April 2014. Submissions are due by 18 March 2014.