October 2009 e-newsletter

In this issue:

Action plan for construction industry workforce

Last week saw the launch of the Construction Industry Workforce Action Plan to support South Australia’s $4 billion construction industry workforce.

The construction industry, the fifth largest in the State, employing around 65,000 people, faces significant challenges in meeting its labour force demands because of the impact of the cyclical nature of the industry on the availability of skilled labour.

The plan provides a strategy to attract, develop and retain an appropriately skilled workforce, now and into the future.

It is the first of six industry-led workforce action plans which focus on South Australia’s key industries.

The information gathered to develop these Action Plans will also be used by the Training and Skills Commission in developing their Five Year Plan, due to be released later this year.

A copy of the action plan can be accessed on the Workforce Information Service website.

 

Mining scholarships for Aboriginal trainees

The State Government has joined with BHP Billiton and the mining industry to create scholarships for Aboriginal people to study engineering and geosciences.

The scholarships, worth a total of $30,000, are funded by the Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA). They are offered as part of BHP Billiton’s Indigenous Participation Program (IPP) and will be delivered by TAFE SA.

The scholarships will be available for up to 12 Aboriginal people to study a Diploma of Mechanical Engineering, Diploma of Geoscience or Diploma of Civil Drafting at TAFE SA.

The Indigenous Participation Program is based on a major agreement with three Aboriginal groups in the Olympic Dam region to ensure the communities benefit from the presence of its operations.

The scholarships will cover TAFE SA fees and study costs up to a maximum of $2,500 per student. TAFE SA will also provide additional support through Student Services and UIndigenous support agencies.

 

2009 South Australian Training Awards

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2009 SA Training Awards. Employment, Training and Further Education Minister Michael O’Brien presented this years winners with their awards at the gala dinner held recently at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

The annual awards, hosted by South Australia’s Training and Skills Commission, showcase excellence in the SA’s training sector and the high achievements of vocational education and training (VET) students.

Student Winners

Business SA Vocational Student of the Year: Jason Bromley, TAFE SA Mount Barker

OneSteel Whyalla Apprentice of the Year: Ryan Coats, PEER VEET

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Trainee of the Year: Lauren Tiltman, Stones and Muirden Business College

Australian School-based Apprentice of the Year: Mitchell Silk, Australian Technical College – Adelaide South

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year: Nat Loadsman, College for Learning and Development, Department for Families and Communities.

Enterprise Winners

Department of Trade and Economic Development Large Training Provider of the Year: Australian Institute of Management SA Division (AIM SA)

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations VET in Schools Excellence Award: Woodcroft College Hospitality and Skills Centre    

Australian Council for Private Education and Training Small Training Provider of the Year: Thebarton Senior College (The Skills Centre)

South Australian Training Initiative Award:  Marni Waiendi - City of Playford

Channel 9 Employer of the Year: Philmac

Award winners will have the opportunity to represent South Australia at the Australian Training Awards to be held in Canberra on 19 November 2009.

 

Read more at the SA Training Awards website.

 

Adam Internet wins broadband blackspots contract

SA Minister for Science and Information Economy Michael O’Brien recently awarded Adam Internet, an SA based company, the contract to construct a state-of-the-art WiMAX wireless broadband network for business and residential customers in broadband blackspot areas across the Adelaide metropolitan area.

Currently about 10% of residential, commercial and industrial, properties across metropolitan Adelaide are unable to use ADSL, the most common form of broadband access.

Work will begin almost immediately on addressing more than 350 blackspot locations across Adelaide, beginning with significant problem areas in Reynella and other southern suburbs.

The 15 month rollout will see the first Wimax service area coming online in October this year.

The rollout of the network will be funded by an initial $3 million investment from South Australia’s Broadband Development Fund and ongoing contributions from the Commonwealth’s Australian Broadband Guarantee along with leading internet service provider - Adam Internet - which will deliver the service.

 

Further links:

Adam Internet

WiMax

 

Apprentice and trainee numbers remain strong

The number of apprentices and trainees in-training in South Australia remains high, according to the latest data released in September by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

The March 2009 quarter figures show South Australia had 32,700 apprentices and trainees in-training as at 31 March 2009, an increase of 3% from March 2008.

The figures also showed that trades and technician apprentice numbers were increasing, with an estimated 13,400 in-training as at 31 March 2009, a rise of 2.7% from the 13,000 recorded at 31 March 2008.

Training completions were also up with a further 3000 apprentices finishing their trade and technician training, an increase of 2.5% on the previous year’s figure.

Meanwhile, a recently released report from the NCVER into how well the VET system met the needs of employers, showed more than 90% were satisfied with the VET system.  

The full PDF report can be downloaded from the NCVER website.
 

$200m invested in SA research and infrastructure helps leverage more than $1b

A new report released recently shows the SA Government has invested more than $200m in research projects and infrastructure since 2004, providing investment in SA of more than $1billion.

The STi10 Progress Report details the benefits so far to the State from the SA Government’s investment in Science, Technology and Innovation, at the halfway point of the Ten Year Plan, five years after its launch in 2004.

Some of the outcomes highlighted in the report include:

  • The presence of 33 Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) in SA in 2006-07 out of a national total of 58. Of these five are headquarters. This means 57% of all CRCs have a significant presence in our state
  • The SA share of Commonwealth research funding through the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and rural research and development corporations increased from $90.7 million in 2005 to $113 million in 2007
  • Income from contracts and consultancies by SA universities grew from $45.9 million in 2005 to $55.4 million in 2006, an increase of more than 20%
  • Venture capital investment in SA grew strongly with a rise of 75% in the last year.

The STi10 Progress Report - PDF (3MB) can be downloaded from the Innovation SA website.

 

Information and Communication Technology grants

Four South Australian businesses recently received grants of up to $30,000 through the ICT Innovations Partnerships grant program to promote business innovation in the SA Government through ICT and accelerate the development of ICT companies in SA.


The successful businesses were:

  • Our Bizniss Productions Pty Ltd in partnership with TAFE SA Regency Campus to develop a suite of eLearning products addressing employability skills within the small business environment
  • Turbosoft Networks Pty Ltd in partnership with the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission to further develop their Netscope Network Management product to better manage network traffic during emergency response situations
  • Alcidion Corporation in partnership with the Flinders Medical Centre to develop an electronic toolset to draw information from multiple sources to enhance clinical decision support systems for the hospital
  • Podmo Mobile in partnership with the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure  to pilot the use of internet and other digital services across the state’s public transport network to enhance the travelling experience of commuters.

The grants of $25,000-$30,000 were available to SA ICT companies through a competitive, merit-based process to help them increase the likelihood of commercialising an innovative product or service through a partnership with an SA Government agency.


The SA Government contributed $100,000 in April 2008 to a pool of funds (total $200,000) being managed by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) to implement the scheme.

 

Manufacturing job matching 

A new $448,000 skills project launched in Adelaide recently aimed at helping match potential workers in the State’s manufacturing, engineering and automotive sector with industry employers.

The project involving two new online tools is the result of the South Australian Manufacturing Skills Recognition and Matching Project - a joint initiative under the State Government’s South Australia Works Workforce Development Fund and the Manufacturing Industry Skills Advisory Council (MISAC).

The project came about after the manufacturing industry identified a need to monitor and record skills, identify trends and support workers who were retrenched or seeking employment.

The industry also needed a mechanism to support business enterprises experiencing severe labour and skill shortages.

These new tools create an immediate link between employers in urgent need of skills to those skilled workers who may be at risk of losing their job or are looking for alternative employment.

The data will also enable MISAC to determine which skills are in demand and how we can ensure that the manufacturing industry can more accurately forecast future skill needs.

The two new online tools are:

  • Skills4Jobs - a powerful skills/job matching and workforce planning tool enabling employers to register a skill profile for a job vacancy and be supplied with a list of available candidates whose skills would suit that job
  • MySkills - helps workers to keep track of their work history, skills attained, career planning and contacts.

The online tools are available at www.skills4jobs.net.au and www.myskills.net.au.

 

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