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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.

If you would like to provide feedback on this newsletter, please send us an email.


 

JUNE 2015 EDITION

WHAT'S HAPPENING

2015 Budget

The 2015 Budget is focused on the Australian Government’s plan to build jobs, growth and opportunity for all Australians.

The Government is investing around $6 billion this year to support training that gives apprentices and vocational students the high quality training they need for modern Australian workplaces.

This includes funding through the Government’s signature Industry Skills Fund to help employers to skill their staff so they can grow their businesses, increase exports and create more jobs.

Young employed people will receive skills linked to real jobs, and support to be able to re-engage with work, training or school, through two youth training pilots, which are being trialled in 32 sites across Australia.

From 1 July, the Australian Apprenticeships Support Network will match apprentices to their trade and their employer, and support them throughout their apprenticeship so they complete their training and go on to important work and careers.

The 2015 Budget also provides $1.8 billion to continue the Government’s significant funding to states and territories to support their training systems. This year more than 1.5 million students will gain important skills and nationally recognised qualifications through assistance provided to Australia’s high quality TAFE, community colleges and private training providers.

Read more about the 2015 Budget measures that support the Government’s significant VET reform agenda.

Establishment of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee

On 8 May 2015, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Assistant Minister for Education and Training, announced the establishment of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (the Committee).

The new Committee has been established to provide effective industry leadership to the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia. The establishment of the Committee is part of the Government’s agenda to streamline and strengthen the effectiveness of governance arrangements and give industry a greater role within the decision making processes for the VET sector.

The Committee will provide industry-based advice to governments on strategies to lift the quality and relevance of training. It will also play the critical role of overseeing qualifications and training product development, ensuring Australian workers are provided with industry-relevant skills that meet the future needs of employers.

Please read the Assistant Minister's media release for more information.

2015 SEE and AMEP Forums a great success!

Between 28 and 30 April 2015, over 150 service providers for the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme and Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) came together to hold a series of forums at the National Convention Centre in Canberra.

Delegates discussed the future directions of both programmes and participated in presentations and workshops exploring best practice, innovative training delivery approaches and recent research to ensure students are receiving the best training available.

The Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, opened the AMEP forum. Senator Birmingham talked about the importance of foundation skills, including literacy and numeracy skills, in achieving social and economic success. Lisa Paul, Secretary of the Department of Education and Training, provided the opening address at the SEE forum.

The co-location of both programmes in the one department allowed the 2015 SEE and AMEP forums to be held consecutively for the first time. This gave providers, adult education experts and peak industry bodies for both the SEE programme and AMEP the opportunity to come together to explore the commonalities, differences and relationship between the two programmes both now, and into the future.

SEE and AMEP together deliver more than $370 million in training a year. SEE provides language, literacy and numeracy training to eligible job seekers, while AMEP provides free English language tuition to eligible new migrants and humanitarian entrants.

The forums were a great success. Participants highlighted the content and opportunities to bring everyone together as invaluable, along with taking away useful and innovative ideas to assist in the future delivery of both programmes.

Assistant Minister consults with Holmesglen students

Senator Simon Birmingham, the Assistant Minister for Education and Training, met with students at Holmesglen Institute’s Chadstone campus on 19 May 2015. The first in a series of consultations with VET students, this session allowed the Minister to hear first-hand from students about their VET experiences and expectations, as well as their concerns about the sector.

Over the session, a number of themes were identified and discussed, including the difficulty people have in finding information about the training pathways that are available to achieve the job they want, how useful information about the quality of providers would be when trying to deciding where to study, and student concerns that the courses they were studying were not delivering the desired balance of theory and practical elements. Other topics discussed included the need for specialist facilities for some courses and class sizes.

The session was facilitated by Kathryn Shugg of the VET Reform Taskforce. The discussion was interactive and engaging, and the Minister appreciated the students giving their time and sharing their views.

Further student consultations are expected to be held in the coming months. Information on these will be provided in future editions of Skills@Work.

2 million USIs!

Thanks to the good work of many training organisations, employers, parents and students, more than 2 million Unique Student Identifiers have been created to date. This marks an important milestone in the implementation journey since USI requirements came into effect on 1 January 2015.

Creating a USI is the first step to providing access to a lifetime VET record and making information transfer in the training sector faster and more efficient.

The process for creating a USI is free and easy, and an important feature of the scheme is the ability for students to create their own USI online. The overwhelming majority of the USIs were created by students on their PCs, laptops, tablets and smart phones!

Most Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have already connected with the USI Registry System by completing the Online System Access Request Form. RTOs will need to collect and verify a student’s USI before conferring a qualification or statement of attainment unless a specific exemption applies. This is required to meet national reporting requirements. RTOs will need to connect to the USI Registry System to VERIFY USIs even if they are not planning to create a USI on the student’s behalf.

Stay up to date with the latest news on the USI via the website. You can contact the USI Office for further information via the chat function. Alternatively, you can call 13 38 73 or email the USI Office.

Australia’s best and brightest heading to Brazil for the 43rd WorldSkills Competition

After two years of intensive training and competition, WorldSkills Australia has officially announced the names of the 25 competitors comprising the Skillaroos team – a talented group of trades and skills apprentices, trainees and students who will represent their country at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition in Brazil this August.

The international WorldSkills Competition occurs every two years and is the biggest vocational education and skills showcase in the world. This year’s competition will see 59 countries represented by 1,176 experts and over 1,200 competitors competing in 50 skill categories. Held from 11-16 August 2015 at Anhembi Exhibition Centre in São Paulo, Brazil, the competition will utilise 213,000m² of competition space – equivalent to the size of 17 Olympic sized swimming pools. The Skillaroos will compete in 23 skills categories in the hopes of taking home a gold medal for their country.

“To be chosen to represent your country in any discipline is a tremendous achievement,” says WorldSkills Australia CEO, Mark Callaghan. “Each member of the 2015 Skillaroos will not only represent their country, they will also represent their respective industries and collectively, will showcase the high quality of vocational education and training that exists in Australia.”

WorldSkills Australia will host a Farewell Function for the Skillaroos on 4 August 2015 at Turner Hall, TAFE NSW Ultimo College.

More information on the Skillaroos and the Worldskills Competition can be found on the WorldSkills Australia website.

East Asia Summit Technical and Vocational Education and Training Provider Survey

The East Asia Summit (EAS) TVET Provider Network seeks to promote the value and importance of TVET across the 18 EAS countries. The Network’s overall aim is to build and support the capacity of TVET providers by facilitating the exchange of ideas, knowledge, expertise and experiences in developing technical and vocational skills across EAS countries.

There have been two Annual Conferences of this Network since it was formed in 2012: the first in South Korea in 2013 and the second in Malaysia in 2015.

We have created a survey to evaluate its progress through hearing your thoughts on the Network, how it could better benefit you and what would encourage you to join.

If you deliver training and are interested in international collaboration, we encourage your participation in the survey at SurveyMonkey.

The survey will close on 21 June 2015.

Your responses will shape the direction of the Network, helping it to better serve training providers across the EAS region. Your answers will only be used for this purpose.

More information on the Network, including information on past forums, can be found on the EAS TVET website. Please email InternationalSkills&VET@education.gov.au if you have any queries about the Network or the survey.

VETnetwork Australia

VETnetwork Australia will be celebrating its 20th birthday this September and will host two key events in Canberra to mark the occasion and recognise and celebrate the achievements of the last 20 years.

A workshop focusing on the achievements of VETiS including pedagogy, professionalism, practice and process will be held on 17 September 2015 from 9 am to 4 pm. A dinner celebrating VETnetwork Australia’s achievements and acknowledging their supporters will be held from 7-10 pm that evening.

This key event is a representation of the commitment and passion of VET practitioners to vocational learning and VET in a resolve to help improve the educational achievements of all young Australians.

For more information including details on how to register, visit the VETnetwork website.

Wenhui Award for Educational Innovation 2015

Established by the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO, this award recognises the contributions of educators and institutions that have optimised the potential of education and the human innovative spirit to address and resolve pressing issues and problems facing our world today.

Innovations for Skills Development for the Future, the 2015 Award theme, recognises innovative approaches that have helped develop the skills needed for the 21st century, demonstrated effective re-skilling and adjustment to skills mismatch, and contributed to productive and sustainable development.

Two individuals or institutions from the Asia and Pacific region will each receive a Certificate of Excellence and prize money of US$ 20,000

Individuals or institutions from UNESCO Member States in Asia and the Pacific region that have designed and implemented significant educational innovations leading to improved access to, and quality in, education and skills development will be eligible for the Award.

Nominations close on 29 July 2015.

Find details about the Award and the official application form on the UNESCO Bangkok Office website.

Strong Communities/Skilled Future

A forum in Sydney on 27 May 2015 heard leaders from the Muslim and Indigenous communities speak about using the strengths of people from different backgrounds to build a stronger Australia.

The forum was organised by the Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC) to bring industry leaders together as part of an overall strategy for a skilled workforce for the future of Australia.

Jihad Dib, Member for Lakemba and Member for the Australia Day Council for NSW spoke about transforming Punchbowl Boys High School into a high performing school with strong social and educational outcomes. David Liddiard, former champion NRL player and well-respected indigenous leader talked about his Recruitment and Labour Hire Business, part of his overall business to find hundreds of people jobs and encourage retention. 

Other speakers included Ro Coroneos of Lend Lease and Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Ro spoke of the Barangaroo Skills Exchange and the success of workers from different backgrounds through early intervention strategies. Yassmin, linked in from an oil rig, explained how she established Youth Without Borders to encourage young people to make positive change in their communities.

Read the media release for more details of the forum.

TRAINING PACKAGES NEWS

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Manufacturing Skills Australia

MEM Electrical pathway now endorsed
After extensive consultation and negotiation, MSA is delighted to announce the endorsement of its industrial electrician skill development and licensing qualification within the MEM Manufacturing and Engineering Training Package. The Certificate III in Engineering – Industrial Electrician Trade qualification has been a high priority for industry in order to meet the specialised electrical skill needs of industrial electricians. A MEM Companion Volume Implementation Guide is also available

New MSA report helps shed light on Women in Manufacturing
While women make up just over 50 percent of the Australian population, they are a sadly underutilised resource in manufacturing, making up only 18 percent of the full time workforce (27 percent including part time workers). In manufacturing trades their number is estimated at around 2 percent.

MSA’s recently released report ‘Women in the Manufacturing Industry’ examines some of the barriers women face when seeking employment in manufacturing roles.

Manufacturing urgently needs a more active focus on securing the participation of women in our workforce. Understanding why we are missing out on women is a critical first step.

Download the report to find out more and enjoy the stories of three women in manufacturing in this month’s Faces of Excellence.

Service Skills Australia

Training packages news/updates

SIT Tourism, Travel & Hospitality
Draft 1 of the SIT Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training package is scheduled for release for public consultation and feedback in June 2015, with submission for endorsement to the Department scheduled for late 2015. All units of competency and their associated assessment requirements have been transitioned to meet the requirements of the Standards for Training Packages.

SIS Sport, Fitness and Recreation
The SIS Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package has been submitted to the Department of Education and Training for endorsement. This submission addresses the skills development needs for the Fitness and Community Recreation sectors, as well as cross-sector components. It has undergone extensive industry consultation and validation and a full external quality review which deemed the proposed training package compliant with these standards.

View the Case for Endorsement and the submitted components.

SHB Hairdressing and Beauty (Beauty Components)
The review of Beauty training package components is approaching completion. A key change has been the merging of Beauty and Hairdressing training packages to form the SHB Hairdressing and Beauty Training Package.  This package contains five Beauty qualifications and 43 units of competency and associated assessment requirements.

The four week validation period on Draft 2 of the beauty components took place between 30 March and 27 April 2015. Feedback received during this period has been incorporated to form the final draft which will be submitted to the Department in late June 2015.

SFL Floristry Training Package Update
The review of the SFL10 Floristry Training Package is nearing completion. Draft 2 saw the tightening of the entry requirements to the Certificate IV in Floristry and Diploma of Floristry Design to address industry’s concerns of learners progressing through qualifications without adequate experience.

Validation of Draft 2 took place between 18 March and 28 April 2015. Feedback received during the validation period has been incorporated to form the final draft material of the SFL Floristry Training Package which will be submitted to the Department in mid June 2015.

For more information on all training package news and updates visit the website, email trainingpackages@serviceskills.com.au or call 02 8243 1200.


New vocational education and training initiatives/projects

New Retail Series – Innovations in training package development
This series addresses key skills shortages in the Australian retail workforce—Merchandise Management and Online Retailing—to ensure our retailers remain competitive in a global marketplace.

Series 1 - Retail Merchandise has drawn on best practice in buying and planning and has been facilitated by leading industry professionals and practitioners.

Series 2 - Online Retailing draws on best practice instructional design for eLearning that will allow leaners to develop their skills in a highly practical and workplace relevant manner.

Feedback from participants and their employers will inform the ongoing development of nationally recognised retail qualifications to ensure they deliver upon industry training needs. For more information, visit Service Skills Australia.

New vocational education and training related research

Service Skills Australia 2015 Environmental Scans released
The 2015 Environmental Scans provide an overview of the trends and developments affecting labour and skills requirements for the service industries as a whole, or specifically in Wholesale, Retail and Personal Services, Tourism, Travel and Hospitality or Sport, Fitness and Recreation.

Environmental Scans can be downloaded from the website where you will also find support material, including snapshot flyers that outline the key findings of each industry sector covered by the scans.

To keep track of the discussion generated by the release of the Environmental Scans, connect with us on social media through Facebook, Twitter or by searching #SSAeScan.

SkillsDMC

SkillsDMC has started preparing for the next release of the RII Training Package which is planned for endorsement later in 2015.

Draft amendments to a number of RII components are now available for viewing and/or providing feedback on the Continuous Improvement page of the SkillsDMC website. These amendments respond to feedback received through the RII Continuous Improvement register.

Work is progressing on items on the RII Training Package Continuous Improvement Plan including

  • a Cross Industry Qualification that will cover the entry level skills required for multiple regional industries
  • a review of Drilling related content including the revision of outdated terminolo
  • additional content to cover both supervisory and entry level skills in workplace diversity and cultural competence
  • a new Unit of Competency covering the deployment and initiation of blasts via Electronic Blasting Systems.

As it is developed, draft material for the Continuous Improvement Plan will be posted progressively for review and feedback on the SkillsDMC website at Continuous Improvement Plan.

For further information contact the Training Package team at trainingpackage@skillsdmc.com.au.

Innovation and Business Skills Australia

Free FSK Foundation Skills Training Package User Guide ePub now available
Released as a free ePub for both Apple and Android devices, the FSK Foundation Skills Training Package User Guide is now available to download from the IBSA store.

IBSA’s Financial Services Workforce Development Strategy – New Resources
IBSA is pleased to announce the release of their Financial Services Workforce Development Strategy Extract and two Financial Services Workforce Development Case Studies for the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) and Westpac. Download these publications at New Resources.

Faces of Excellence

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This month enjoy the stories of three women who have chosen to train and work in manufacturing.

Gemma Hartwig

Gemma Hartwig had worked in her family’s farm’s shed with her father and grandfather for years, but didn’t consider diesel fitting as a career until it came up as an industry she may be suited to following a meeting with a career counsellor.

She decided to undertake a week of work experience with a local company, Ostwald Bros. Falling in love with the trade, she was thrilled to be offered an Australian School-based Apprenticeship.

Gemma is now undertaking a Certificate III in Engineering at TAFE Queensland South West and completing her Year 12 studies at Our Lady of the Southern Cross College. Once her studies are complete, she plans to combine her trade with her rural knowledge through work in northern Queensland before travelling the world.

Gemma was a finalist in the 2014 Australian Training Awards. She is an active member of her local community, the captain of her college and is involved in her local Lions club as well as cattle handling and judging.

Rachel Dudok

Rachel Dudok was in the third year of an engineering degree at university when she realised she wanted a more hands-on career.

The Brisbane-resident started a pre-vocational training course for a Certificate IV in Aeroskills (Avionics) with Aviation Australia. At the end of her training, Rachel was one of four avionics students to be offered an Australian Apprenticeship with Qantas.

Rachel has completed an Australian Apprenticeship and a Diploma in Aeroskills (Avionics) through Aviation Australia, has internationally recognised qualifications and is employed as an aircraft maintenance engineer.

The Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador also holds a CASA B2 license.

Rachel has been an individual finalist at the Australian Training Awards twice - in the Australian Apprentice of the Year category in 2012 before winning the national Vocational Student of the Year in 2014.

Melinda Lethbridge

Melinda Lethbridge always had a fascination for hands-on work, but felt obliged to pursue a university pathway.

After gaining work experience at Hargo Engineering, she decided that an Australian Apprenticeship in fitting and machining was a better option. She enrolled in a Certificate III in Engineering – Mechanical Trade at Swinburne University of Technology and commenced her Australian Apprenticeship at Hargo Engineering the day after completing her school exams.

As a qualified fitter and turner, Melinda won a gold medal in turning at WorldSkills Australia’s Melbourne Region competition in 2013, and also competed at the 2014 WorldSkills Australia National Competition.

Melinda plans to undertake further training in how to teach and train in the workplace. Ultimately, Melinda wants to contribute to the quality of Australian Apprenticeships by partnering more effectively with off-the-job training and continue learning and increasing her skills in cutting edge machining techniques.

In 2014, Melinda was awarded the Australian Apprentice of the Year Award at the Australian Training Awards and became an Australian Apprenticeship Ambassador for the Australian Government.

UPCOMING EVENTS

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The International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP) sixth annual conference

The sixth international INAP conference is being held in Australia for the first time at Federation University Australia (FedUni), Ballarat on 1-2 September 2015.

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 apprenticeship 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 conference is being sponsored by the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training.

Find out more information and register for the conference on the FedUni website.

NSW ITABs 2015 Conference - June 4th 2015, Sydney

Keeping up with changes in NSW’s vocational education and training (VET) sector will be made much easier by attending the NSW Industry Training Advisory Bodies’ 2015 Conference.

This year’s conference will bring together some of the most innovative minds, with top educationalists, leaders in business and government and industry representatives. With a mix of international and Australian guest speakers, this conference will provide strategies that can help facilitate stronger management and outcomes for teams or organisations.

This year’s ITAB conference is essential for anyone wanting to stay competitive and up to date with VET policy and practice. Register or find out more here.

2015 NCVER ‘No Frills’ conference

6 – 8 July 2015, Sydney

Founder and CEO of the Institute for Workplace Skills and Innovation, Nicholas Wyman, will deliver a keynote address People Without Jobs and Jobs Without People: Bridging the Skills Gap at the 24th National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills' to be held in Sydney on 6 - 8 July 2015.

Nicholas's presentation will look at the issues behind the often quoted “skills gap”. Drawing on his work with the organisations, governments, and educational institutions from around the globe who are pioneering the most cutting-edge solutions to the skills-gap problem, Nicholas offers a road map for how organisations, communities, and educators can come together to develop the human capital needed to keep our businesses innovative and profitable, our economy healthy and humming, and our nation sustainably competitive in today’s global economy.

Co-hosted by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), University of Western Sydney and TAFE NSW's Western Sydney and South Western Sydney Institutes, the programme also features over 50 presentations on vocational education and training.

For more information about the conference and to register, please visit NCVER’s 'No Frills' website.

FURNISHING futures 2015 Conference – registrations now open

Registrations for the furnishing industry’s most prestigious annual event are now open for those wanting privileged insights into Australia’s furniture design and innovation future.

FURNITEX connect will be held 9 - 12 July 2015 at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens, Melbourne.

MSA is proud to announce that they will be hosting FURNISHING futures 2015 Conference as part of the event, in partnership with the Australian Furniture Association. The two-day programme includes talks, forums, networking and collaboration opportunities to ensure participants will go home well connected and equipped for the future.

An exceptional list of confirmed speakers includes; Dr Bronwyn Evans, Standards Australia, Peter Roberts, Australian Manufacturing Forum, Dr Swee Mak, RMIT, Ben Batagol, Amaero Additive Manufacturing and Peter Mclean, Development Impacts.

Read more details of the conference and register here.

VET FEE-HELP approved provider training

The Department of Education and Training will be conducting training for approved VET FEE-HELP providers throughout 2015. This training is suitable for recently approved or existing VET FEE-HELP providers that wish to refresh their knowledge. For more details and schedules of dates and venues please visit the department's website.

2016 Fulbright Scholarships round still open

A reminder that applications for the 2016 Fulbright Scholarship round will close on 1 August 2015.

For more information on the Fulbright Commission and the scholarships, please visit the Fulbright website.

National Skills Week

24 – 30 August 2015

Please visit the National Skills Week website for information about locations and events.

Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) 2015 National Conference and Asia Pacific International Education Forum

26 – 28 August 2015, Melbourne

Please visit the conference website for information.

TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) 2015 National Conference

9 – 11 September 2015, Hobart

Please visit TDA's website for information.

Velg Training 2015 National VET Conference

17 – 18 September 2015, Adelaide

Please visit Velg’s website for information.

Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL) 2015 National Conference

24 – 25 September 2015, Adelaide

Please visit the conference website for information.

State and Territory Training Awards

Details for the State and Territory Training Awards’ presentation dinner events are available:

Professional development for training providers

The 2015 professional development calendars for training providers are available for NSW and SA.

RESOURCES

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economic Security4Women (eS4W)

Funded by the Australian Government through the Office for Women in the Commonwealth Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, eS4W is a national women’s alliance. It is an alliance of women’s organisations united in 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.

The role of eS4W 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.

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. eS4W collaborates with these other Alliances on joint projects. More information on the Alliances’ model is available.

Money management help for apprentices and trainees

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.

Geelong jobseekers app created

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.

Foundation skills resources now available from Aspire Learning Resources!

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

Assessment model resources are now available to support your training

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.

Revision/update of Making the Connections

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.

Free ISC foundation skills resources now in one place

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

Numeracy by Measure, Numeracy in Practice and Numeracy in Focus

Numeracy by Measure is a free professional development resource to build practitioner awareness of workplace measurement skills to better meet the skills needs of adults in the workplace.

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

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

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

VOCEDplus – latest research on VET, skills and workforce development issues

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

FIND OUT WHAT'S NEW

Subscribe to VOCEDplus News for the latest news and updates.

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.

To find out more, visit VOCEDplus.

What Works for LLN – free online library of language, literacy and numeracy training and professional development videos

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

Government Skills Australia – foundation skills resources

Please visit the website to download the resources.

USEFUL LINKS

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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, FEEDBACK AND SUBSCRIPTION REQUESTS

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 July 2015. Submissions are due by 17 June 2015.