July e-newsletter 2010

In this issue:

 

Have your say on South Australia’s training system

 

Skills for All, the State Government’s ten-point plan for the reform of the Vocational Education and Training sector in South Australia  has been released for public consultation and comment.

To have your say about the proposed Skills for All program and to access the full consultation paper, Skills for All: Productivity and Participation through Skills, visit the Skills for All website

Consultation will run until Friday 13 August 2010.

Skills for All identifies industry as a key partner in building a training system that meets our social and economic needs now and into the future. The aim is to create a dynamic education and training system with significant benefits for industry including:

  • Students will be entitled to access increased Government funding for study in areas of their choice, subject to industry demand.
  • Employers and students will be able to use the training provider of their choice.
  • The additional training places will support the needs of industry across a wide range of skill levels, including foundation literacy and numeracy, higher level VET qualifications and specific skill set training.
  • Employers will be supported with a Government training subsidy for agreed workforce development strategies.
  • Additional Government support will be provided where an employer agrees to engage people either currently unemployed or not in the labour force for an agreed trial period of employment and training.

Skills for All is part of the SA Government’s Jobs Strategy and will be central to meeting its commitment to create 100,000 new jobs over the next six years, supported by 100,000 additional training places.

This additional training commitment is equivalent to an average of 16,700 additional training places each year for the next six years. This is a substantial increase on the 92,000 training places currently supported by the government each year.

To deliver on these new training places, we need to consider ways to modernise and improve South Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) system.
 

Helping young South Australians get ready for work


500 young South Australians will have access to pre apprenticeship training opportunities, through a $3.5 million Apprentice Kickstart funding package announced last week by the Federal Education Minister, Simon Crean, and South Australian Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education Jack Snelling.

This initiative will help young South Australians get work in traditional trade apprenticeships, such as plumbing, carpentry and electrical trades.

The training places will be available for courses which build up skills to increase the chances of securing an apprenticeship.

The focus is particularly on Indigenous people and young people under 19 years of age, in areas with higher rates of unemployment.

The Apprentice Kickstart training is based on a shortened and successfully tested pre-apprenticeship model, including work placements, mentoring arrangements and other forms of support, such as language, literacy and numeracy skills; and negotiating apprenticeships with prospective employers.

For more information about Pre-Apprenticeship Training Opportunities telephone Yvonne Todd on 08 8463 5620 or email DFEEST.AKPA@sa.gov.au

 

$32 million to train existing workers

There was an excellent response by employers, industry bodies, businesses, and registered training organisations in SA to invitations to apply for funding to train existing workers in the latest round of the Productivity Places Program (PPP) for Existing Workers program.

The $32 million in funding available for the 2010 program for existing workers is the largest investment in training committed since the joint Federal and State Government training program began and builds on the $20 million allocated in 2009.

In this current round, an estimated 15,500 training places will lead to nationally-endorsed qualifications at Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma levels across a range of high demand industries.

Funding proposals had to  demonstrate a strong partnership between training providers, employers and industry.

For more information, visit the Productivity Places Program website

 

$4.5m for 3200 training places to support job seekers

More than 3200 training places worth $4.5 million are set to boost the skills and qualifications of South Australian job seekers as a result of the strong response to the call for applications for training through the Federal Government-funded Productivity Places Program for Job Seekers program.

The main South Australian industry sectors to benefit through this round - the third to be delivered through a four-year program - include business and financial services; mining, engineering and defence; health and community services; wholesale and retail, tourism and hospitality.

This allocation will fund 1264 nationally endorsed training places at Certificate II level; 1436 at Certificate III level; 312 at Certificate IV level and 204 at Diploma level.

Targeted training places have also been allocated to help meet the particular needs of Indigenous people, those with disabilities, regional circumstances, retrenched workers and unemployed youth.

 

Employment information at your fingertips

South Australians have access to a new tool to keep tabs on South Australia’s employment data by occupation.

The Workforce Wizard is a software resource available for use by anyone who is interested in workforce issues, and will be especially valuable to employers, industry groups, training organisations and school career counsellors.

The Workforce Wizard covers over 350 occupations and examples of the industry sectors for which reports could be created include the building trades, civil and mining engineering and medical services.

The Workforce Wizard is designed as an easy-to-use database to enable the user to quickly generate a formatted report about up-to-date labour market information by occupation, or groups of occupations, of your choosing.

This information could then be used as a starting point for workforce planning.

The Workforce Wizard is available as a free download from the State Government’s Workforce Information Service website and will be updated quarterly.

 

TAFE SA Education to Employment (e2e) service

Employers now have access to an online service that puts them directly in touch with TAFE SA students them access to a pool of hundreds of students and graduates who are seeking work in a particular industry.

TAFE SA Education to Employment service (e2e) gives students 24-hour access to information on current vacancies, prospective employers and upcoming events.

Students can browse job vacancies, create a CV, receive job and event alerts, and complete several online career-related training modules. It also features centrally managed phone, email and online support for users.

The system uses enrolment information to guarantee every candidate is a current student or recent graduate of TAFE SA.

For more information visit the Education to Employment service website