July 2009 e-newsletter
In this issue:
$20 million to train existing workers
Employers, industry bodies, enterprises, employment service providers and registered training organisations are invited to apply for funds to train existing workers under the Australian Government’s Productivity Places Program (PPP).
$20 million has been allocated through a joint Federal/State government funding package and 10 per cent from industry, to upgrade the skills and qualifications of about 6000 existing South Australian workers.
The program is part of the Australian Government’s Skilling Australia for the Future initiative to ensure that Australians develop the skills they need to be effective participants in and contributors to a modern labour market.
The Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology will be responsible for administering the funding, which will again be allocated through a contestable grants process.
Applications for this latest round of PPP funding close at close of business on 5 August 2009.
For further information and application packs visit the Productivity Places Program website.
Learning Works to help retrenched workers and young Australians
On 2 July, the Council of Australian Government (COAG) announced a Training Entitlement for Retrenched Workers as a key component of a Compact with Retrenched Workers. This follows the announcement of A Compact with Young Australians at the COAG meeting in April.
The Compact with Retrenched Workers is a package of support mechanisms for workers who have been made redundant since 1 January 2009. It will provide them with immediate access to intensive and personalised assistance through Job Services Australia.
Employers can expect to gain through more people being available with qualifications and skills that are most in need.
In addition streaming young people and retrenched workers into work or training now, will help deliver employment opportunities and the skills needed for future growth.
Supporting people into training, especially apprenticeships, will help avoid skills shortages re-emerging when economic conditions improve.
Eligibility
The program applies from 1 July 2009. To be eligible for the training entitlement, people must be referred by a Job Services Australia provider and should already have a skills assessment through the provider and an understanding of the career or job pathway they are pursuing.
They must also be 25 years of age or over and be registered with a Job Services Australia provider and the training must be for a higher level qualification than they already hold.
Eligible candidates will have priority access to places through the Productivity Places Program for Job Seekers or to TAFE SA courses, subject to admission requirements and course availability.
Compact with Young Australians
The Compact with Retrenched Workers follows the recently announced Compact with Young Australians giving young people priority access to a subsidised training or education place to help counter an expected rise in youth unemployment as a result of the global economic crisis.
In South Australia the Youth Compact will administered by DFEEST and be known as Learning Works with the first phase for those aged between 15 - 19 beginning on 1 July and the next phase for those between 20 - 24 starting on 1 Jan 2010.
The Training Entitlement component of the Compact with Retrenched Workers will also be administered by DFEEST through Learning Works.
For more information call the Learning Works hotline on 1800 506 266 or visit the Learning Works website.
260,000 qualifications needed to meet projected industry demand
South Australia’s Training and Skills Commission has released a Five Year Plan outlining three key areas aimed at increasing training and creating new employment opportunities.
The Five Year Plan identifies the need to:
- Increase the proportion of South Australians with higher level qualifications
- Broaden and deepen the state’s skills base and
- Improve employment participation.
This plan will be the major vehicle driving our planning over the next five years as we strive to secure South Australia’s future prosperity through building a highly-skilled, qualified and appropriately trained workforce.
The plan was developed following consultation with Industry Skills Boards, regional, community and industry groups, as well as taking into account the positions of the Economic Development Social Inclusion Boards.
The Commission estimates that growth in the economy, and the need to replace workers who retire, will create about 134,000 job openings over the next five years, particularly in the areas of business and finance, retail and health and community services.
In addition to this South Australia will need to deliver 260,000 post school qualifications to meet projected industry demand and to up-skill the existing workforce.
A full and final version of the Five Year Plan will be released in November this year.
The Five Year Plan can be found on the Training and Skills Commission website at www.tasc.sa.gov.au.
SA apprentice numbers up
SA apprentice and trainee numbers increased significantly last year according to figures released recently by the National Centre for Vocational and Education Research (NCVER).
33,000 SA apprentices and trainees were in-training in the December quarter last year, an increase of 7.5% over the same period in 2007.
The numbers starting an apprenticeship and traineeships are also still strong with an estimated 22,000 commencements in South Australia during 2008, a 5.8% increase over the previous twelve months.
An estimated 4,600 apprentices and trainees commenced their training in South Australia in the December quarter last year, 10.4% higher than the 4,100 commencements for the same quarter in 2007 compared with the national increase of only 0.1%.
State Budget boosts funding for training
The 2009 State Budget included a substantial increase in State Government funding for training.
Key initiatives funded in the Budget include:
- $49.7 million new funding for training and up-skilling of existing workers under the Productivity Places Program as part of a $155.2 million training package with the Commonwealth to create an extra 56,000 training places in South Australia over the next four years
- $10 million research funding for universities and
- Funding to attract more of the brightest international students to our universities.
The State Budget has been framed in very difficult economic circumstances and therefore this increase in total funding highlights a strong and ongoing commitment by the Government to training and up-skilling of workers in South Australia.
More than 2,700 SA job seekers to gain new skills
More than $8 million will be invested this year in targeted training to support more than 2,700 South Australian job seekers to gain employment in areas of high skill demand.
The Federal Government’s Productivity Places Program for Job Seekers, worth $40 million over the next four years to SA, will benefit 12,000 job seekers across the state by mid 2012.
Employers, industry bodies, employment services and registered training organisations across the state all responded strongly to the call for applications in February this year.
As a result, the program has secured additional funding to offer 2,748 qualifications this year, an increase of 248 above the original expected uptake figure.
The main beneficiaries of the program include the building and construction, health, primary industries and retail sectors.
The program is part of the Federal Government’s Skilling Australia for the Future initiative and is administered in SA by the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology.
For more information visit the Productivity Places Program website.
Federal budget positive for education, training, science and broadband in SA
The Federal Budget has had positive outcomes for South Australia, with significant investments to be made in higher education, vocational education and training and science and information economy.
Key initiatives include:
- $14.63 million funded through the Commonwealth Government’s Better TAFE Facilities fund, which will allow for maintenance, small capital works projects, equipment and plant purchases at TAFE SA campuses across the State
- Commonwealth funding for training through the Productivity Places Program (PPP) of $21.7 million for SA in 2009-10
- Commonwealth PPP funding of $106.5 million for South Australia from 2010-11 to 2012-13
- Higher education teaching and research funding nationally of approximately $2 billion over the next four years, with SA benefiting on a per capita or competitive basis
- $3.1 billion nationally for public and private research and development over the next four years, with SA expected to gain a share on a competitive basis
- $906.9 million over five years for the Super Science Initiative to boost critical areas such as biotechnology and nanotechnology
- New funding of $200 million for a medical science research initiative in Adelaide
- $80 million nationally over three years for the Rural and Regional National Broadband Network Initiative. The Government has also reaffirmed its commitment to the National Broadband Network.
The increased funding for training, higher education, science and innovation in the Budget is good news for the State, and will help us to continue achieving our goals in these areas.
Completed training means good jobs, better pay
A total of 93% of the State’s apprentices and trainees are in work after completing their training, compared to 79% for non-completers.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Apprentice and Trainee Destination survey also showed those who did complete their training are earning more - $43,400 per year on average compared to $41,700 for those who didn’t complete, while those who completed their training in a trade occupation do even better earning $46,300 on average.
The survey is the first of its kind in Australia with almost 4000 respondents, including 646 in SA, and was conducted approximately nine months after the apprentices and trainees left their training between September and November 2008.
The findings relate to apprentices and trainees who either completed all of the prescribed requirements of their contract of training or cancelled or withdrew from their studies.
Find out the facts on DFEEST projects
Find out more about DFEEST’s key projects and how they relate to skills and workforce development in industry. Go to the Skills SA website for information
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