September e-newsletter 2010
In this issue:
World class education hub for Tonsley Park site
A brand new $125 million Sustainable Industries Education Centre is to be built on the former Mitsubishi site at Tonsley Park by TAFE SA in collaboration with SA universities and industry.
The state-of-the-art Centre will specialise in training more than 8000 people a year in new green technologies associated with the building and construction industry – including plumbers, bricklayers, designers and carpenters.
It will be a central focus of the wider 61-hectare Tonsley Park Sustainable Technologies Precinct.
This week’s State Budget funds the new Centre, which will eventually replace the ageing and outdated TAFE SA facilities at Marleston, O’Halloran Hill and Panorama.
Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education Jack Snelling said the Centre will transform education and training for the $4.5 billion building and construction industry in South Australia. The industry is facing critical skills shortages, with demand for building and construction qualifications predicted to increase by at least 30 per cent by 2012.
For more information visit the Sustainable Industries Education Centre
Senator Chris Evans is the new Federal Minister
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has appointed Senator Chris Evans from Western Australia as the new Federal Minister for Tertiary Education, Jobs, Skills and Workplace Relations.
Senator Evans was the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in the previous government.
There is no overall Education Minister in the new cabinet line up. Instead the Prime Minister has split education responsibilities over a number of ministers.
In addition to Senator Evans, Peter Garret becomes the Minister for Schools, Early Childhood and Youth while Kim Carr keeps Innovation, Industry and Science which also covers research and post graduate education.
Skills for All to modernise SA training system
Premier Mike Rann and Employment, Training and Further Education Minister, Jack Snelling recently released Skills for All, a wide ranging vocational education and training (VET) reform program aimed at significantly increasing current skill levels and lifting workforce participation and productivity.
The central focus of the reforms is to transform VET into to a demand driven system that is responsive to the needs of students and businesses with better linkages to our schools and universities.
Among the proposed changes all South Australians will have a government supported entitlement for education and training. That entitlement will be transportable and able to be used by students and employers to purchase the training of their choice.
As the key public provider, TAFE SA will have a broader role in the market, supported by appropriate funding arrangements.
Training subsidy and fee arrangements will also be simplified, and a HECS-style income/loan arrangement for VET is also proposed.
For more information visit the Skills for All
Big jump in SA apprentice and trainee numbers
Figures released last week by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) show a big jump in apprentice and trainee numbers in South Australia, including record figures for commencements.
The March quarter figures showed significant increases in training numbers across the board – commencements, completions, in-training and those studying for higher level qualifications.
There were an estimated 32,300 apprentices and trainees in-training at March 31, 2010 – the highest number since 30 September 2008 and an increase of nearly six per cent on the figure at 31 December.
Significantly, an estimated 8000 apprentices and trainees started their training during the March quarter this year – nearly 35 per cent higher compared to the same period last year.
This is the largest March quarter figure for commencements on record and the second largest figure for any quarter behind the record figure of 8,700 in the December quarter 1998.
The NCVER data also revealed a 21 per cent jump in completions compared to the March quarter last year - more than three times the national rise of 6.8 per cent.
For more information visit the NCVER website
New chair of Training and Skills Commission
Employment, Training and Further Education Minister Jack Snelling last week announced the appointment of Mr Adrian Smith as the new Chair of the Training and Skills Commission (TaSC).
Adrian Smith is the Managing Director of SYDAC - a leading developer of simulation technology and engineering software. He has been a Commission member since 2003, and has more than 17 years experience as an engineer and 12 years leading SYDAC.
The Minister also thanked out-going chair Denise Bradley for her vision and leadership over the past two years and out-going Deputy Chair Pat Wright for his contribution.
'Professor Bradley was instrumental in guiding the Commission's ambitious reform agenda contained in the 2009 Skills for Jobs plan and the Skills for All plan,' Minister Snelling said. Mr Snelling also announced the appointment of four new Commission members.
Money not everything for apprentices and trainees
New research released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows that increasing apprentice and trainee wages alone is not the ‘silver bullet’ to improving low completion rates.
The research found that while the pay packet does have some impact on a person’s decision not to complete their apprenticeship or traineeship, the effect is not consistent across the board.
For apprentices the benefit of becoming a tradesperson is what matters, not how much they get paid while training.
Other factors such as not liking the type of work, being unhappy with the training, poor working relationships with the boss or workmates, illness or redundancy play a large part in why someone drops out of an apprenticeship or traineeship.
For more information visit the NCVER website