The final stage of the review of the Public Safety Training Package has been completed with the review of the Industry Wide sector units and qualifications. This final review has been undertaken with an underlying policy of minimal impact on RTOs, especially where some language changes will be better incorporated as part of the Streamlining of Training Packages process.

The Australian Government has announced the next round of National Workforce Development Funding. An additional $50 million in funding has been released for the 2011-2012 financial year. Applications are due to GSA by Friday 2 March 2012 with training for all approved projects to have commenced by 2 June 2012.

The second round of consultation workshops are now being held.

Following industry consultations GSA is now finalising the draft framework report.

The draft framework will be available for comment with the second round of consultation to be held during January and February 2012.

For more information click here.

The final stage of the review of the Public Safety Training Package has been completed with the review of the Industry Wide sector units and qualifications. This final review has been undertaken with an underlying policy of minimal impact on RTOs, especially where some language changes will be better incorporated as part of the Streamlining of Training Packages process. As part of this broader process, it was decided to release the Public Safety Training Package as a new package, PUA12.

In April 2011, Government Skills Australia (GSA) commenced research to analyse and identify the current status of articulation arrangements between Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Education (HEd) providers for the GSA industry-linked qualification pathways. These pathways relate to the delivery of the Corrections, Local Government, Public Safety, Public Sector, and Water Training Packages and the Higher Education undergraduate and postgraduate degrees that may offer broadening or extension of these qualifications.

‘Creating the workforce for Australia’s future’

GSA held the Industry Advisory Committee Conference in Brisbane on 23^rd and 24^th November. The conference included workshops addressing several issues around the future of Australia’s workforce. The presentations and papers are available to download below.

A draft scoping report has been prepared by IBSA based on stakeholder feedback gathered over the past 5 months through the consultation process.

In February 2011, Government Skills Australia (GSA) commenced research to examine the current uptake of the Local Government Training Package (LGA04) and identify the key issues impacting on its uptake.

GSA is pleased to release this report which discusses the findings through the experiences of a sample of councils, Registered Training Organisations and Local Government stakeholders from across Australia, as well as through statistical data collated from within GSA, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research  and the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government.

Seventeen recommendations are made at the conclusion of the report to provide future direction for LGA04 and GSA’s work with the Local Government industry. Recommendations are made with regard to the following key areas:

• The Training Package
• Resource and Capacity Development
• Industry Engagement and Consultation
• Awareness and Promotion
• Further Research
• Higher Education Connections.

This report is intended to be a starting point for further research in the Local Government industry. It should be read with the understanding that participation was voluntary and this analysis is therefore only based on a sample of RTOs, councils and Local Government stakeholders. A number of recommendations identify the need for further investigation and research.

Innovation and Business Skills Australia is scoping the development of a Foundation Skills Training Package. The Foundation Skills Training Package will provide pathways into vocational qualifications and support for the foundation skills development needs of a range of learners.

GSA is currently seeking feedback on the development of two Skill Sets for inclusion in the Public Sector Training Package. It is intended that these Skill Sets will provide an introductory overview of the Public Sector—either for new employees that may already possess other qualifications, or as a more formalised approach to existing induction processes.

You are invited to review and comment on the content of each Skill Set.  The introductory information and skill sets can be downloaded by clicking on the file links below.

Amendments have been made to several Diploma level qualifications in the Public Sector Training Package.  The revised draft qualifications include the unit PSPOHS301A, Contribute to workplace safety as a replacement for PSPOHS501, and are available for review and comment below. Click on the file to download.

A survey document has been distributed seeking feedback on the content and structure of a new qualification for the Public Sector Training Package – Certificate IV in Government (Human Resources).  In this survey stakeholders are also invited to provide comment on the content of the Diploma of Government (Human Resources). 

For more information, and to provide input on the content and structure of both qualifications click on the document links below to download the details.

GSA is pleased to announced that the DEF11 Defence Training Package Version 1.0 has been submitted to the NSSC. Click on the Download PDF link to view the Case for Endorsement. The draft package in full can be found through this site's Training Packages page.

Welcome to the new CEO

The Australian Government is making $30 million available over the next three years, so that 7500 mature age workers with trade relevant skills but no formal qualifications will have the opportunity to have their skills assessed and formally recognised.  More Help for Mature Age Workers is aimed at workers aged 50 years and over and provides a focus on skilling up mature age workers to address both productivity and skills shortages.

Ithaca Group will be conducting a series of consultation sessions across the country to test preliminary thinking about the content and structure of the framework. The consultations will also provide an opportunity to identify issues that might impact upon the further development and implementation of the framework.

HR Personnel/ Water Division Manager/ Corporate Managers - The National Water Skills Audit is now open.  The biennial Audit will assess the water industry’s current skill needs and skill requirements into the future. The Audit contains water specific questions about various aspects and perceptions of organisation workforces.  To find out more about the Audit and your chance to win an E-Reader Click Here!

Over 450 industry and educational leaders, policy makers and planning experts met in Melbourne on 21^st July at the ‘Putting Skills at the heart of the economy’ conference to explore one of the biggest challenges facing Australia’s productivity – the supply of appropriately skilled workers.

GSA has moved into new offices in Adelaide and we have updated our contact details as:

PH: 08 8100 7400

FAX:  08 8232 7444

Postal Address: PO Box 347, Rundle Mall SA 5000

Street Address: Level 11, 147 Pirie Street, Adelaide, SA. 5000.

EMAIL: info@governmentskills.com.au

Government Skills Australia is pleased to announce the launch of their newest online resource, QC Builder.

QC Builder is an easy to use online training management tool. It has been developed to assist training providers, employers and employees from the Australian government and community safety industry to create training frameworks that meet the specific needs of the workplace and are aligned to and comply with the endorsed national standards.

The National Focus categories recognise outstanding contributions towards the attainment of Australia’s national vocational education training system (VET) priorities. In particular, the National Focus categories acknowledge contributions of individuals, schools, businesses and organisations which have had a significant impact on the VET sector.

As part of an ongoing review of the effectiveness of the Public Training Safety Package and the timeliness of response to the Defence Sectors Training needs, it has been agreed to create a standalone Defence Training Package. This was achieved by extracting the existing Defence Sector material from PUA00 V8.1 and recoding it by:

• Changing Qualification codes and titles from PUA to DEF (eg PUA41406 Certificate IV in Public Safety (Defence Diving) becomes DEF41406 Certificate IV in Defence Diving)
• Changing Unit codes by removing the PUA prefix (eg PUADEFCA302B Assist in the construction of minefields becomes DEFCA302B Assist in the construction of minefields

To minimise impact on industry, and to create a base Package, structure, content, and outcomes were not changed. Qualification numbering was not changed, as this will allow easier identification of the last true review. Unit version codes (A,B,C) were not reset to A for the same reason. An extensive review process will be implemented upon endorsement. GSA now invites feedback from industry on the new package. Due to the nature of the changes (coding rather than content), and the intent not to make content changes at this time, the feedback period has been shortened to 2 weeks and will close Friday 22 July 2011.

To view the draft package, visit our Feedback Register and click on the the Download PDF link.

Any queries should be directed to Benjamin Hollister ben.hollister@governmentskils.com.au

4 draft Procurement units of competency are now available for comment on the GSA website. Please visit this page to view and comment. These units have been developed in consultation with industry over the past 12 months.

• PSPPROC511A Plan and implement strategic sourcing
• PSPPROC512A Plan and implement procurement category management
• PSPPROC513A Conduct demand and procurement spend analysis
• PSPPROC608A Manage fundamental aspects of a supply chain

Skills Australia invites you to come to an information session about VET reform – outlining rationale and key recommendations of Skills Australia’s recent report Skills for Prosperity – a roadmap for vocational education and training.  These information sessions are scheduled for the period 23 – 31 May 2011.

To find out when these sessions will be run in a capital city  near you - please visit the following website and register your attendance:

http://www.skillsaustralia.gov.au/SkillsProsperity.shtml

On 3 May 2011, Skills for Prosperity – a roadmap for vocational education and training report was launched by Skills Australia and presented to Minister for Skills and Jobs, Senator Chris Evans, putting forward comprehensive reforms for the way the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector is developed, organised and financed.

Almost half of Australia's working age population does not have the reading, writing or numeracy skills to participate effectively in the type of training required for trade or professional jobs. As a result, between 7 and 8 million Australians are in danger of being confined to low-wage jobs with little prospect of improvement.

Australia’s eleven Industry Skills Councils have jointly released a statement calling for urgent action to remedy this situation. 

GSA is conducting a series of professional development workshops (AM) and information sessions (PM) between May and July 2011 on Training Packages.