Skills@Work is compiled and distributed by the Australian Governments Department of Education and Training. All articles are submitted by the originating organisation and are published with their approval.

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AUGUST 2015

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

WHAT'S HAPPENING

As part of an overhaul of training package development, expressions of interest are being invited to apply for funding to operate as skills service organisations. The Australian Government is introducing this new model of training product development to ensure that training standards are based on the skills needed for real jobs in the Australian workplace of both today and tomorrow. It will also ensure resources are allocated to develop and renew training products based on in-depth analysis of Australia’s workforce skills demands and industry needs.

The new model will support Industry Reference Committees (IRCs) to guide the development of industry-based training products including training packages and support materials. IRCs will be convened as required in response to industry identified needs and government priority and their membership will have the demonstrated experience, skills and knowledge to represent the issues of their sector.

From 1 January 2016, skills service organisations will be independent bodies funded by the Australian Government to support IRCs to review and develop training products for the vocational education and training system. Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, said that skills service organisations will play a crucial supporting role in ensuring that training delivers the competencies that jobs will require in the future.

Arrangements have been put in place to ensure a smooth transition from current Industry Skills Councils to skills service organisations. The new Australian Industry Skills Committee, chaired by Mr John Pollaers, will be responsible for scheduling and commissioning skills service organisations to undertake work based on the advice of industry reference committees. The Committee will work closely with industry leaders and workplace representatives across all sectors to ensure Australian industry has access to a highly skilled workforce.

Online Expression of Interest applications opened on 27 July 2015 and can be lodged until 24 August 2015. The Department of Education and Training will conduct a number of information sessions for potential applicants. Read more. 

Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Birmingham, recently visited China and Korea to advance Australia’s strong international education ties with both countries.

More than 35,000 people enrolled with Australian vocational education and training (VET) providers in China in 2013, representing 72 per cent of total offshore enrolment numbers. In 2014, education-related travel services to South Korea generated more than $759 million in trade.

Senator Birmingham said Australian vocational education and training providers are helping countries in our region to upskill their workforces both onshore and overseas, creating mutual benefits in terms of economic growth, labour mobility and relationships between Australia and the region. Australia’s recent signing of free-trade-agreements with China and South Korea has further opened up opportunities for even stronger ties between these economies, including in high quality education and training services.

By engaging internationally with countries such as China and South Korea, Australia’s all-important VET sector, which produces high quality industry relevant expertise, will help ensure its training systems continue to deliver the skills for global business in Australia and throughout the world.

Read more about Senator Birmingham’s visit.

International education is Australia’s largest services export and drives at least 130,000 full-time equivalent jobs nationally. It is estimated that one job is created in Australia for every two international students who study here. By 2030 the global labour force is predicted to grow to around 3.5 billion and there is growing demand for intermediate and technical levels skills, which Australia is well placed to support.

The Draft National Strategy for International Education, released in April 2015, outlines a vision that places international education at the core of Australia’s economic prosperity, social advancement and international standing. The Coordinating Council for International Education has been established to oversee the finalisation of this national strategy and the development of an implementation plan to reflect a shared national vision and responsibility.

Since the draft’s release the Australian Government has been consulting with education providers, businesses, students, governments and community groups. The Australian international education community has been encouraged to provide feedback and examples of specific institutional, state and territory, and community-based initiatives that further the proposed goals. The first of two roundtables on international education was held in June and brought together around 100 participants to work on a shared vision for the future of Australian international education. As part of the consultation process, a second roundtable will be held this month.

Minister Birmingham held two VET focused Global Skills Training forums in Melbourne and Sydney. The forums are a great way for the Minister to hear feedback from industry and the VET sector on the role of skills training in the Draft Strategy and to discuss new ways Australia can meet the significant opportunity presented by changing demographics in the Asia Pacific region and the demand for higher order skills.

It is anticipated that the final strategy will be released in the second half of 2015. Read the Draft National Strategy for International Education.

A new project mapping transport and logistic skills needs and competencies in the Asia-Pacific region will boost global labour mobility, regional economic development and opportunities for Australian training providers to operate overseas.

Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Birmingham, announced the APEC Transport and Logistics project at the second Global Skills Training Forum held recently in Sydney. Under the APEC Economic Diplomacy Fund, the Australian Government will provide $259,000 towards the project to develop regional occupational standards validated by industry representatives from the transport and logistics sector in Australia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The project will provide businesses operating within and across these economies with greater understanding and certainty of the core skills required and held by workers in transport and logistics. Lifting the standards of skills training across the region will make it easier for highly trained workers to receive mutual recognition in other countries and will address skills shortages, and boost competitiveness and productivity in regional economies including Australia.

Senator Birmingham told the Global Skills Forum there were already more than 200 registered Australian training providers able to deliver over 2400 vocational education and training courses offshore. This project will also provide opportunities for Australian providers to deliver high quality, industry-relevant training to more students overseas.

Read more in the Media Release.

Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, recently launched the latest round of enhancements to the MySkills website.

The MySkills website is the national directory of vocational education and training (VET) organisations and courses. This latest update continues to improve and evolve the website into a sophisticated and useful tool for students, training organisations and employers.

The updates improve the display of existing information, as well as adding some key new features such as:
• courses linked to skills in demand in each state and territory
• overall student satisfaction and employment outcomes for the 230 most popular courses
• a VET FEE-HELP course calculator to assist eligible consumers understand potential future debt
• identification of sanctioned training providers
• a modernised, tablet-optimised homepage design.

With over one million visits in the past year, MySkills website has established itself as a reliable source of information for training consumers and provides advice on the skills people need to secure and maintain work.

The Australian Government’s Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (Apprenticeship Network) is investing $200 million a year to recruit, train and retrain apprentices. Across the country, there are more than 420 Apprenticeship Network locations, including more than 270 Network provider sites and over 140 further locations for outreach services.

Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, launched ‘The MAS Experience’, MAS National’s Apprenticeship Network, in Adelaide on 24 July 2015. MAS National is providing support through 52 full time, part-time and outreach locations across South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. South Australia previously hosted 24 Australian Apprenticeship Centres, but as part of the new arrangements, will now host 35 locations, including 22 Network sites and 13 outreach services.

MAS National is one of 11 organisations contracted by the Australian Government to deliver the new Apprenticeship Network which makes it easier to become, or employ, an apprentice. Apprenticeship Network providers target support services to the individual needs of employers and apprentices from pre-commencement to completion, assisting apprentices, people looking for a new career and employers get more help than ever before with their apprenticeship.

Visit the Australian Apprenticeships website or call the referral line on 13 38 73 for more information.

The journey begins for the next generation of apprentices, trainees and students aged 18-23 years with the commencement of the 2015 WorldSkills Australia Regional Competitions.

Held in 31 regions across the country, competitors are marked against a rigorous framework aligned to national training packages, standards and benchmarks. There are 52 competition skills on offer from the Automotive Services, Building & Construction, Computing & Business, Client Services, Hospitality Services and Metal & Engineering industries.

WorldSkills Australia Regional Competitions are more than just a chance to shine – they are the starting point for the journey of a lifetime. Regional level medallists may be selected to progress to the 2016 WorldSkills Australia National Competition, the nation’s largest trades and skills showcase. Age eligible national medallists may then be offered a place on the Skills Squad. Here, they will undertake months of intensive training and mentorship with their personal Training Manager in the hope of representing Australia as a 2017 Skillaroo at the 44th WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

WorldSkills Australia Regional Competitions are running until 31 October 2015. For more information, visit the WorldSkills Australia website.

This month, the 2015 Skillaroos are in São Paulo, Brazil, competing for the coveted title of World Champion at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition. Senator the Hon Scott Ryan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Training, farewelled the 26 Skillaroos at a function in Sydney this week. Read Senator Ryan’s speech.

Competition results will be announced on Monday 17 August. To keep up-to-date with the latest news from São Paulo, visit the WorldSkills website.

Every day 10 tradies are badly injured at work. That's 3650 tradies a year on workers’ compensation.

Nearly a quarter of all roofers, labourers and plumbers experience back pain, muscle stress and strain from lifting equipment or slips, trips and falls when handling materials.

And, 94 per cent of tradies reported that they don't eat enough fruit and/or vegetables.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) has created Tradies National Health Month to help provide valuable information for tradies on the importance of full body health and safety.

The APA’s 2014 Stop Trading Your Health Away report showed that Tradie occupations have among the highest number of injuries, musculoskeletal conditions and other health and safety risks of any profession. The APA felt that there was no dedicated support centre for tradies, therefore creating a month that focuses on trade full-body health and safety to improve their awareness and well-being.

Throughout August 2015, the APA will promote health and safety tips and encourage tradies and trade companies to register to be a part of the Tradies National Health Month by holding Tradies Health events in their local jurisdiction.

Visit the Tradies National Health Month website to share tradie health and safety tips or to participate in a Tradies National Health Month event. You can also be part of the movement by following the hashtags #tradieshealth and #dontignorethepain on Facebook and Twitter.

The Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, will be the keynote speaker at the official launch of National Skills Week in Sydney on 24 August 2015.

Now in its fifth year, National Skills Week is dedicated to raising the status of vocational education and training (VET). This year’s theme will embrace and bring into focus the skills needs associated with Australia’s emerging areas of opportunity.

The week celebrates and reflects on how important VET is to our nation and the lives of individual Australians by highlighting the talents, skills, career pathways and value of apprentices and trainees to the wider public and employers. Visit the National Skills Week website to read Senator Birmingham’s message and to see the full listing of events.

VETnetwork Australia is celebrating their 20 year anniversary in 2015 by hosting a full day workshop and dinner in Canberra on Thursday, 17 September 2015.

The workshop will focus on the achievements of Vocational Education and Training (VET) for young Australians and VET practitioners, including discussion and reflection on pedagogy, professionalism, practice and process. Confirmed speakers include Ms Jodi Schmidt, CEO of TAFE Queensland, with an overview of the need to ‘professionalise the VET professional’ and Ms Kira Clarke, Lecturer in Education Policy, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, who will speak on her recent research on vocational education for young people and VET delivered to secondary students.

A panel session facilitated by Mr Mark Callaghan, CEO of WorldSkills Australia, will showcase the winning Skillaroos from the 43rd International WorldSkills Competition being held in August in São Paulo, Brazil.

The anniversary dinner will include a keynote speaker, recognition awards and more. Visit the VETnetwork website for more information or register for the event here.

Please join the Australian vocational education and training sector on 19 November 2015 in Hobart for the 2015 Australian Training Awards.

Hosted by Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Assistant Minister for Education and Training, the Awards recognise individuals, businesses and registered training organisations for their significant contribution to skilling Australia.

Please register here to attend the event.

The majority of the Australian Training Awards are the culmination of state and territory competitions, with training award winners from each state and territory eligible to compete in aligned categories at the national level. There are seven award categories that are available by entering the Australian Training Awards directly.

Entries for 2015 state and territory training awards have now closed, with finalists being announced over the coming months. Visit the state and territory training awards for finalist announcements and event dates.

Direct entry category finalists of the Australian Training Awards will be announced in late August.

For more information, visit Australian Training Awards or phone 02 6240 8155. For real time updates, you can find the Australian Training Awards on:
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• YouTube.

Australian Apprenticeships Ambassadors know first-hand the value of investing in an apprenticeship or traineeship. Their inspirational stories prove that Australian Apprenticeships can provide skills for a secure future, and a rewarding career.

Australia now has over 150 Australian Apprenticeships Ambassadors working in many different occupations, of many different ages and backgrounds and from most parts of Australia.

If you want to encourage others to think about an Australian Apprenticeship as a career choice at your next conference or event, visit the Ambassadors Map on the Australian Apprenticeships website.

You’ll be able to see who is located nearby, read their success story and send a booking request.*

For more information visit the Success Stories page of the Australian Apprenticeships website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

*28 days’ notice is required to book an Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador.

The CPSISC Newsletter for April - June 2015 is available here now!

Stories in this edition include:
• Congratulations Noel Hamey OAM
• Celebrating Barangaroo’s 500th Apprentice
• National Skills Week
• Australian Training Awards
• Have your say on the Property Development Sales and Management national qualifications
• CPSISC Industry Leaders Forum – Encouraging Diversity
• Industry Women Central (IWC) E-magazine
• Farewell Angella Nyekanyeka
• 2015 Sydney TAFE Student Excellence Awards
• NSW ITABs Conference
• CPSISC E-Scan
• Upcoming Events.

BSX – the Barangaroo Skills Exchange

Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Assistant Minister for Education and Training, recently visited apprentices and workers on-site at Sydney’s largest re-development project, Barangaroo.
Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC), Lend Lease and TAFE NSW partnered together with the then Commonwealth Department of Industry, now the Department of Education and Training, in 2012 to create this unprecedented opportunity to develop an even more skilled and employable workforce in the Australian construction industry.

The BSX is an on-site hub for all workers to learn new skills, develop existing ones, and improve their employment prospects further down the line. It offers a one stop learning shop in a range of areas including literacy, numeracy, IT, construction skills and leadership.

The current workforce at Barangaroo exceeds 3,000 people per day, and to date over 19,000 training outcomes have been delivered at the BSX.

With over 500 apprentices already engaged and a further 1200 expected to be able to complete their apprenticeships and traineeships over the course of the current project, Barangaroo will become the single largest trainer of construction industry apprentices in Australian history. The BSX model is at the forefront of infrastructure projects and will be replicated in the future. Read CPSISC’s Media Release.

Sustainable skilling

Across the globe, employers face challenges finding suitably skilled workforces to enable the level of production necessary for a prosperous economy. Simultaneously, communities face high unemployment when major local industries experience downturns.

Regional communities form the backbone of Industry and are a key contributor to prosperous economic conditions. As employment conditions change, it is critical to maintain that finely tuned ecosystem in which Industry and communities co-exist. Industry provides jobs and economic stability; communities provide capable workforces and support. Read more on the SkillsDMC website. 

Critical planning report receives update

In the resources and infrastructure industry, being ahead of the trend can make all the difference. SkillsDMC has just released an update to the 2015 Environmental Scan (E-Scan), ensuring industry has access to high quality, accurate forecasting information.

The 2015 E-Scan was met with widespread support by industry and government alike. Providing reasoned forecasts and analysis, both the 2015 E-Scan and update provide robust insights into the current resources and infrastructure industry workforce environment in Australia.  

The update highlights that despite some recent negative sentiment towards the outlook for industry, the mining industry continues to perform to expectations while employment trends show both positive and challenging developments. Access the updated E-Scan to read more.

What’s new in the store

IBSA is adding new products to the store every week! You can check out the full range of delivery and assessment materials on the IBSA store page and read more about our elearning modules.

Training and Development magazine is published bi-monthly by the Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD). It is distributed to all AITD members and NZATD members, as well as a large subscription base. 

If you would like to contribute an article on the themes of Coaching and Mentoring (Editorial deadline 28 August) or Leadership (Editorial deadline 23 October) contact editor@aitd.com.au.

AITD may also accept previously unpublished content on any topic that may be of interest to learning and development professionals. Contributor guidelines are available at the AITD website.

If you want to reach training, learning and development professionals in Australia and New Zealand phone 02 9211 9414 or email editor@aitd.com.au. Options include full-page and half-page ads or inserts.

Meet some of the 2015 Australian Training Awards National Skills Week Ambassadors!

The Australian Training Awards and National Skills Week  are showcasing some of the best and brightest graduates of vocational education and training (VET) during National Skills Week, which will be held from 24 August to 30 August this year.

Eylish Perry, Disability Support Worker, Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador and 2014 Australian School-based Apprentice of the Year, Australian Training Awards.

“I decided to undertake an Australian School-based Apprenticeship because it was the quickest avenue for me to study disability and work with children with disability. I received the opportunity to partake in the Australian School-based Apprenticeship after the school saw my passion and offered me a place. I then spoke to my career advisor at my college who got me started.”

Find out more about Eylish’s experiences with Australian School-based Apprenticeships on the Australian Apprenticeships website.

Joshua Lodge, Laboratory Technician, Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador and 2014 Australian Apprentice (Trainee) of the Year, Australian Training Awards.

“I’m very happy I started my learning pathway with a traineeship instead of jumping straight into university. It has allowed me to gain industry experience straight away which can be difficult to obtain. I’ve also been able to undertake my own projects and work on a large variety of water treatments plants which has been the highlight for me.”

Find out more about Joshua’s experiences with Australian Apprenticeships on the Australian Apprenticeships website.

Chris Medcraft, Community Service Worker, 2014 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year Finalist, Australian Training Awards.

“After 32 years in the paper and pulp industry, the redundancy hit me hard. I didn’t have any other skills apart from that one job and I wasn’t young anymore. At 50, my anxiety just went through the roof. I had no clue what I was going to do. So I thought about what I was really passionate about, and that’s helping people. TasTAFE provided me with the best support, and I enjoyed being in the classroom again and meeting people in the same position as me. Now, with my qualification and new job, I feel valued again.”

Find out more about Chris’s experiences with the VET system on the Australian Training Awards website.

Upcoming events                                                  back to top

The Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships Information Service websites provide practical and easy to use resources and information about Australian Apprenticeships, including the newly launched Career Interest Explorer.

One hour information sessions, provided free of charge, illustrate how the sites support people working in the Australian Apprenticeships field.

The sessions benefit careers advisers in schools, and also administration and field staff working in Apprenticeship Network providers, Registered Training Organisations, Group Training Organisations and Employment Services Providers.

The sessions will be delivered in the following locations, with other cities to be added soon.
• Brisbane – Thursday, 13 August 2015
• Adelaide – Thursday, 20 August 2015
• Perth –  Wednesday, 26 August 2015
• Canberra – 10 September 2015
• Sydney – 16 September 2015.

For more details and to register visit the website or call 1800 338 022.

24–30 August 2015

National Skills Week aims to mobilise, inform and inspire Australians of all ages to explore the skills that Industry needs to advance Australia’s competitiveness and global opportunity. Visit the National Skills Week website for information about locations and events or to plan your own event.

26 – 28 August 2015, Melbourne

The theme this year is Inspiring Ideas: building a better private education and training sector through innovation, diversity and quality.

Register or visit the conference website for more information.

1-2 September 2015

Register now!

The sixth international INAP conference is being held in Australia for the first time at Federation University Australia (FedUni), Ballarat.

The conference theme is Architectures for apprenticeship: Achieving economic and social goals and will address topics such as governance, school to work transition and youth employment and the status of apprenticeships as a career path.

Keynote speakers include Raymond Patel, MerSETA, South Africa; Paul Comyn, International Labour Organisation, Geneva; and Stephen Billett, Griffith University, Australia.

The registration fee is kept low to allow practitioners to attend.

The Commonwealth Department of Education and Training is sponsoring the conference.

Register for the conference and find out more on the FedUni website.

9 September 2015
2015 TDA pre-conference workshops and Conference Welcome Reception at MONA.

10–11 September 2015
TDA Australia Conference at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Hobart.

REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN

This year’s theme is Inspire. The conference is designed to motivate delegates to be more creative and to stimulate discussion on seeing the world differently with speakers who have been tasked to goad, provoke and energise delegates.

The program will explore a range of topics, including fostering industry engagement, market approach to vocational education and training, quality and capability, higher education in TAFE, internationalising vocational education qualifications, vocational education and training pedagogy and servicing regional communities.

Join managing directors and senior staff from TAFE providers nationally, along with industry and government partners and international delegates. Over 400 delegates attended last year in Sydney and the conference generated considerable interest from state and national.

Visit the TDA website for more information or to access the draft Conference Program.

17–18 September 2015, Adelaide Convention Centre

REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN

Velg Training’s 2015 National VET Conference will be delivered over two days, providing attendees with the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of plenary, elective and master class sessions and to meet with product and service providers and network with peers from across Australia.

The theme for this year’s conference, Reconnecting VET, will focus on three distinct streams including Policy & Reform, RTO Management & Compliance and Training and Assessing. Three additional streams dedicated to RTO Administration, VET Shapers and Trainning Packages have been added this year.

The 2014 National VET Conference attracted over 1,000 attendees, making it the largest annual gathering of VET professionals!

Visit Velg’s website for more information.

24 – 25 September 2015, Adelaide

REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN

The theme for the two day conference is Resilience, Risk, Preservation: the evolving world of adult literacies. Visit the conference website for more information and to register.

12-14 November 2015, Jupiters, Gold Coast

REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN

This is an opportunity for Master Builders from all around Australia to come together to learn more about the industry and where it is heading. The theme of this year’s conference is Building Australia and the focus will be on leadership and helping members grow their business. High profile speakers include Chris Richardson, one of Australia’s leading economists and Alisa Camplin OAM, Business Leader and Olympic Gold Medallist.

Further details and the conference brochure can be found on the Master Builders’ website.

19 November 2015, Hobart

The Australian Training Awards presentation dinner event will be held at Princes Wharf No. 1, Hobart, Tasmania on Thursday 19 November 2015.

Book your ticket now by visiting the Event Registration page of the Australian Training Awards website.

The Department of Education and Training will be conducting training for approved VET FEE-HELP providers in 2015. This training is suitable for recently approved VET FEE-HELP providers or existing VET FEE-HELP providers who wish to refresh their knowledge.

For more details and schedules of dates and venues please visit the department’s website.

Read details of the State and Territory Training Awards’ presentation dinner events:

Tasmania – 28 August 2015
Victoria – 28 August 2015
Northern Territory – 29 August 2015
ACT – 3 September 2015
Western Australia – 4 September 2015
New South Wales – 10 September 2015
Queensland – 11 September 2015
South Australia – 11 September 2015

Finalists have been announced for NT, WA, TAS, SA, NSW and VIC.

The 2016 Group Training National Conference will be held on 7-8 April 2016 at the Adelaide Hilton.

Reserve the dates in your diary now and stay tuned for more information later in the year.

The 2015 training providers professional development calendar is available for SA.

eworks, one of Australia’s leading e-learning delivery and consultancy specialists, offers a range of products and services to help businesses maximise the benefits of online education. The eworks team is passionate about building world-class and inclusive training through e-learning.

Learn about eworks’ practical solutions, tools and advice by reading some of their recent blogs and visiting their website:

• How to beat the e-learning resistance: making online courses educational
• What makes Moodle’s Gradebook so special
• Encouraging innovation and team work while working at different locations: how technology can support flexible working
• The power of video-based learning to educate: globally, the fastest growing part of the education sector
• Beyond risk management: a humanist approach to health and safety
• Who gives a moodle about learner engagement: measuring learning and providing evidence to auditors
• Is video the best form of evidence: video assessment made easy with Moodle Video Assignment App
• The who and how of online course development
• Using moodle forums for blended training
• e-portfolios used to support kids in hospital
• Integrating your business and learning management systems.

The Australian Government funds the National Women’s Alliances through the Office for Women in the Commonwealth Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. These Alliances take the lead in ensuring that the voices of as many women as possible are heard by government, especially those who in the past have found it difficult to engage in advocacy and decision making. The Alliances are made up of a mix of sector-based and issues-based women's groups, each with a distinct focus and a strong capacity for networking and advocacy activities.

One issues-based group, economic security for women (eS4W), advocates for change to policies which continue to impact negatively on equality for women and their ongoing economic security. eS4W promotes the belief that economic wellbeing and financial security are essential for women and will enable women of all ages to have an equal place in society.

eS4W’s role is to:
• bring together women’s organisations and individuals from across Australia to share information, identify barriers to women’s economic security and to identify solutions by prioritising the key issues for action to bring about change
• engage actively with the Australian Government on policy issues as part of a better more informed and representative dialogue between women and government.

Read more about eS4W and the National Women’s Alliances.

Apprentices, trainees and other VET students keen to improve their money management skills now have access to a free online training resource developed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Developed with assistance from the Australian Tax Office, Group Training Australia, Fair Work Building and Construction, Bendigo Kangan Institute and Innovation and Business Skills Australia, ASIC's Be MoneySmart resource can be used for accredited training as part of the Certificate III in Financial Services (FNS3011) or for general money management skills development programs. Assessors and trainers need not be topic experts.

ASIC's Be MoneySmart is also available as a package for training organisations to include on their learning management system (LMS) with simple reporting requirements.

To access the resource visit ASIC's MoneySmart website.

Service Skills Australia has released a Workforce Planning Guide for the tourism and hospitality industry. The Guide provides practical advice on “planning your business around your people” — that is, making sure you’ve got the right people and skills to meet your business goals.

There is a strong relationship between effective human resource practices and a range of positive business outcomes. To start your workforce planning journey, download a copy of the Guide and utilise the workforce planning templates provided.

A new vocational education and training resource which has been developed in Geelong by the Geelong Local Learning and Employment Network (GRLLEN) is the Geelong Careers app which has been developed for Geelong jobseekers, including retrenched workers displaced by the cessation of auto manufacturing and aluminium smelting.

This new app provides a live feed of current local jobs directly to jobseekers via their phone as well as indications of trending industries, vocational education training information and services available for retrenched workers and other key groups in this region.

The app can be downloaded from the Geelong Careers website, the App Store or Google Play.

For more information or to view sample pages, please visit Aspire’s website or call (03) 9820 1300.

smallprint and Catapult eLearning’s entire training and assessment resource library is now available in print and online with a NEW assessment model.
If you have any questions please contact smallprint at admin@smallprint.com.au or phone (08) 8275 9333, or Catapult eLearning at info@catapult-elearning.com or phone (08) 8275 9380.

The highly successful Making the Connections professional development resource, designed to assist VET practitioners integrate foundation skills and language, literacy and numeracy into their training, has now been revised and updated by MSA.

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

Free professional development resources

Numeracy by Measure - builds practitioner awareness of workplace measurement skills to better meet the skills needs of adults in the workplace.

Numeracy in Practice - supports the development of practitioner numeracy proficiency skills and numeracy training skills.

Numeracy in Focus - builds practitioner workplace numeracy awareness.

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.

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

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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.

business.gov.au - offers businesses simple, practical and convenient access to all the government information, programmes and services they need to make running their business and skilling their employees easier.

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.

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

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.

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.

National Skills Week - provides a platform to highlight the opportunities and career pathways available through vocational education and 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.

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.

WorldSkills Australia - working to promote and build a skills culture by inspiring young people, celebrating skills excellence and providing opportunities to showcase trade and skill talent through competitions held on a regional, national and international level.

CONTRIBUTIONS

If you would like to provide feedback, supply an article for inclusion in the next edition or join our list of subscribers, please email skillsatwork@education.gov.au. The next edition will be published in September 2015. Submissions are due by Tuesday 18 August 2015.