workready in south australia - how did we get...

WorkReadyin South

Australia -How did we

get here?

Copyrighted to Workforce BluePrint 2011-17

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/south-australian-state-government-2012-13-mid-year-budget-review-major-employment-training-and-skills-savings/178192-budget-graphic-2/

http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-funded-training-list-views-on-the-consultation-survey/skilled-trade-workers/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/proposed-changes-to-skills-for-all-funding-based-on-demand/disability/

http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-gets-27-million-catch-up-in-the-south-australian-state-budget/manufacturing/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/skills-for-all-funded-training-list-6-0-consultation-outcomes-report-still-a-way-to-go/s4a-pic/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/skills-for-all-training-accounts-limits-and-whats-next/what-where-why/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/refocussing-vocational-training-in-victoria-comparison-with-skills-for-all/team-of-business-people-working-together-on-a-laptop/

http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-no-new-enrolments/nne/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/jobs-and-skills-policy-launched-in-south-australia-based-on-workforce-demand-from-whom/095308-jay-weatherill/

http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-strengths-and-weaknesses/facebook-like/

http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-balancing-industry-needs-with-workforce-participation-and-retrenchment/392046-melanie-rowe/

http://wpaa.com.au/workready-ready-set-shakeup-for-vet-in-south-australia/011217-n-9769s-207_ready_for_working_party/

http://wpaa.com.au/workready-shake-rattle-and-roll-for-vet-in-south-australia/jobs/

http://wpaa.com.au/workready-stalemate-to-solution-for-south-australia/flickr_-_law_keven_-_lets_go_to_work/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/workready-8-areas-the-new-minister-can-quickly-make-a-positive-impact/north-south-motorway/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/SAHMRI_Adelaide_SA.jpg

VET in South Australia - Skills for All to WorkReady

Since 2011 when Skills for All was muted, the Vocational Education andTraining (VET) system in South Australia has been through many changes. Some positive, others anything but and now it is time to reinvent. Beforelooking at where to next, revisting the past with the various iterations ofVET policy will help others not to make the same mistakes as the past.

This ebook tracks the history of the SA VET policy landscape through aseries of blog that were written at the time of announcements andchanges. What do you make of how we got here?

For those who have recently joined the VET system - practitioners, policymakers and leaders who have a deep understanding and experience withVET, core teaching, learning and assessment capability is key. Please shrethis ebook widely with your colleagues and see if you can track wherethings went right and where they went wrong.


Skills for All and Opportunities for You

Skills for All, the Strategic Direction for Vocational Education and Trainingin South Australia 2011-2014 has been published and was great weekendreading with the pink highlighter pen out!

What does Skills for All offer?

- extra $194 million over the next 6 years for an additional 100 000 places -transition to a National VET Regulator in 2011- income contingent loans and concession fees for low income earners -Skills in the Workplace initiative to upskill employees in support of theirworkforce development – sharing the costs with government where more than 200 employees – at least 50%; 100-199 employees at least 25%; less than 100 employees atleast 10% - independent and endorsed workforce development advisors - subsidies – full for Cert I and II; 80% for Cert III and IV; 70% for Dip andAdv Dip; up to 100% for priority quali cations, critical skills and specialisedoccupations - designated skills set training once/year based upon advice from industry -move towards fully contestable training market - from 1.7.11 the Office of TAFE SA will be formed - training information portal


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-and-opportunities-for-you/


- plain language document on provider services and outcomes forstudents, awareness of opportunities to feedback concerns or complaintsfrom students and regular info campaigns - $6.4 million in additional funding for foundation skills and Adult andCommunity Education (ACE) - reduction in VET cost per hour closer to the national VET average - Skills for All providers will receive subsidies for delivery in rural locationsthat reflect additional costs with thin markets - targeted professional development initiatives that address contemporaryeducation and training and workforce development practice - nominated capability building initiatives to ensure good practice forproviders- a new Employer Recognition Program initially recognising employers ofapprentices and expanding over time for employers who are committed todeveloping the skills of their workforce - employers co-investment with Government in integrate workforcedevelopment plans, encourage industry uptake of workforce development,industry investment and skill development for new and emergingindustries and technologies - workforce development support including toolkits, workshops andresources




So here’s some ideas on what to consider now so you are ready for the rollout:

training providers must demonstrate the demand for skills and jobs,links to industry and funding required – this means taking an evidencebased approach and analysing workforce, industry and regionaldemand registration and quali cation requirements as a Skills for All trainingprovider – this is additional to the minimum AQTF standards and you’llneed to be on the look out for when DFEEST releases the requirements increased focus on recognition of prior learning and identifyingstudent learning needs – think about RPL as opt out of not op in andwho you can tap into for learner support at enrolment students and their provider will develop a customisedtraining plan – do you already have this in place or will you need todevelop a template and tools? the subsidy price will be paid monthly to quali ed providers basedupon module completions – how will your cash ow work and whatsystems will you need to put in place for reporting? one website will have information about Skills for All providers – howwill you keep this up to date and what about your own website, maybetime for review and some advice? DFEEST will provide information to students – how could youmaximise this promotional opportunity and do you need to rethinkyour marketing strategy? ACE partners – who do you know? who can you work with? do/can/willyou deliver foundation skills? VET costing – do you know all the inputs, all the outputs and the returnon the investment?




Delivery in rural locations – get familiar with the AccessibilityRemoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) to determine regional loadingsand classify your target markets based upon industries, studentcohorts and regions – locality, SLA and postcode are important datasets here need to better engage and support SME’s – facilitate a workforcedevelopment style conversation and identify all their needs employer recognition – what about the commitment of your ownorganisation to workforce development? are you leading the way? focus on workforce development – this is moving beyond training andassessment and workforce skills development towards a workforceplanning approach

What’s next – have a look at the key implementation milestones with theSkills in the Workplace program due for August 2011 with most activitieskicking off publicly from June 2011 through until 2012-13.


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/get-ready-for-skills-for-all/

Get Ready for Skills for All

If you are operating in the South Australian training market then ‘get‘getready’ready’ is the key message from the Department of Further Education,Employment, Science and Technology (DFEEST). Get ready for:

the application process to open in the last week or two of October2011; the course (quali cations and skills sets/licence outcomes) list inNovember 2011 – could be a specialist occupation, state priority (suchas Defence, Mining, Arts), foundation skills and/or meet speci c industry needs; and the price list available in December 2011.

Prices will be detailed at a unit of competency level and will vary dependingon AQF levels. The rates will be based upon an average of User Choice,Productivity Places Program and TAFESA’s recurrent funding amounts(referred to as FSI500) together with a comparison of interstate VET prices. Payments are planned on units of competency completion (RTOs will needto manage their cash ow well) paid on a monthly cycle with bonuspayments for full completions.

Certi cate I and II will be fully subsidised, Certi cate III and IV 80%subsidised and Diploma and Advanced Diploma 70% subsidised withconcessions available (Healthcare/Veterans Card) and 1 skills set/year foreligible applicants. DFEEST will publish a minimum and maximum fee tobe paid to make up the di erence between the subsidised % and the fullcosts. RPL will be fully funded.


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-australians-to-skills-for-all-sa-user-choice-and-well-funding/


The Quality Directorate is moving into the area of contract and purchasingquality. Applications for Skills for All will be online, no fees to apply, withno closing date and it’s recommended that the RTO’s CEO gain a log in. RTOs can work on their application over time until they are ready to‘submit’ their submission. If providers submit in December 2o11, theMinister will make somesome providers an offer with contract negotiations overJanuary – March 2012 and the rst list of Skills for All providers will bemade public in April 2012. Fact Sheet 2 Applying to be a Skills for AllProvider procedure details the process for applications and assessments.

If you are a User Choice provider and want to continue after July 2012, youneed to register as a Skills for All provider. Providers may also wish toregister for VET fee help with the option of income contingent loans forstudents.

Now for the main game, what are the selection criteria (Fact Sheet 3) forproviders? Well, it’s all about performance…

regulatory record (information will be shared with DFEEST and theregulator, ASQA); contract compliance; financial health (of the whole organisation, not only the RTO); number of graduates; student and employer satisfaction (quality indicator reports viaTraining Packages); and graduate outcomes.

Tips for providers:Tips for providers: focus on your strengths, where industry/clientdemand and your performance is high, where you have strong industryconnections and excellent graduate outcomes.




DFEEST is taking an evidence based approach to Skills for All providers withdata and evidence to be provided about:

Meeting SA Guidelines for RTOs; Meeting student learning needs; the RTO; Training Package/s; and Each qualification.

Review Fact Sheet 4 Preparing to Apply to be a Skills for All TrainingProvider for all the details on speci c evidence – if you don’t have aworkforce plan for your RTO and/or a recent Training Needsworkforce plan for your RTO and/or a recent Training NeedsAnalysisAnalysis then this has to be the catalyst!

A few final things..

What RTOs put in their application will form part of the contractrequirements; The contract will be monitored with an annual review, reporting andclaims requirements, benchmarking across similar courses withtriggers if you are an ‘outlier’ in terms of performance/price or receivecomplaints against your RTO; and Information on Skills in the Workplace will be available in October2011.

Throughout 2012, the level of interest in workforce development, withRTOs building their own workforce plan’s and undertaking professionaldevelopment in workforce development and planning, has signi cantlyincreased as leaders are positioning themselves to be primed for Skills forAll and national reforms – are you?



Skills for all Australians to Skills for All(SA), User Choice and WELL Funding

The Commonwealth government likes the reforms being implemented inSouth Australia and it shouldn’t be lost that new national reforms are titledSkills for all Australians and in SA its Skills for All (implemented from July2012). With News South Wales and Queensland moving into a period ofstate based VET reform, watch for similarities (and differences).

The Prime Minister has announced a Skills Reform package for States andTerritories to reform the national vocational education and training systemto address skills shortages across the economy.

Skills for all Australians aims to achieve a more competitive, dynamiceconomy.




The Commonwealth has committed $1.75 billion over ve years to achievekey reforms to be negotiated with the states and territories through theCouncil of Australian Governments (COAG):

a national entitlement to training at a minimum of the rst certi cateIII quali cation so working age Australians have the opportunity togain the skills needed to get a decent, sustainable job in Australia’snew economy; wider access to student loans to reduce upfront cost barriers to studyat the diploma and advanced diploma level; increased availability of information about courses, costs and trainingprovider quality through a new My Skills website so students andbusiness can make well informed choices about their training options,linked to their own needs and the needs of the economy; and choose ahigh quality training provider to help them develop the skills they seek; support for quality teaching and assessment, including trialling modelsfor independent validation of training provider assessments sostudents and employers can have con dence in the quality andconsistency of training they purchase; support for a strong public training provider network through theimplementation of the reforms to ensure a high quality trainingsystem is accessible to all Australians; and incentives to achieve improved completion of full quali cations,particularly at higher levels and for disadvantaged students, to deliverthe quali ed workers that business needs and give all Australians theopportunity to develop skills and participate in the workforce.


http://www.coag.gov.au/

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/south-australian-state-budget-and-skills-for-all-countdown/


In response to the Commonwealth Government’s reform agenda on takingoffice, COAG agreed ambitious skills objectives by 2020 to:

double the number of higher level quali cations completions (diplomaor advanced diploma); halve the proportion of Australians aged 20 to 64 years without aqualification at the certificate III level or higher; and increase the proportion of young Australians aged 20 to 24 attaining ayear 12 or equivalent to 90 per cent by 2015 (with equivalencemeasured as certi cate II or above by 2015, and certi cate III or aboveby 2020).

Skills for all Australians has 3 main documents – reforms, supportingstudents, and small business – keep an eye on this website and the PM’spress site for further info and announcements.

NB. COAG next meets on 13 April 2012 – watch the website for theCommunique.

Skills for AllSkills for All

Friday 30 March is the day that many people have been waiting for with therelease of the Skills for All Subsidy Framework and Price list. Informationsessions are being run on 2 April 2012 and 4 April 2012.

The Skills for All Subsidised Training List details the quali cation that canbe funded. Registered Training Organisations need to apply to become aSkills for All Training Provider and a guide to completing the applicationhas been published.

Skills in the Workplace addresses urgent skills requirements for SouthAustralian industries and enterprises.


http://www.pm.gov.au/


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/skills-for-all-training-providers/apply-to-become-a-skills-for-all-training-provider

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-observations-and-the-workforce-development-program-2/

South Australian State Budget and Skillsfor All countdown

Delivery foundation skills programs by applying to rst be a listed ACEprovider and then for grant funding. Applications for the 2012/13 grantfunding round must be received by Friday 27 April 2012Friday 27 April 2012.

The Training Guarantee for SACE students means the South AustralianGovernment will pay a course subsidy to a Skills for All Training Providerfor selected SACE students who are 16 years of age or older.

National Workforce Development FundNational Workforce Development Fund

a) Closing date for the national workforce applications is this Friday.Please ensure you leave adequate time to lodge directly. If lodging throughService Skills, please lodge by 4pm AEST, Thursday 29 March 2012.

b) For those organisations running short of time to complete a fullapplication, please complete the electronic expression of interest:

c) ALL candidates must be enrolled in an approved project by end May.The registered training organisation must be able to report enrolments by

rst week of June. (Training provider admin processes will need to beoperating e ectively as candidates not recorded on that RTO report in thefirst week of June cannot be funded).

Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) ProgramWorkplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) Program – – Fundingfor resource and strategic project 2012

Submissions for WELL funding are invited from eligible organisations thatwish to develop a resource or strategic project that supports adultlanguage, literacy and numeracy (LLN) training across one or more industrysectors.

th


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/funding/training-guarantee-for-sace-students



Resources can include training materials that support:

a nationally endorsed Training Package industry relevant LLN assessment and reporting methods, or professional development resources for industry trainers/assessorsaligned with Training Packages.

Strategic projects must have national scope and can include:

the development of LLN plans for a particular industry or industrygroup, or the development and implementation of a national model or strategyto integrate LLN into workplace training with a cross-industry focus.




“The 2012–13 State Budget has the lowest net spending since thisGovernment came to office,” Mr Snelling said.

Living within our means or ‘living thin’Living within our means or ‘living thin’ is the theme of the budget.

“The new spending initiatives we have announced in the 2012-13 StateBudget have been targeted at people who need it most, with recordspending in disabilities, into areas of high need and into initiatives thatmake a difference to South Australians.”

• $212.5 million to boost to disability services, the largest injection intodisabilities in more than 25 years;

• $45.7 million on a one-o Water Security Rebate to help alleviate thecosts of increased water prices; • $30.4 million on a new digital system for pathology testing for betterpatient care in our health system; • $38.3 million on a new Mining and Engineering Industry Training Centre toensure South Australians have the skills for the mining jobs of the future; • $28.7 million to redevelop the Parks Community Centre in Adelaide’snorth western suburbs;




• $20 million to make sure South Australia is ready for a launch of theNational Disability Insurance Scheme; • $19.8 million in additional funding to boost support for our children inneed of alternative care; • $8.3 million to boost equipment and training for our emergency services; • $8.3 million on an Advanced Manufacturing Strategy to support growth inthis vital sector; • $5.6 million to extend the $8000 First Home Bonus Grant for at leastanother 12 months; • $5.1 million for a stamp duty concessions for people buying o -the-planapartments in the City; and • $3.3 million for a pilot program in Adelaide’s northern suburbs for earlysupport for vulnerable families with infants with young children.

Workforce development opportunities in the budget include: - Disability sector and not for pro ts to transition to service provision withthe National Disability Insurance Scheme – $1 million over two years tosupport planning and preparation for the transition from the current blockf unding arrangements to a more competitive disability servicesenvironment in line with a proposed NDIS. - Mining and Engineering industry training, mobile workforces and skills forsupport service providers - $38.3 million on a dedicated centre of trainingexcellence for the mining, engineering, defence and transport industries

- Outplacement, career development and skills recognition (RPL) for publicservants - Small and medium enterprise capability to bid for and win contracts




- Transference of skilled workers across major projects, infrastructurebuilding and upgrades with NEW projects including: – $110 million on the grade separation of the Goodwood rail junction; – $19million to build a dedicated Mining and Engineering Industry TrainingCentre at Regency Park; – $13.2 million on the upgrade and signalisation of the intersection of TiverRoad and Main North Road at Evanston; – $11.9 million on the Parks Community Centre redevelopment; - Water industry and implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan - Volunteer training for emergency services: – “The CFS and SES will receive - $2.6 million over the next four years for thenationally endorsed training. There will be six frontline training sta tobolster frontline support to volunteers,” he said. Both the CFS/SES arerequired to provide training in areas such as fire fighting, road crash rescueand marine search and rescue. - Advanced Manufacturing sector with $8.3 million over four years for theimplementation of an Advanced Manufacturing Strategy including a MiningIndustry Participation O ce, an Advanced Manufacturing Council, industryintelligence and capability mapping, as well as improving links betweenresearch institutions and industry to drive innovation. - Early Childhood, Infant and Family based programs - Digital Health system implementation and related skills - Defence Teaming Centre $2 million for the peak association - Critical Skills Investment Program $48.1 million for traineeships andapprenticeships in priority skills areas and through Group TrainingOrganisations




Some of the key savings initiatives announced as part of the 2012-13 StateBudget include:

• $372.9 million on the suspension of the electri cation of the Gawler andOuter Harbor rail lines. The electri cation of the Noarlunga line through toSeaford and the network train capacity will increase; • $255.6 million on making the public service more e cient by increasingtheir e ciency dividend from 0.25% to 1.0% from 2013-14 to be o set by$81.9 million of spending on a new public sector skills and retentionentitlement to retain experienced public servants; • $166.8 million on the reduction of 1000 full-time equivalent employees inthe public service through either targeted voluntary separation packages(TVSP) or natural attrition to be o set by $60.4 million of spending to thecost of providing TVSPs over the same period; • $121.2 million on deferring the abolition of stamp duty on non-realproperty transfers; • $77 million on deferring a redevelopment of the Queen Elizabeth Hospitaland a rehabilitation in-patient unit at the Modbury Hospital. • Merging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources with theDepartment of Water, not renewing the Government’s lease on corporatefacilities at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and ending funding for theThinkers in Residence program and the Integrated Design Commission;and • $120.4 million on the abolition of payroll tax exemptions for eligibleapprentices and trainees to be o set by $48.1 million of spending re-targetsupport directly to registered group training organisations.




Apprenticeships and traineeships The Government will change the way it supports apprentices and traineesto coincide with the commencement of the Skills For All training scheme –abolishing payroll tax exemptions and targeting funding for quali cationsthat are of strategic importance. Group training organisations (GTO) will berewarded as Australian Apprenticeship completions rates are at least 10%higher than non GTO’s. Organisations employing an apprentice/trainee in apriority skill area will receive a completion bonusSkills for All from July 2012 Skills for All provider contract terms and conditions have been releasedwith providers expectant to hear news if they have been o ered a contract,aiming to understand the student eligibility criteria, the subsidised traininglist, and waiting to be listed as a Skills for All training provider. Skills in theworkplace applications are open and throughout June 2012 the Hon TomKenyon MP will be visiting regions launching the new regional networks(former SA Works Networks). A new Critical Skills Investment Program has been allocated $48.1 millionover four years in the State Budget. It will support training in areas ofcritical skills needs, and to increase the numbers of apprentices andtrainees who complete their training. Skills for All began on 1 July 2012 – a new model of funding VocationalEducation and Training in South Australia.



Skills for All observations and theWorkforce Development Program

Other states and territories, such as Smart and Skilled in NSW, are basingcomponents of their new initiatives on Skills for All so even if you workoutside of SA, I’d suggest the progress of Skills for All is something towatch closely.

BUT how future orientated and long sighted are some aspects of Skills forAll and what have we learnt from implementation to date? What’s new andexciting?

This blog provides observations on the fundamentally changed VETmarket, comments on funded skill sets, RPL, the Training Guarantee forSACE Students, Skills in the Workplace and the Workforce DevelopmentProgram.

Training Providers and the VET MarketTraining Providers and the VET Market

As at 24.11.12 there are 195 Skills for All training providers which is asigni cant reduction from the number of RTO’s in South Australia. Previously DFEEST registered RTOs, before transferring to ASQA,numbered 371 and this was even higher in the past.

Requiring RTOs to become Skills for All providers and meeting criteria overthe standards to access state government funding has fundamentallychanged the local VET market. Based upon a sound approach to build inquality mechanisms via contract arrangements, I’m not sure the stategovernment, providers and clients have comprehended what this reallymeans.


http://wpaa.com.au/the-long-awaited-announcement-from-new-south-wales-an-open-vet-market-from-2014/

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/training-learning/find-a-training-provider

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/become-a-training-provider

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/skills-for-all-training-providers/selection-criteria-and-supporting-evidence

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-funded-training-list-views-on-the-consultation-survey/


For example, some RTOs have had the stance that they will not need tobecome Skills for All providers as their business is fully fee for service. With clients and the VET market generally looking for cost e ectivesolutions that achieve the outcomes they want, you’d have to be anexceptional provider to win the business on fee for service when optionsnow include funded Australian Apprenticeships, Skills for All, Skills in theWorkplace, the Workforce Development Program and the NationalWorkforce Development Fund.

On 17 September 2012 DFEEST released a new version of the fundedtraining list (version 3.0). Two and a half months after implementation, 6qualifications including:

BSB30207 Certificate III in Customer Contact BSB30211 Certificate III in Customer Contact BSB40807 Certificate IV in Frontline Management CPP40307 Certificate IV in Property Services (Real Estate) SIR30207 Certificate III in Retail SIS40210 Certificate IV in Fitness

were taken off the list with no new enrolments from 22 October 2012.

Analysing the logic behind this decision leads me to think that enrolmentsin these quali cations must have jumped up substantially since Skills forAll implementation. This may be due to Skills for All being a number ofmonths in the making and RTOs held o new enrolments over this periodas they wanted students to bene t from the new funding arrangements. This has meant a signi cant conversion of enrolments in a short time and Ido not think this is truly re ective of actual demand, that is demand thatbuilt up over 9-12 months all converted in 2-3 months.


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/south-australian-state-government-2012-13-mid-year-budget-review-major-employment-training-and-skills-savings-2/


Cutting funding for the Certi cate IV in Frontline Management has me alittle concerned because all research and reports point to a dearth ofleadership skills in Australian organisations and we have a newlyannounced Centre for Workplace Leadership.

If you’re shopping for a place with Skills for All providers, the service levelsvary. There is a di erence in how long they take to respond to enquiries,the details of information provided, follow up and pricing. A managementquali cation, with the Skills for All subsidies, varies from a few hundreddollars to a few thousand depending upon provider and methodology.

Skill setsSkill sets

The Funded Training List and Subsidy Release 4.0 was published on 19November 2012 and includes National Training Package skill sets from 11different Training Packages.

Some would describe the list as an odd mix, as they expected the skill setlist to support areas for economic stimulation, growth or commonworkforce development gaps such as licences in building and construction,workplace health and safety, sustainability, NBN capability, and mandatoryrequirements for job roles that can be barriers to workforce participation.


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/funding/skills-for-all-funded-training/national-training-package-skill-sets-release-4.0



Take the ICT Broadband Skill Set for example. This is a narrow skill set forNBN and digital capability that is far more expansive and required by manysmall and medium enterprises and organisations. I have undertaken anumber of NBN projects such as the ACPET vstream project andWorkforce BluePrint was pro led by NBN Co as a small business casestudy. These projects have shown the skills for being NBN enabled areacross 11 National Training Packages and common development needsinclude:

Market research Digital images Search Engine Optimisation Digital/mobile games Music (use) and sound (editing) Intellectual Property Storylines and treatments Web and social media

Recognition of Prior LearningRecognition of Prior Learning

The following statements are quoted from the Skills for All SubsidyFramework document, version number 1.1, released on 23 July 2012:

3.1 A Subsidy will be payable for RPL in a Unit of Competency completedby an Eligible Student (AVETMISS result code 51 or 52) when an EligibleStudent is enrolled in a full qualification.

3 . 2 A Subsidy will not be payable for RPL in a Unit of Competencycompleted by an Eligible Student (AVETMISS result code 51 or 52) when anEligible Student is enrolled in a Skill Set.


http://nbne-learning.wikispaces.com/vStream



3 . 3 The use of RPL will be closely monitored. It is expected that theattainment of any quali cation funded under Skills for All will comprisesubstantial skill and knowledge development and not consist of largeamounts of RPL activity. Where most of the quali cation is likely to beachieved through RPL, it is expected that the Training Provider will assessand support the student to enrol in a higher level quali cation to ensureskill levels are increased. (p. 4-5)

I commend Skills for All taking a stance against unscrupulous RTOs usingsubstandard RPL practices as a cash cow however, the statements abovesend contradictory messages. Surely we want to see a good upfront RPL(assessment) process prior to training in a quali cation or skill set? “RPLwill be closely monitored” may be interpreted as “RPL isn’t as good astraining or learning through a traditional approach” and I’d love to see astatement reinforcing good practice RPL as a valued, legitimate andappropriate activity.

Training Guarantee for SACE studentsTraining Guarantee for SACE students

The Training Guarantee for SACE students (TGSS), will pay funding to aSkills for All Training Provider for selected SACE students who are 16 yearsof age or older.

The student must be:

doing a substantial amount of VET delivered by a training provider doing a quali cation on the Skills for All Funded Training List that isdesignated as being available through TGSS.


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/training-school-students/training-guarantee-for-sace-students



The Skills for All Training Provider must:

guarantee the student a place to nish the VET quali cation (whichmust be listed on the Funded training List as available under TGSS) take the student in the year after the student completes SACE (orequivalent) ensure the course is included on their Skills for All Training Providercourse schedule.

Quali cations available under TGSS are identi ed on the PrescribedQuali cations List and the Funded Training List. Generally, these areCertificate II and Certificate III qualifications.

It will be interesting to see how the TGSS progresses as I’m not sure howattractive it is for SACE student and their schools. Guaranteeing a place atCerti cate III level will be problematic especially where a ‘job’ is neededalthough I can see that for RTOs it o ers a way to be funded for what hasin the past often been a loose arrangement around who pays for VET otherthan major programs such as Doorways to Construction, which is anexcellent model of delivery and contribution.


http://www.doorways2construction.org.au/



Skills in the WorkplaceSkills in the WorkplaceSkills in the Workplace will fund up to 90% of the training costs of eligibleSouth Australian employers for industry-critical skills and specialisedoccupations, with employers contributing the remainder. Employers arebeing invited to apply for Skills in the Workplace funding online. Prioritywill be given to funding accredited training that leads to:

the completion of nationally endorsed quali cations from certi cate IVto advanced diploma level speci c skill set training available to individuals with an existing fullqualification of at least certificate III level

Targeted industry sectors currently include:

Resources Infrastructure (public and private investment) Community services Advanced manufacturing Agrifoods Clean technology and green skills Defence Health Water resources

Consideration will also be given to:

Workforce needs following major construction projects Significant regional employers Accredited training for legislative compliance




This program seems to have taken a while to be understood and get outinto business and industry circles. It requires a di erent approach toquoting for RTOs and information on each participating business whichcan be di cult to collate where there are multiple stakeholders. It’s agenerous program in terms of co-investment – download programguidelines and the risk assessment template to consider the relevance toyour workforce needs.

What’s new and exciting? The Workforce Development ProgramWhat’s new and exciting? The Workforce Development Program

The Workforce Development Program provides grant funding for industry-wide workforce projects. Projects may focus on a single enterprise, anindustry sector, a major project or region, industry supply chains, clusters,or companies within them.

Funding is for projects in the following priority areas:

planning the workforce recruiting skilled staff developing existing workers retaining workers fostering innovation and change improving training delivery

Read the Workforce Development Program Guidelines and the ProgramApplication Form.




This is an area where South Australia is demonstrating foresight andinnovation. Many funds and initiatives require an existing workforce planand this program recognises the importance of building capability acrossbusinesses, industries and regions in workforce planning anddevelopment, collaboration with employer and industry led projects, andreal solutions to common workforce needs.

To put all of this in context, Skills for All is breaking new ground. Properlyimplemented the underpinning philosophy of the individual, enterprise andindustry co-identifying their workforce development needs and choosingto invest in quali cations and skill sets with a provider of their choice, isdemonstration of a demand driven approach.

Change of this magnitude will always elicit debate and questions. I’mcon dent that Skills for All will take on board feedback and views,continuing to monitor the data and evolve into the contemporary, forwardthinking VET system that South Australia needs.



South Australian State Government 2012-13 Mid-Year Budget Review – major

employment, training and skills savings

Jack Snelling, MP today handed down the South Australian StateGovernment 2012-13 Mid-Year Budget Review where $464 million worth ofsavings need to be made over the next four years to align with lower thanexpected revenues.

From a workforce planning and development, employment plus VocationalEducation and Training (VET) perspective the main saving announcementsrelate to:

Source: adelaidenow

Reviewing employment and grant programs in DFEEST at a saving of $40.4million to better align with Commonwealth Government programs;


https://www.facebook.com/notes/jack-snelling-mp/20-december-2012-2012-13-mid-year-budget-review/440832912637290

http://resources.news.com.au/files/2012/12/20/1226541/098257-an-mid-year-budget-review.pdf




and,

Training e ciencies to save $31.5 million including a review of subsidylevels and targeting funding to areas of industry demand

aka Skills for All with the publication of suggested caps and changes to thefunded training coinciding with the budget review.

Consultation about the composition of Funded Training List in Feb 2013 isunderway from 19 December 2012 to 21 January 2013. There is aninvitation to participate in the consultation by completing the FundedTraining List Consultation Survey and the survey should be read inconjunction with the consultation on proposed changes to Funded Trainingdocument.

Consultation on proposed changes to Funded Training (PDF) (Word)

Major savings in the Department of Further, Education, Employment,Science and Technology (DFEEST) include $10.0 million in 2013?14increasing to $15.0 million per annumincreasing to $15.0 million per annum (indexed) from 2014?15indexed) from 2014?15 byreviewing employment and grant programs to better align withCommonwealth Government programs.



http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/funding/skills-for-all-funded-training#consultation

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MCLF9NV




For DFEEST, from 2012 – 13 to 2015-16 respectively the following areas ofsavings are outlined in the full mid-term budget review report ($000):

Employment and grant programs — 10 000 15 000 15 375

Information economy programs — — — 2 522

International & higher ed programs — — — 3 000

Training efficiencies — — 9 640 21 870

Note on Training e ciencies: This measure provides savings of $9.6 millionin 2014–15, increasing to $21.9 million per annum (indexed) from 2015–16,from training e ciencies including a reduction in the di erential price toTAFE SA, a review of subsidy levels and ensuring funding is targeted atareas of industry demand.

This means by 2015-16 investment in employment, training and skills willbe far reduced with huge implications for service providers, TAFESA,enterprise based and private Registered Training Organisations.

Flinders University will provide funding for the construction of aneducational facility within the Noarlunga TAFE Campus. The facility willenable students in the Flinders Foundation Studies Program access touniversity information technology equipment while studying on thecampus.

South Australian State Government 2012-13 Mid-Year Budget Review – majoremployment, training and skills savings




Other areas of savings relate to 1% e ciencies for each department,reducing the number of contractors, and centralising communicationsfunctions across Government – this will mean restructuring and job losses.

Areas of new spending ($482 million) include:

The State Government’s contribution to the Equal Remuneration Ordercovering community sector workers at a net cost to the Governmentof $76 million over the forward estimates; Increasing the allocation of funding required from TVSPs of $59.6million to re ect the cost of savings in the 2012-13 Mid-Year BudgetReview; Additional support for the resourcing for children requiring alternativecare arrangements at a cost of $40.3 million over the next four years; $27 million over two years to assist timber mills in the South-Eastinvest in capital upgrades to their mills in the wake of tough globalconditions for their industry; and $21.1 million over two years for additional park-and-ride facilities atbus and train interchanges together with improved public transportfacilities.

It’s di cult to see many opportunities in the list above, perhapsretrenchment programs and out placement services for public sectoremployees with signi cant job cuts (close to 5000 FTE from 2012 – 2016),implementation of the Public Sector Renewal Program, workforce planningand development for the timber industry, the health sector and fortransport related projects.


http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/south-australia-treasurer-jack-snelling-wields-the-axe-on-public-sector/story-e6frea83-1226540707428




Free wireless in the in the CBD is a nice to have and it’s good to see theAdelaide City Council co-investing with the state government.

The government has increased funding for the new advancedmanufacturing strategy for South Australia from $8.3 million to $11.1million over four years. The additional $2.8 million has been reallocated tothe strategy from within the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation,Trade, Resources and Energy’s existing budget.

With employment growth for the current nancial year forecasted at 0%,the mid-term budget taking a few steps backwards in terms of skillsinvestment, and no new major projects, 2013 will be a transitional year.

An e ciency theme, which on the positive side must spark innovationhowever there will be major workforce planning and developmentimplications.





Workforce gaps will include:

demand and supply forecasting into the future and the identi cationof critical job roles; skills pro ling and utilisation(where a job does not equal aquali cation – this is a fundamental aw of the state governmentspolicy and planning approach); leadership development, change management and communication; workplace health and safety; innovation as a core competency; retention strategies (particularly regions); and managing the balance across industries and occupational areas ofgrowth, sustain, maturity and labour market adjustment.



Skills for All Funded Training List – Viewson the Consultation Survey

On the back of the South Australian State Government 2012-13 Mid-YearBudget Review outlining major employment, training and skills savings,consultation about the composition of Skills for All Funded Training List inFeb 2013 is underway from 19 December 2012 to 21 January 2013.

The main activity for the consultation is by completing the Funded TrainingList Consultation Survey but rst you must read the proposed changes toFunded Training document and the Proposed changes to Skills for Allbased on demand? blog post.

Starting the surveyStarting the surveyWeird is one way to describe the survey, there isn’t an intro to it at all or anindication as to how many questions there are or what will actually happenwith the information you provide.

To start with you are asked to enter your organisation’s details includingname and addresses plus type of organisation which I would have thoughneeded a drop down box to choose a category so data could be analysedfrom di erent perspectives. Contact o cer details come next but there’sno statement about what will happen with your contact details, is this forfollow up or further communication?


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/south-australian-state-government-2012-13-mid-year-budget-review-major-employment-training-and-skills-savings/


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/proposed-changes-to-skills-for-all-funding-based-on-demand/



Training PackageTraining PackageThe third question asks for Training Package details??? Is this meant forRegistered Training Organisations? Employers? Learners? Industry? Whathappens if you want to make comments about multiple quali cations fromdifferent Training Packages on the proposed changes list? It’s a mandatoryquestion and I’d suspect that many respondents would drop out here as italso asks for the course name, code and ANZSCO code. Why ANZSCOcode when the proposed changes to Funded Training List in Feb 2013doesn’t even have this as a column in the table? Course code is notincluded in the table either. I’ve worked in Vocational Education andTraining (VET) for over 18 years, WPAA are VET specialists and had to gosearching for this info.

Although I want to give feedback about a number of quali cations (calledcourses in the table) I have to choose one. So I’m going to make mycomments on the Certi cate IV in Occupational Health and Safety as Istrongly feel this shouldn’t have enrolments ceased (or have the action‘cap’ against it).

The Training Package box should be a drop down list (with the correcttitles) as I think in the results you could get all sorts of strange packages.


http://wpaa.com.au/vocational-education-and-training/



Job OpeningsJob OpeningsAfter hitting next there is this statement about job openings,

The number of job openings is derived from the methodology developedby the Training and Skills Commission. Job openings occur from growth inthe industry or occupation and from replacement demand, wherereplacement demand arises from people retiring or from people leavingthe occupation to work in a different occupation.

The predicted number of job openings relating directly to the course isoutlined in the document ’Skills for All Courses Proposed for Capping’.

If you do not agree with the number predicted, please complete thissection with the data sources of any research or provide independentcorroborating evidence.

OK this is where I have a big problem with the underpinning approach tothe formula, evidence for job openings and the relationship with proposedcourse capping.

Skills for All?Skills for All?

Firstly, Skills for All is for “All” this includes job seekers and existingworkers so why just focus on job openings. In South Australia we knowthe jobs market is in maintenance mode and/or slightly depressed sowhere does the skills needs for existing workers come into play? This iswhere there is a major gap in intelligence for government planning andpolicy making.


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/training-learning/check-your-eligibility



Certificate IV in Occupational Health and Safety – don’t capCertificate IV in Occupational Health and Safety – don’t capSecondly a quali cation like a Certi cate IV in Occupational Health andSafety is not just for ‘Safety Inspectors’ as the Consultation on proposedchanges to Funded Training List in Feb 2013 document suggests. In ourworkforce projects we refer to skills like workplace health and safety as‘functional skills’ as many job roles need the same skills andcompetencies. Having developed thousands of job skills pro les acrossmany industry sectors through our workforce planning and developmentwork I know that competencies in this quali cation (and/or the wholequali cation) is needed by most business owners, managers, supervisorsand leaders on top of their technical skills.

Why? Well an obvious answer is that it is an expectation by mostenterprises that people, especially those in leadership roles, will have skillsin OHS and as an external driver the harmonisation of Work Health andSafety Laws. From 1 January 2013, South Australia’s work health and safetylegislation – which includes the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) andthe Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012 (SA), supported by Codes ofPractice – will align with New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, theAustralian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and theCommonwealth. I predict that the demand for this quali cation willsigni cantly increase through 2013 as more businesses become aware ofthese changes and their obligations and this isn’t yet re ected in the Skillsfor All enrolment gures to date because of the 1.1.13 implementationdate.

For a job skills pro le you identify common/core skills that are needed forall job roles (some would call these Employability or Foundation Skills), plusFunctional Skills (like Occupational Health and Safety, Management,Training and Assessment), plus Job Speci c Skills (technical skills, often agroup of narrower skills and/or qualification).


http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2012.aspx

http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/R/WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS 2012.aspx

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/proposed-changes-to-skills-for-all-funding-based-on-demand-2/


Common/Core Skills + Functional Skills + Job Speci c Skills = 2-4Quali cations from multiple Training Packages and across multipleAustralian Qualification Framework levels.

The formula of a job role = 1 quali cation is awed, out of date and simplynot what happens in reality with enterprises and industry sectors.

Annual Average Job OpeningsAnnual Average Job Openings

Next you are asked about the annual average job openings. To make thesurvey make sense I’m going to enter the number of people that I believewill need to gain this quali cation and/or skills in workplace health andsafety at a Certificate IV level.

I’m using the following data source identifying the number of businessowners in South Australia. On top of this gure I could estimate thenumber of employees that would need these skills and/or quali cation butto be conservative I’ll use the ‘business owner’ gure. From Table 5:Estimated number of small businesses by main state of operation andindustry Operating at end of nancial year, 2008–09 in South Australia is138 429.

http://www.innovation.gov.au/SmallBusiness/KeyFacts/Documents/

SmallBusinessPublication.pdf

You are then asked to identify the average number of job openings –predicted future. Does this mean the number of job openings only in thenext year or how far out do I need to predict and then average?




I’m going to take a 1 year view to keep things simple and say how many outof the 138 429 business owners are likely to need development inworkplace health and safety. Based upon our training needs analysis workwe are nding around 80% of business owners need updated/new skills inoccupational health and safety, so I’ve entered 110 743.

Safework SA should be a good source of data on the training needs of SABusiness Owners and workplaces however I couldn’t nd a report oranalysis of training needs, rather resources that address issues for smallbusinesses. The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022outlines a number of action areas and strategic outcome including:

Health and safety capabilities – Improved work health and safetycapabilities;

Everyone in a workplace has the work health and safety capabilitiesthey require. Those providing work health and safety education, training and advicehave the appropriate capabilities. Inspectors and other sta of work health and safety regulators havethe work health and safety capabilities to effectively perform their role. Work health and safety skills development is integrated e ectively intorelevant education and training programs.

And for leaders:

Communities and their leaders drive improved work health and safety. Organisational leaders foster a culture of consultation andcollaboration which actively improves work health and safety. Health and safety is given priority in all work processes and decisions.




Duration in the OccupationDuration in the Occupation

Duration in the occupation is the next section of the survey with thefollowing statement,

People who complete the course may decide to work in the occupationthat is speci ed in the document ’Skills for All Courses Proposed forCapping’. We are interested in understanding replacement demand forparticular occupations so please complete this section to indicate theduration that an individual may on average work in the occupation.

Continuing with business owners that require occupational health andsafety skills, perhaps the replacement demand calculation makes a bitmore sense however to answer you need to know graduate destinationdata and turnover gures for three years or more. Now does this questionrelate to new and/or existing workers as a ‘graduate’ could be both? Liftingthe lid on completion rates in the VET sector: how they are de ned andderived outlines the following average completion rates:

Table 3 LatestTable 3 Latestcompletion ratecompletion rateestimates for VETestimates for VETqualifications qualifications CohortCohort

Commencing inCommencing in Projected quali cationProjected quali cationcompletion rate (%)completion rate (%)

Subject load pass rateSubject load pass rate(%)(%)

Students enrolled in AQFqualifications

2008 28 80

Full-time students aged 25years and under enrolled inAQF qualifications

2008 37 78

Note: AQF = Australian Qualifications Framework

Source: NCVER (2011b).


http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2467.html



The average completion rate varies from 28-37% so I’ll take 28% to beconservative and then we need to predict the number that will work in thespeci ed occupation (business owner) remembering we are talking aboutexisting businesses, this equates to 31 009. The likelihood of completing aVET quali cation 2005-07 is useful too (although a few years old) as itprovides gures via states and territories, quali cation levels and elds ofstudy.

Retention rates in occupations is di cult to source so I’ll look at businesssuccess rate with recent reports suggesting 60% of existing businesses in2007 were still operating 4 years later, so my figure goes down to 18 605.

Occupational ClassificationOccupational Classification

The survey then says,

The occupational classi cation assigned to the quali cation is derived fromo cial information from www.training.gov.au. If it is deemed that theoccupational classi cation is incorrect, please provide information fromthe industry or professional association of the most appropriateoccupational classification.

You can add an alternative occupational classi cation and then the nameand contact details of industry or occupational body providing informationso here I’ve added Business Owners and the SMART Business Associationthat I chair, Worksafe Australia and IBSA’s Business Services 2012Environmental Scan.


http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/blogs/the-venture/ability-to-fail-quickly-an-important-skill-20120806-23osz.html



Questions 14 and 15 state:

If a course is a speci c requirement for an occupation that is not listed onthe document ’Skills for All Courses Proposed for Capping’, please provideevidence of research that shows the proportion of people working in theoccupation that possess the qualification for the occupation.

Proportion of people working in the occupation with the speci cqualification and Data source.

I really don’t get the purpose of this question so I’ve left it blank.

Additional OccupationsAdditional Occupations

With question 16 we get to the heart of my evidence based argument (butthere was no indication earlier in the survey that this would even be asked),

There may be additional occupations that make use of the quali cation.Provide an indication of these additional occupations and the industry inwhich they are employed.

Occupation and Industry/Industries

Business Owner – All industries is my response.




EnrolmentsEnrolmentsThen we’re onto ‘Enrolments’:

Under Skills for All there has been growth in the number of enrolments inmany courses compared to the same period last year. In some cases thisgrowth indicates that there has been a shift from privately funded activity(no State Government funding) to Skills for All funding. The aim of Skills forAll is to increase the number of South Australians with post-schoolquali cations so Government funding should complement, not replace,privately funded activity.

Where there is evidence of substitution of private levels of funding, courseenrolments under Skills for All will be capped. A large fall in privatelyfunded enrolments together with a rise in the number of enrolments underSkills for All suggests substitution is occurring. The estimated fall inprivately funded activity is outlined in the document ’Skills for All CoursesProposed for Capping’.

The total number of privately funded enrolments may not be captured inthis analysis. If you disagree with the estimated decrease in privatelyfunded activity, please provide information regarding training providerswho are delivering the quali cation and the number of their privatelyfunded students.

Who other than the providers themselves would know this information?




On the issue of conversion and funding substitution, this is where I’d like tomake signi cant comments but this survey only has the opportunity toenter examples of provider names and contact details where this ishappening. For a true analysis of the trends a month by month picture ofenrolments over the past 24 months or so together with data on whole VETe ort for South Australia (which doesn’t exist as only publicly fundedprograms are reported and aggregated) prior to the introduction of Skillsfor All is really what is needed.

In my Skills for All observations blog I said,

..Skills for All [was] a number of months in the making and RTOs held onew enrolments over this period as they wanted students to bene t fromthe new funding arrangements. This has meant a signi cant conversion ofenrolments in a short time and I do not think this is truly re ective ofactual demand, that is demand that built up over 9-12 months allconverted in 2-3 months.

The transfer of privately funded VET into publicly funded VET via Skills forAll is a fundamental change to the VET market and client expectations (i.e.access to subsidised places) which was totally foreseeable. I could neverunderstand how (or if) nancial forecasts for potential Skills for Allimplementation scenarios were undertaken with the VET marketopportunities so open for individuals.

As an example I have a Master of Education as my highest quali cation (Imust admit I like the idea of Dr Perry so I am considering a Doctorate) andI can undertake any quali cation on the Skills for All funded list, 1 skillset/year and any number of priority courses.


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/skills-for-all-observations-and-the-workforce-development-program/



Government PrioritiesGovernment PrioritiesNow the survey moves to government priorities:

Skills for All funds courses that are in priority sectors for the StateGovernment. Please indicate what speci c government priority is beingaddressed by the course and how.

Government Priority:

South Australian state Strategic Plan – Improving wellbeing with a clearfocus on the safety of South Australians in all aspects of their lives; andGoal: We are safe and protected at work and on the roads – Target 21:Greater safety at work

Achieve a 40% reduction in injury by 2012 and a further 50% reduction by2022 (baseline: 2001-02).

How is it being addressed: Certi cate IV in Occupational Health and Safetyplus Safework SA programs.

The Skills for Jobs 5 Year Plan 2012 states,

…factors impacting on the demand for labour such as new technology,environmental concerns and workplace health and safety legislation meanthat these workers require access to skill sets [quali cations – Wendy’snote] to be able to adapt to this changed environment if these sectors areto survive in South Australia. (p. 11)




Issue and impact of decision to capIssue and impact of decision to capQuestion 23 in the survey asks you to provide a concise description of theissue and an indication of the impact of the decision to cap enrolments inthe course based upon this explanation:

The analysis outlined in the document ’Skills for All Courses Proposed forCapping’ is based on information available to the Department. There maybe other matters a ecting the operation of the training market for thecourse that may not have been included in the analysis. Particular mattersmay include impact on speci c cohorts, providers or occupations. Pleaseprovide a concise description of the issue and an indication of the impactof the decision to cap enrolments in the course.

My response in relation to the Certi cate IV in Occupational Health andSafety is that this is a functional skill area required by business owners andnumerous employees within enterprises primarily due to the following:

From 1 January 2013, South Australia’s work health and safety legislation –which includes the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) and the WorkHealth and Safety Regulations 2012 (SA), supported by Codes of Practice –will align with New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, the AustralianCapital Territory, the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth. The Act:


http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2012.aspx

http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/R/WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS 2012.aspx



establishes health and safety duties, including the primary duty toprotect any person from exposure to hazards and risks that arise fromwork provides for worker representation, consultation and participationincluding through Health and Safety Representatives and Health andSafety Committees enables compliance and enforcement through SafeWork SA, theregulator, and provides for the creation of regulations and Codes of Practice.

Through our workforce planning projects, training needs analysis,competency framework and professional development program weconsistently see occupational health and safety as a priority developmentneed across all industries and job roles.

Other strategiesOther strategies

Number 24 says,

The decision to limit the number of enrolments in a quali cation may becomplemented by other strategies that ensure that public funds aredirected to areas of need and priority. Please indicate any suggestions ofstrategies that you consider appropriate for the qualification.




My suggestions include:

skills and/or training needs analysis to be undertaken by Safework SAor relevant body on the impact of the implementation of harmonisedlegislation particularly for business owners undertake future skills pro ling in the forecasting process tounderstand the multiple quali cations required for job rolesparticularly for critical/priority job roles and therefore identify thenumbers of speci c quali cations required annually (with the exibilityto change based upon external factors and drivers such as theeconomy and legislation) di erential subsidies for job seekers, new and existing workersincluding business owners validation and support for functional skills required by multiple jobroles including occupational health and safety, management, trainingand assessment and re ection in maintain related quali cations onthe Skills for All funded list sharing of information from our work with practical examples of skillsdemand and job skills pro les where 1 job role does not = 1qualification redesign of this survey to be more user friendly with explanatory notesand the opportunity to make further comments making transparent the de nition of ‘demand’, Skills for All nancialforecasting with scenarios and the logic behind the proposed changes independent review and analysis of Skills for All, based upon evidenceand implementation identifying areas for improvement




Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)There’s more with question 25 on RPL,

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) does not lead directly to an increase inskill levels but does allow for recognising existing skills to encouragecontinued studies.

Training providers have been informed that a quali cation achieved solelythrough RPL is not considered a quality outcome under Skills for All as itwould be a better outcome for the student to have been enrolled in thehigher level course and experience some skill development.

Training providers must ensure students are assessed and guidedappropriately on to the right course for the student as there is no subsidyfor RPL at Certi cate I and II levels and these courses will remain fee freefor the student.

The Government is proposing to stop funding RPL at lower levels(Certificates I and II).

It is the Government’s view that if a signi cant amount of RPL is required atthese course levels, the student is not enrolled in the most appropriatecourse for them.

All interested parties are invited to submit feedback using this survey.

Please provide information and speci c examples where funding for RPL atCertificate I and II course levels is warranted.

Having been a long supporting of RPL as a skills stock-take, learning andconfidence building process I’d make the following comments,




I disagree with the statement of the purpose of RPL as there are manymotivations (not just continued studies) for RPL including:

Australian Apprenticeship Career change Compliance Job requirement Job seeking Labour market re-entrant Legislation/regulation Licensing Overseas recognition Personal interest Skill improver Upgrade industry currency

RPL should occur at the quali cation level appropriate for the person andthe job role or job opening.




It is inequitable and unnecessary to stop funding RPL at lower levelshowever a lesser rate or percentage of funding or co-contribution may bean answer. RPL at these AQF levels is mostly important for thoseindividuals how have no formal quali cations, this may include jobseekers, those returning to the labour market or those people withmultiple barriers to employment or career development. Another cohortwho would be disadvantaged is school leavers as they may have developedskills through part-time work that when formally recognised could improvetheir chances of employment and entry into higher level qualifications. Theother area to consider is where a Certi cate I or II (and/or units from thesequali cations) may be prerequisites for higher level units of competency orqualifications. Having run a number of RPL projects and developed profilesfor disadvantaged groups, school leavers and retrenched workers I knowthat gaining a Certi cate I or II via RPL increases people’s con dence andworkforce participation rates.

DeclarationDeclaration

Finally the end of the survey with this declaration:

*26. I declare that the information is, to the best of my knowledge, trueand correct. I acknowledge that DFEEST may use the information providedby me to investigate this issue. I understand that this information may beused for investigative, data analysis and further Skills for All analysispurposes. I understand that DFEEST may contact me in relation to thismatter.

YES please! BUT how do I now make comments about all the otherqualifications I’d like to give feedback on?

PS. I’m not going to do the survey again, it took me a few hours!



Proposed changes to Skills for All fundingbased on demand?

On the back of the South Australian State Government 2012-13 Mid-YearBudget Review outlining major employment, training and skillssavings,consultation about the composition of Skills for All Funded TrainingList in Feb 2013 is underway from 19 December 2012 to 21 January 2013.

The main activity for the consultation is by completing the Funded TrainingList Consultation Survey but rst you must read the proposed changes toFunded Training document.

Read this blog post in conjunction with Skills for All Funded Training List –Views on the Consultation Survey.

Proposed Changes to Funded TrainingProposed Changes to Funded Training

55 quali cations (referred to as courses) and accredited courses areproposed to be ‘capped’. I don’t think this is the right word as its proposedenrolments will cease as of a speci c date and be removed from the Skillsfor All Funded List.

What’s not clear is the logic behind ‘capping’. It’s seems from theConsultation on proposed changes to Funded Training List in Feb 2013what’s on the list relates to qualifications where:

Skills for All enrolment growth has been significant; Skills for All growth is expected to be minimal; There is a mismatch with the Estimated annual job openings vs. total2012/13 course enrolments to date; and/or Where the estimated change in fee for service enrolments is asignificant – or +


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/south-australian-state-government-2012-13-mid-year-budget-review-major-employment-training-and-skills-savings/


http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-funded-training-list-views-on-the-consultation-survey/



Quali cations highlighted in throughout this blog post are the ones that asa priority shouldn’t be capped in my opinion. There are other quali cationswhere speci c industry examples of skills pro les and training needs couldbe presented to demonstrate why they shouldn’t be capped particularly atentry level and for job seekers or new workers.

Courses do not equal OccupationsCourses do not equal Occupations

The formula of a job role = 1 quali cation or course is awed, out of dateand simply not what happens in reality with enterprises and industrysectors.

An occupations or job role skills pro le = Common/Core Skills + FunctionalSkills + Job Speci c Skills = 2-4 Quali cations from multiple TrainingPackages and across multiple Australian Qualification Framework levels.

When building a job skills pro le and undertaking a training needs analysisyou identify:

Common/core skills that are needed for all job roles plus Functional Skills (like Occupational Health and Safety, Management,Training and Assessment), plus Job Speci c Skills (technical skills, often a group of narrower skillsand/or qualification).




Estimated annual job openingsEstimated annual job openingsJob openings could be partly used as evidence towards determiningdemand although given the above information 1 job opening/role generallyalso equals a requirement for multiple quali cations per person. Usingestimated annual job openings doesn’t account for the skills requirementsand demand for skills development for existing workers which far exceedsthe numbers in the proposed changes to Funded Training document.

Based upon practical experience in workforce development and workforceplanning including demand and supply forecasting with South Australianenterprises, organisations and industries, I don’t agree with themethodology used as it makes a job opening = to an occupation and = to acourse.

Skills for All funded quali cations should be based upon what actual jobroles need starting with core/common skills.

Copyrighted to Workforce BluePrint 2011-17y



Core/common skills – don’t capCore/common skills – don’t capOften core/common skills (some would call these Employability orFoundation Skills) are required to be built before next level technical skillscan be developed. Across multiple industry sectors, when core/commonskills are mapped to units of competency from Training Packages, say forthe purpose of an enterprise or industry competency framework, unitsfrom the Certi cate I-III in BusinessCerti cate I-III in Business level are always the mostcommonly selected such as:

Communication Compliance (basic) Customer Service (basic) Information and Knowledge Management Innovation Learning Occupational Health and Safety Quality (basic) Sustainability Team Work Technology (basic)

The skills above are complimented with industry speci c skills that arerequired at this foundation level from quali cations such as Certi cate I-IIin Retail, Hospitality, Tourism, Hairdressing, Cleaning Operations, DrivingOperations, Warehousing, and so on.




Functional skills – don’t’ capFunctional skills – don’t’ capFunctional skills are required by multiple job roles and typically include:

Administration Customer Service Information Technology Leadership Management Occupational Health and Safety Project Management Quality and Compliance Self-Development Training and Assessment

Functional skills that are in demand, that is those that appear in themajority of training or skills needs analysis and workforce plans are from:

Certificate IV in Frontline ManagementCertificate IV in Frontline Management Certificate IV in Project ManagementCertificate IV in Project Management Diploma of Project ManagementDiploma of Project Management Diploma of ManagementDiploma of Management Certificate IV in Occupational Health and SafetyCertificate IV in Occupational Health and Safety Certificate IV in Training and AssessmentCertificate IV in Training and Assessment

Job Specific Skills – get evidence to cap or notJob Specific Skills – get evidence to cap or not

Job speci c skills make a job role di erent to another job role and mayinclude units of competency from more than 1 quali cation however this iswhere we generally nd the more technical skills. This is an area whereindustry and professional peak bodies should be consulted to determinewhether qualifications should be capped.




Get evidence on:

Current workforce skills profile Critical job roles – what are they? Now and into the future? Demand and supply forecasting for critical job roles Future workforce skills required Emerging and new skills requirements including NBN enabled, cleanenergy, regional skills needs and Asian Century capabilities

As an example, Workforce BluePrint has developed a skills pro le for smalland medium sized enterprises to be NBN enabled and this maps to units ofcompetency from 11 different Training Packages.

How does Skills for All deal with ‘emerging’ needs such as the NBN?

Skills for All and demandSkills for All and demand

To consider the notion that Skills for All is demand driven, the followingquestions should be answered:

Is Skills for All, skills for now or skills for the future? Is Skills for All or everyone or some? With proposed changes whatimpact will it have from an equity perspective particularly in relation tojob seekers and new workers vs. existing workers or 1 job seeker whocan access a subsidised place vs. another who can’t? Is Skills for All based upon workforce development and planningscenarios, underpinned by evidence of skills needs with nancialforecasting to match? Is Skills for All based upon demand? Where demand has increased orsettled at a particular level, how have speci c quali cations made itonto the proposed changes to funded Training List?




As an example the Advanced Diploma of Dental Prosthetics is proposed tobe capped. Why? Using the table with assumed logic [and remembering Idon’t agree with this approach but I’ll use it for the purposes of thisexample] there are estimated annual job openings of less than 50, only 16enrolments so a seeming mismatch, but a 100% transference fromestimated fee for service to Skills for All funding.

Demand is not what’s represented in the proposed changes to FundedTraining document. What’s outlined in the document are thosequali cations that have had too many enrolments, not enough enrolmentsso not a priority, or where a funding source prior to Skills for Allimplementation has now been substituted with Skills for All funding.

Subsidy ratesSubsidy rates

A quick note on subsidy rates as one of the biggest mysteries in VocationalEducation and Training (VET) is how input costings relate to outputs andwhat appropriate funding levels are.

With Skills for All, providers had a funding increase for some quali cationsand a drastic reduction in funding for others, especially higher levelqualifications.




The change in fee for service enrolments into Skills for All isn’t as simple asit looks i.e. 1 doesn’t equal the other. Unless you can compare actual feefor service amounts for quali cations (prior to Skills for All) with thesubsidies paid through Skills for All for the same providers you can’t tell ifthis transfer is because:

The providers o ering the quali cations have changed including whohas been approved as a Skills for All provider Delivery and assessment models have changed Fee for service is being offered at all or as an alternative Clients (and the public more generally) expect a subsidised Skills for Allplace


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-capping-and-subsidy-reductions-2/

Skills for All – capping and subsidyreductions

SuggestionsSuggestionsAs submitted via the Funded Training List Consultation Survey here’s mysuggestions:

skills and/or training needs analysis should be undertaken todetermine skills requirements and demand undertake future skills pro ling in the forecasting process tounderstand the multiple quali cations required for job rolesparticularly for critical/priority job roles and therefore identify thenumbers of speci c quali cations required annually (with the exibilityto change based upon external factors and drivers such as theeconomy and legislation) di erential subsidies for job seekers, new and existing workersincluding business owners validation and support for functional skills required by multiple jobroles including occupational health and safety, management, trainingand assessment and re ection in maintain related quali cations onthe Skills for All funded list sharing of information from our work with practical examples of skillsdemand and job skills pro les where 1 job role does not = 1qualification redesign of the survey to be more user friendly with explanatory notesand the opportunity to make further comments making transparent the de nition of ‘demand’, Skills for All nancialforecasting with scenarios and the logic behind the proposed changes independent review and analysis of Skills for All, based upon evidenceand implementation identifying areas for improvement





The nal concept that I would like to highlight is the notion of priority orrisk rating. When identifying workforce gaps through the workforceplanning process and designing workforce development strategies we takethe approach of separating out issues and solutions for the generalworkforce and critical job roles.

I’d like to see this approach, evidence based of course, taken with the Skillsfor All Funded List so the way I’d design the table would be as follows:

1. Strategic objectives (state plan, policy directions, industry prioritiesetc.)

2. Workforce skills gap/issue3. Priority number/risk rating4. Relevant job roles and demand forecast (including estimated annual

job openings as 1 piece of contributing evidence)5. Relevant quali cations and skill sets based upon demand and future

orientated (including total 2012-13 course enrolments to date andSkills for All enrolment growth as 1 piece of contributing evidence forcurrent demand)

6. Places for Skills for All providers7. Potential di erential funding for job seekers, new workers and existing

workers including business owners

At least three scenarios, perhaps more, to determine budget implicationsin light of recent state budget cuts, would include a high growth scenario,maintenance scenario and a low growth scenario. Implications for eachscenario would help the next stages of Skills for All implementation to bemore realistic, efficient and demand driven.




A letter today from Raymond Garrand, Chief Executive of the Departmentof Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology outlined theoutcomes from the consultation on changes to the Skills for All FundedList.

There were 55 courses that were considered to be capped or changed insome way in terms of funding and in summary 20 courses will incur asubsidy reduction (of 30% or 50%) and 13 courses will be capped (droppedfrom the list) with no new enrolments from 4.4.13. This is a sensibleapproach and a considered measure as local training providers could havebeen facing major business sustainability problems if all 55 were capped orhad the subsidies reduced.

Another change is that funding of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) forCertificate I and II qualifications will be removed.

It seems contributing to the decision to drop quali cations from the list isthat the VET fee for service market needs to be restated and that there hasbeen a signi cant transfer from fee for service into Skills for All fundedplaces. I would say that the South Australian VET fee for service marketwas effectively ‘killed’ within the first 6 months of Skills for All.


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-gets-27-million-catch-up-in-the-south-australian-state-budget/


Release 5.0 of the Funded Training List outlines those quali cations thatwill be a capped (13), have a subsidy reduction by 50% (14) and by 30% (7)mostly in business, hospitality and retail. There will be no changes to 17courses.

When Skills for All was introduced some providers e ectively got a ‘payrise’ especially in the lower level quali cations whereas the higherlevel qualifications were generally under resourced.

Reviewing the Consultation Outcomes Report I think further work isneeded to identify and understand workforce skills demand and re ect inthe Skills for All Funded List and program more broadly. In a recent blogpost I asked the question as to whether or not the proposed changes toSkills for All were based upon demand? The use of information on jobopenings is so limiting in relation to thinking, policy design and practice – itshould be considered as a contributing form of evidence for demandidenti cation supported by demand forecasts and skills pro les for futureworkforce requirements. Underpinning the idea of job opening is an out ofdate view that 1 job = 1 quali cation and that is just not the case in reality,that is 1 job = multiple quali cations and skills from di erent TrainingPackages and at different Australian Qualification Framework levels.

With recent experience working in Maldives and Bhutan where they arebuilding national workforce plans I’m convinced that South AustraliaSouth Australianeeds a State Workforce Planneeds a State Workforce Plan that is connected to industry and regionalworkforce plans.


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/funding/skills-for-all-funded-training#ftl5.0

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/proposed-changes-to-skills-for-all-funding-based-on-demand/

http://wpaa.com.au/implementing-apprenticeships-industry-partnerships-and-tvet-in-maldives/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/human-resource-development-and-workforce-planning-in-bhutan/



It’s pleasing to note that “DFEEST will be actively consulting with industryand training market…to improve the information available about thedemand driven system, the competitive market and improve the tools ituses to consult.” For example the consultation survey was long, not welldesigned and provided a very limited way that people could participate inthe consultation process.

We invite DFEEST to work with our enterprise, industry and traininginvite DFEEST to work with our enterprise, industry and trainingprovider clientsprovider clients to gain insights into true workforce skills demand.


http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-funded-training-list-views-on-the-consultation-survey/



So what are the implications from this update to the Skills for All Fundedlist?

over the next month providers will be focussed on conversion i.e.learners who may have enquired in the past now being converted intoenrolments before the cut-o date with an increase in marketing toassist RPL practice may su er as for lower level quali cations it’s not funded– this would be very disappointing to see as RPL should be o ered toeveryone – I’d prefer to see an opt out of model rather than opt in toon the proviso that RPL is at the right skill level for the individual (notnecessarily funded via Skills for All though) providers will need to rethink their costing and pricing quickly, adjustsales and business plans, course information, nancial systems,marketing, websites and manage potential fallout and questions onwhy the change from their clients the market will become more competitive and I dont think there willbe such a wide range of pricing i.e. from $0-4000 for a quali cationwith the Skills for All subsidy applied for disadvantaged groups the impact of these changes will need to bewatched closely as it could cut some people out of the system entirely quality indicator data will be important to review to understand howthe public sees Skills for All and these changes

My prediction is that new enrolment trends from April to the end of thenancial year will slow dramatically especially as the local economy

tightens even further – the contrast with enrolment and conversion datafor the rst 9 months of implementation and the next 3 will bevery interesting to see. I’m not con dent that the fee for service marketwill recover quickly under these circumstances either.


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-funded-training-list-6-0-consultation-outcomes-report-still-a-way-to-go-2/


I think we’ll see providers considering diversi cation and/or niching as away of di erentiating themselves from other providers of the samequali cation. Skills for All clients will become more savvy, shoppingaround for providers that are cost e ective, o er delivery and assessmentmethodologies that suit them that they have been referred with a goodreputation – this will be top of mind.

I’d like to see further take up of Skills in the Workplace underpinned byTraining Need Analysis and the Workforce Development Program as ourgoal at Workforce BluePrint is: All enterprises, major projects, industries,regions and countries have a workforce plan.

I look forward to hearing the new Minister, Hon Grace Portolesi MP, viewson skills and workforce development – this is not the end of changesto Skills for All, and providers need to undertake scenario planning to getcontrol over their business plus state and national elections will potentiallyhave an impact on budget allocation and policy directions – an interestingtime indeed!


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-employers-business/planning-your-workforce/workforce-development-program


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/refocussing-vocational-training-in-victoria-comparison-with-skills-for-all/

Skills for All gets $27 million (catch up) inthe South Australian State Budget

In the recent South Australian State Government Budget, $27.0 million overtw o years (in addition to $38.7 million in 2012–13) was announced tosupport additional training under the Skills for All initiative. Thegovernment says that this accelerates their commitment to creating100,000 training places.

The 2012–13 estimated result (12.7%, 44 800) is an outcome of thesigni cantly increased demand in VET through the commencement ofSkills for All in July 2012. The 2013–14 target (12.5%, 39 400) re ects a“levelling out in the demand in Skills for All places” aka a year to catch upand control spending.

This is because the Tertiary Education: Budget for 2012-13 was $526million; with an estimated result 2012-13 $559 million (di erence of $33million); and for 2013-14 $523 million.

So how will this overspend be addressed? Well quoted from the budgetpaper, “Changes in operating expenses: Further Education, Employment,Science and Technology ? projected to decrease by $132.5 million primarilydue to the pro le of Skills for All expenditure and the implementation ofbudget savings measures.”

“TAFE SA fee revenue has been revised down across all years to re ect thelower level of full-fee paying students, due to the impact of the highAustralian dollar and changes to the visa application process on thenumber of international students, as well as a higher number of TAFE SAstudents undertaking free courses.”


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/south-australian-2013-14-generation-x-budget/

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-no-new-enrolments/


Budget paper 4 volume 3 has the agency statement for DFEEST thatoutlines the following existing projects and programs:

1. Existing projects – campus refurbishment, Mining and EngineeringIndustry Training Centre, Phoenix, Student Information System,Sustainable Industries Education Centre, Trade Training Centres inBerri and Craigmore, and the Victor Harbor TAFE SA campus.

2. Annual programs – IT systems and infrastructure, purchase of plantand equipment for libraries and TAFE SA.

In 2013/14 the $38.2 million decrease in expenses is primarily due to:

• higher Skills for All activity in 2012–13 ($18.7 million)

• lower expenditure in 2013–14 for the Commonwealth Governmentfunded Productivity Places Program National Partnership ($12.2 million)

• once-o expenditure in 2012–13 associated with the transfer of proceedsfrom asset sales to the consolidated account ($8.2 million)

• increased e ciencies from training consolidation in 2013–14 ($6.6million)

• higher targeted voluntary separation packages (TVSP) provided in 2012–13 ($3.7 million)

• higher expenditure in 2012–13 for the Commonwealth Governmentfunded Industry and

Indigenous Skills Centres program ($1.1 million) partially offset by:


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-no-new-enrolments/


– higher expenditure in 2013–14 associated with the Skills in theWorkplace program ($4.7 million)

– lower expenditure in 2012–13 due to a reclassi cation of budgetfrom operating to investing mainly in relation to information technologysystems ($2.8 million).

For 2012/13 there has been a $45.9 million increase in expenses is primarilydue to:

• additional support and redirection of funding for increased Skills for Allactivity ($35.9 million) and supplementation to TAFE SA ($13.0 million)

• once-o expenditure in 2012–13 associated with the transfer of proceedsfrom asset sales to consolidated account ($8.2 million)

• deferred expenditure for the Commonwealth Government fundedProductivity Places Program National Partnership from 2011–12 to 2012–13($7.3 million)

• increased depreciation and amortisation expense following assetrevaluations in 2011–12 ($3.9 million).

TVSPs provided in 2012–13 ($3.7 million) partially offset by:

• lower expenditure associated with TAFE SA fee-for-service activity due tochanges in market conditions ($15.3 million)


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/jobs-and-skills-policy-launched-in-south-australia-based-on-workforce-demand-from-whom-2/


• lower expenditure associated with the Skills in the Workplace program($11.3 million)

• lower expenditure due to the reclassi cation of budget from operating toinvesting mainly in relation to information technology systems ($2.8million)

• a reallocation of expenditure relating to regulatory services to sub-program 1.3 Quality Assurance and Regulatory Services ($1.5 million).

The state government outlines the following highlights for 2012-13:

• Commenced implementation of Skills for All providing South Australianswith vocational education and training and new services resulting in:

– enrolments increasing by 43 per cent in semester 2, 2012, that supportedan extra 23 000 students into training to meet industry demand for skills,compared to the same period in 2011

– 270 students with complex needs receiving learning case managementunder a trial of Learner Support Services with a 44 per cent completion ratefor qualifications

– 214 555 unique visitors to the Skills for All website and over 26 000 Skillsfor All Infoline enquiries

• Increased the number of government funded VET students in SouthAustralia by 21.3 per cent in 2012, from 101 600 in 2011 to 123 300 in 2012


http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/jobs-and-skills-policy-launched-in-south-australia-based-on-workforce-demand-from-whom-2/


In 2012:

– 90.1 per cent of South Australian VET graduates were satis ed with theoverall quality of their training, above the national average of 89.1 per cent

– 90.0 per cent of TAFE SA graduates were satis ed with the overall qualityof their training which was higher than for TAFE graduates nationally

The TAFE SA Act 2012 was proclaimed, establishing TAFE SA as a newstatutory corporation e ective from 1 November 2012, allowing it to bemore responsive to student and industry demand in a contestable market.

South Australia had the highest number of apprentices and trainees onrecord for commencements (26 300) and completions (12 600) and thesecond highest number in training (40 000) as at 30 September 2012.

Commenced construction of the Mining and Engineering Industry TrainingCentre at the TAFE SA Regency campus which will help meet the trainingneeds of the 25 000 new workers projected to be required by mining,engineering and allied industries over the next five years.

Skills for All Future Directions – what’s new or different?

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-future-directions-whats-new-or-different-2/


What do you need to keep an eye on in 2013-14?

Regular (quarterly) review of the Skills for All Funded list to controlspending in 2013/14 and to balance the over spend in 2012/13 TAFE SA’s financial results The local fee for service market and how long it takes to ‘bounce back’ Sustainable Industries Education Centre at Tonsley Park Mining and Engineering Industry Training Centre at TAFE SA RegencyCampus Skills in the Workplace program Compare your students satisfaction rates with 90% averages Market share with the high number of traineeships andapprenticeships if that is a market you are operating in How evidence of industry demand is re ected in the Funded list andinitiatives Development of the Skills for All in Regions Networks Adult and Community Education opportunities Case management approach to industry and enterprise workforcedevelopment Quality Assurance and Compliance Framework in 6 priority areas Real-time monitoring and risk based quality assurance measures Training Guarantee for SACE Students and Innovative CommunityAction Networks MEGA Digital Entrepreneurship program and new industryrepresentatives as MEGA mentors Maximising the benefits of National Broadband Network infrastructureand promoting digital literacy programs e.g. ForwardIT.

In terms of skills reform,


http://www.forwardit.sa.gov.au/


Skills for All Future Directions – what’snew or different?

The performance targets in the South Australian Implementation Planrequire the South Australian training system to increase the number ofquali cations completed by students by about 18 000 quali cationcompletions over ve years. Other completion targets are speci ed forhigher level quali cations, for Indigenous Australians, for studentsreporting a disability, and for mature-aged (45–64 years old) employedAustralians.

Based upon the Skills for All results to date, with 44 800 in 2012 and 39 400targeted for 2013-14 and the increased number of government funded VETstudents in South Australia from 101 600 in 2011 to 123 300 in 2012, thismeans the target of an additional 18 000 quali cations in terms ofenrolment has been reached in about 9 months!

What’s the most important calculation factor in this equation and VETcosting? Qualification completion rates!!!

Written by Wendy Perry, VET Specialist, WPAA and Head WorkforcePlanner, Workforce BluePrint, June 2013.

South Australia’s state government is continuing to make quarterlychanges to the Skills for All Funded Training List with version 6.0 recentlypublished.

Since being introduced in July 2012 there has been a 43% increase (fromsemester 2 2011 to semester 2 2012) in enrolments in South Australia –probably way more than what state government was expecting. I’ll be veryinterested to see the nal numbers for semester 1 2013 as this growth isblowing the allocated budget. In the most recent state budget anadditional $27 million was allocated to ‘catch up’ this blowout.



http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/blog/

http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-gets-27-million-catch-up-in-the-south-australian-state-budget/



I wrote a blog post on the Skills for All Funded Training List 6.0 andprovided this to DFEEST as feedback as part of the most recentconsultations – are the right questions being asked?

There are now 201 Skills for All training providers and 1346 Skills for Allcourses (30.6.13).

Reviewing the Consultation Outcomes Report for the Funded Training List6.0 the key points to note include:


http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-funded-training-list-6-0-wrong-questions/



Courses that have no provider or no enrolments will be removed fromthe list Projected demand will underpin the inclusion of a course on the list Managing the balance between private investment in training andgovernment funding (Skills for All killed the local fee for servicemarket) Subsidy prices will be adjusted – some have been too high, others toolow Subsidy levels for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at Certi cate IIIand above will be reduced A new system for providing information to the market on high growthcourses will be introduced resulting in subsidy reductions or purchaselimits Eligibility for Certi cate I and II will be re ned focussing on who needsthem Ongoing monitoring of contract compliance Behaviour of agencies referring clients to Skills for All will be closelyexamined particularly where the Skills for All provider is a Job ServiceAustralia provider Professional development to increase the understanding and use ofbridging units will be introduced for Skills for All Training Providers Refocusing of the initial application to become a Skills for All Trainingprovider by giving priority to applications from new entrants tocourses either with or without limited numbers (what? I don’t thinkthis makes sense!) These changes will be implemented from July 2013 and then there willbe another consultation period for the next quarterly change



Skills for All – Strengths, Weaknesses &Possible Confusion

“It is the responsibility for Skills for All Training Providers to assess studentlearning needs, eligibility for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and credittransfer and develop an appropriate training plan.” (pg. 6 Funded TrainingList 6.0 Consultation Outcomes Report)

I believe that everyone is ‘eligible’ for RPL and that RPL should be opt out ofnot opt in to. This means that every client goes through a good practiceRPL process identifying strengths (RPL) and development needs, thenhaving their training plan designed around the gaps. A good practice RPLprocess includes a number of elements:

Group workshops for the learning and assessment process Self-assessment facilitated through a competency conversation Mapping of strengths, knowledge and experience to units ofcompetency from relevant National Training Packages Identi cation of evidence against units and matching of units withevidence to qualifications from National Training Packages Validation of self-assessment and evidence in the workplace withsupervisor and/or peers (preferred)

What is still fundamentally wrong with the Skills for All Funded List 6.0?

Everyone agrees that the Skills for All Funded Training List should re ectcurrent and future demand. For me this means identifying critical jobroles, job speci c skills, functional skills and core or common skills acrossall job roles.

In the summary of consultation feedback this point about demand is madeand the corresponding response by Government states,

“The List currently includes the courses that relate to the Training and SkillsCommission’s specialist occupations.”

Skills for All – Strengths, Weaknesses & Possible Confusion

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-strengths-and-weaknesses/


BUT there is a problem with this as outlined in the blog post I wrote aboutin the Training and Skills Commission’s Skills for Jobs report.

And that is, 1 job role does not equal 1 quali cation, more over 2-3quali cations with of skills from multiple National Training Packages andacross multiple Australian Qualification Framework levels.

So what should we have instead?


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/skills-for-jobs-and-workforce-development/



A list of job roles identifying those that are ‘critical’ job roles identi edthrough a workforce planning process Workforce planning (using Workforce BluePrint’s 5 step process)evidence which would be aggregated from a sample of enterprises(including small business), for a major infrastructure project, acrossindustry sectors (e.g. Manufacturing, Mining, Food and Wine,Community Services), across hubs (e.g. Hub Adelaide), networksand/or regions (i.e. Skills for All regions) A job skills pro le for each critical job role mapped to units ofcompetency and qualifications A South Australian Competency Framework that identi es core orcommon skills required for all job roles (this would most likely map tounits from Certi cate II-III aka foundation programs); functional skillsrequired across multiple job roles (breadth not depth); job speci cskills particularly for critical job roles AND this whole frameworkmapped to units of competency from National Training Packages. Workforce development strategies that are based upon gap analysisand evidence, prioritised and matched with the latest state budget andSouth Australian Economic Statement (Creating a vibrant city, Realisingthe bene ts of the mining boom for all, Growing advancedmanufacturing, Premium food and wine) Where training is the most appropriate workforce developmentstrategy (bearing in mind there are numerous options) then this ‘gap’should be what is reflected on the Skills for All Training List.


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/south-australian-2013-14-generation-x-budget/



To balance industry demand, an analysis of workforce supply to matchthis demand may identify speci c skills and quali cations that are‘enabling’. For example, in the Family by Family program I’d suggest afamily based skills pro le aka RPL process that identi es existing skillsand then multiple pathways via matches to quali cations. This type ofactivity should be funded and ‘on the list’ because of the improvementof self-con dence and the opening up of so many more opportunitiesfor those people who need assistance.

Skill sets is a whole di erent topic which I plan to address shortly via theWPAA blog so if you are interested in this topic, keep an eye out for it!

Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrintand VET Specialist, WPAA, June 2013.

Honourable Jay Weatherill MP, Premier and Treasurer released the SouthAustralian 2013 – 14 budget on 6.6.13 matching decisions with priorities inthe recent Economic Statement including:

Creating a vibrant city Realising the benefits of the mining boom for all Growing advanced manufacturing Premium food and wine

This is balanced with social priorities of an a ordable place to live; safecommunities, healthy neighbourhoods; and every chance for every child.

With Jay as Premier and Treasurer, I think he has designed a Generation Xstyle budget, with broader de nitions of policy frameworks, anentrepreneurial mindset, focus on community participation and a work lifebalance theme.


http://wpaa.com.au/blog/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/




So from a workforce planning and development perspective where are theopportunities?

Skills for AllSkills for All gets $27 million over two years – An increased investmentwill support the huge uptake of Skills for All courses to meet industrytraining needs and support the State’s economic priorities. On track tomeet target early (demand has sky rocketed).

$600,000 over two years – For targeted attraction of skilled and high networth migrants to work in South Australia.

State government employeesState government employees will be reduced from current numbers of81 436 – 76 554 in 2017 and I wonder how the local market will take thatinflux of ex-public servants looking for work.

Infrastructure investmentInfrastructure investment to support civil construction, rail and buildingsectors:

the next stage of the South Road upgrade from Torrens Road to theRiver Torrens ($530-896 million) the APY Lands access roads ($56.1 million) electrification of the Gawler rail line to Dry Creek ($152.4 million), and the Tonsley Park Public Transport Project ($63 million).

Additional infrastructure projects include a new courts precinct, MtGambier Prison expansion ($25.4 million), Arts and Cultural Institutions,Adelaide Railway Station, Adelaide Festival Centre, the Old RAH and theRoad Safety Fund for upgrades and improvements.


http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-gets-27-million-catch-up-in-the-south-australian-state-budget/



Existing projects that are continuing include the $407.5 million SouthernExpressway Duplication Project, the New Royal Adelaide Hospital, otherhospital and school improvements. Drop o from intensive infrastructureinvestment.

ManufacturingManufacturing

$150,000 over two years – Manufacturing students will get hands-onexperience in South Australian businesses, as recommended by Thinker inResidence, Professor Göran Roos.

$3 million over three years – Small and medium enterprises will beencouraged to support the State’s manufacturers to develop capacity toconsistently implement high value innovations and products.

MiningMining – $6 Million Mining and Petroleum Services Centre of Excellence. $588,000 over two years – – To help landowners, primarily in agriculture, toconnect with opportunities in local exploration and mining together withSACOME. Maintenance Technique, at Roseworthy, has expanded and istraining skilled workers for the mining industry.

Food and Wine – Food and Wine – Premium Food and Wine Clusters $2.6 million over fouryears – To set up two regional ‘clusters’ in the Riverland/ Murraylands andLimestone Coast regions to build on our reputation for producing premiumfood and wine in a clean and green environment

$2.5 million over three years – – To drive an increase in exports of SouthAustralia’s premium food and wine to emerging markets in China.

Small business support includes Small business support includes $21.6 million over two years$21.6 million over two years




A concessional payroll tax rate of 2.5 per cent will apply to annual taxablepayrolls of $600,000 to $1 million, e ectively halving the payroll tax rate forthese businesses

The concessional rate phases out to the tax rate of 4.95 per cent forpayrolls between $1 million and $1.2 million

The concessional rate will be applied to eligible employers, providing reliefof up to $9,800 to more than 2,200 businesses, or about 25 per cent of allgrouped payroll tax payers.

$300,000 over two years – The Industry Participation Advocate will helpgovernment agencies simplify their procurement processes and make iteasier for businesses to bid for Government work

$$140,000 over two years – The Industry Participation Advocate will also befunded to connect with business through a series of information sessionsto enable small businesses to better position themselves to respond togovernment tenders.

Community sectorCommunity sector

The State Government is providing more than $490 million over nine yearsto the community sector to provide a pay rise to workers in areas such asdisability, homelessness, mental health and child protection.

In this Budget the Government will provide an additional $97.4 million overthe next four years to support people with a disability and their carers inpreparation for the full commencement of DisabilityCare Australia.




The Government is also providing $490 million over nine years, including$131 million over the forward estimates, for a pay-rise for communitysector workers to better reward them for their important work.

$2.8 million over three years – The Australian Centre for Social Innovationwill expand its Family by Family program into the northern and outersouthern suburbs to work with children and parents at risk to keepfamilies together.

Something a bit di erentSomething a bit di erent – HUB Adelaide (in Peel Street) has beenestablished to retain and develop young South Australians (youngentrepreneurs and creative) and another one co-sponsored by the privatesector in the West End with $1.4 million over five years.

Jay Weatherill, who I spotted in Peel Street, Adelaide this week at lunchtime, was standing under an umbrella in the rain, amongst Fork on theRoad food trucks and Splash Adelaide activities. He looked very sharp in acool blue checked suit and as I outlined at the start of this blog, I think he’schosen to support things that are a Generation Xers [with kids] view on[mostly metropolitan] South Australia.

Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint,June 2013.

On 29 July 2013 the Minister published a Training Accounts Limits List forSkills for All in South Australia. This is the percentage of training accountsremaining for new enrolments where 74 courses have a cap for 2013-14. The course list highlights the percentage of training accounts remainingand they are divided into the following categories:


http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/

https://www.facebook.com/ForkontheRoadAdelaide

http://splashadelaide.com.au/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/blog/


Skills for All – An Alternative Approach forthe new South Australian Government

Greater than 50% 25-50% Less than 25%

There are 44 courses plus a skill set44 courses plus a skill set o the funded training list wherethere will be no new enrolments from 4 September 2013.

What will be left on the list as with quarterly changes it is always shrinking?

Perhaps we will see an application based approach, with evidence of realdemand based upon workforce planning and development, plus careerdevelopment and planning for job seekers, apprentices and trainees, newand existing workers (like the Skills in the Workplace, Skills for All inRegions and the Workforce Development Program). This approach wouldbe far more manageable in terms of the budget.

Changes to eligibility criteriaChanges to eligibility criteria will be effective from 4 November 2013:

Eligible Students who are registered with Centrelink for the purposes ofreceiving certain allowances and actively seeking work, and EligibleStudents without prior education, will be entitled to funded training for two(2) Courses selected from Certi cate I and Certi cate II levels, and two (2)Courses selected from Certificate III and above.

Eligible Students with a prior quali cation (i.e. a Senior SecondaryCerti cate or an Australian Quali cations Framework quali cation) will beentitled to funding for two (2) Courses selected from Certi cate III andabove.

Eligible Students with a Certi cate III and above are entitled to fundedtraining in one Skill Set per year.

Skills for All – An Alternative Approach for the new South Australian Government

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-an-alternative-approach-for-the-new-south-australian-government-2/


These eligibility statements still seem generous to me and I would prefer tosee more courses stay on the list (based upon evidence of real demand)with 1 course and 1 skill set for eligible students.

For all courses with training accounts created in VETA after 4 September2013 there will be a 5% reduction in the subsidy5% reduction in the subsidy – so a cut across theboard. The problem with this is that I don’t see an evidence basedapproach to analysing the input vs output and actual costs.

With Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), the Subsidy paid for Units ofCompetency within Certi cate III and above Courses will be reduced by50% of the published Subsidy, and this will apply, regardless of the date theTraining Account is established, for claims submitted after 4 September4 September20132013. Considering that RPL can still take a while to pull together, Skills forAll providers would want to be getting their clients to complete the RPLprocess ASAP and then they’ll need to review their costings, whether thesubsidy covers actual costs, and what the market will pay for RPL.

Where there is no Skills for All providerno Skills for All provider, a number of courses (220) havebeen removed – this concerns me as I’d like to understand if this is due tomarket failure and could these courses relate to workforce priorities anddemand?

If you are a Skills for All provider or thinking about applying to be one thenyou’ll need to review:

Subsidy Framework

Training Provider Handbook


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/funding/skills-for-all-funded-training

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/skills-for-all-training-providers/skills-for-all-training-provider-handbook



Data Collection and Payment Assessment Guidelines

As at today there are 201 Skills for All providers and I’ll be interested to seehow many remain after 4 September and 4 November 2013.

T h e Workforce Development Program is for industry or region wideprojects and it is good to see a couple of projects recently announced fromthe Minister’s office in wine, defence and technology.

It would be really useful if information about those enterprises andassociations who have received Skills in the Workplace funding arepromoted and highlighted via case studies similar to those developed forthe National Workforce Development Fund and Skills Connect.

What’s still not clear for me is the logic of the funded list, what’s on, what’so , the relationship to understanding demand from workforce planning,gap/issue identi cation and then the design of workforce developmentstrategies including mapping development to units of competency,qualifications and then courses.

I think that decisions on the subsidy rate, reductions and changes, need farmore evidence and information on actual costs vs payments and I’d like toget rid of nominal hours altogether as it’s a 1990’s way of thinking aboutcompetency based development and skills investment.

Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint,August 2013.

Often people in the VET sector make the comment that Victoria and SouthAustralia have a similar approach to implementing the national entitlementmodel – I disagree.


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/skills-for-all-training-providers/skills-for-all-training-provider-contract#Skills for All Training Provider Guidelines

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-employers-business/planning-your-workforce/workforce-development-program



At the recent ACPET 2013 National Conference in Adelaide, Dr Lee-AnneFisher presented on Victoria’s approach – reform and performance. BothVictoria and South Australia have had 61% growth of students in AQFcourses from 2008 to 2012 with the next state/territory being ACT with 28%and NSW with 24% growth.

Victoria is addressing gaps with the implementation of skills reform whilstretaining the fundamentals of entitlement, diversity of providers anddi erentiated subsidies. Whilst apprenticeship numbers have slowed,traineeship numbers increased in 2012 and then dropped in 2013.

With a banded funding approach to subsidies, Victoria’s market has shiftedto courses of “higher public value and labour market need” and a system ofdirect industry and employer engagement has been implemented forgathering workforce demand intelligence.

The key di erence with Victoria is their focus on workforce demandrelated to the economy including the identi cation of in shortage andspecialised occupations plus support for the largest employing sectors.

Reports are published quarterly by the Department of Education and EarlyChildhood Development and the Quarter 1 Report for 2013 makes forinteresting reading showing an overall slowdown in the market from 2012.


http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/training/providers/market/vtmqr12013.pdf



I would describe Victoria’s priorities as 95% on workforce demand and 5%on the individual or learner. In contrast, and it was only when I heard ClareFeszczak from DFEEST present on Skills for All after the Victorian example,that I developed the view that South Australia’s focus is 95% on theindividual and workforce participation with 5% on industry and employer(workforce) demand. This seems out of balance and highlights again theissue of whether or not the Skills for All Funded Training List re ectsindustry workforce demand.

Of particular note is the table (slide 11) that shows a signi cant mismatchin projected demand for VET quali cations in the 5 years to 2015-16 andinvestment in quali cations in the three quarters to the March Quarter2013.

There is an opportunity to identify and re ect workforce demand, criticalsectors and job roles, in the next version of the Skills for All FundedTraining List. This would be informed by evidence from enterprise needs,industry workforce strategies and regional workforce plans.

Refer to the Skills for All – No New Enrolments latest blog post.

Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint, 11September 2013.

No New Enrolment (NNE) announcements for South Australia’s Skills for Allare becoming more frequent. The latest Funded Training List (FTL) v7.0identifies 63 courses subject to NNE as of 10.10.13.


http://wpaa.com.au/skills-for-all-no-new-enrolments/

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/funding/skills-for-all-funded-training/no-new-enrolments-skills-for-all-ftl-70-5-september



These quali cations are across Automotive, Business, HR, CommunityServices and Aged Care, Retail Baking and Food Processing, Engineeringand Process Manufacturing, Beauty, Retail, Pharmacy, Kitchen Operations,Hospitality, Driving and Warehouse Operations.

Another list indicates ‘permanent removal’ of quali cations particularlyacross Certificate I and II levels.

The Skills for All consultation report related to version 7 of the FundedTraining List (that is 7 versions in 14 months) focuses mostly on thesequali cations aiming to identify those that “…lead either to an employmentoutcome or transition to a higher quali cation.” 34 courses are consideredbelow the industry entry level and so will be removed.

Some are getting to the point of asking, “…well what’s still funded?” andsaying that the FTL table looks like a ll in the blanks activity. There arearound 1000 subsidised courses available from about 200 trainingproviders; however the question of identifying workforce demand andreflecting this in the Funded Training List goes unanswered in my view.

Perhaps parts Victoria approach to identifying workforce demand could bemodi ed to suit South Australia? Read the Refocussing Vocational Trainingin Victoria – comparison with Skills for All blog post for further insights.


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-training-providers/funding/skills-for-all-funded-training/no-new-enrolments-skills-for-all-permanent-removal-ftl-70-5-september-2013

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/refocussing-vocational-training-in-victoria-comparison-with-skills-for-all/



Written by Wendy Perry, VET Specialist, WPAA, 11 September 2013.

Premier Jay Weatherill has launched a Jobs and Skills Policy to addressissues in the state economy and a rise in unemployment with a number ofexisting components re-packaged and a couple of new areas.

There are 7 programs as part of the plan for Building a Stronger SouthAustralia:




1. Local Government Stimulus program – to bring forward ‘shovel ready’projects into the next six to 12 months. The initiative will be availableto all Local Government Areas. NEW

2. More job opportunities in local communities – Skills for All in Regionswith a stronger emphasis on employment outcomes, will be renamedto Skills for Jobs in Regions. EXISTING – EXPANSION (14 000+ peoplesupported by #1 and 2)

3. Support for jobless families in Northern Adelaide – Building FamilyOpportunities to be extended. EXISTING – EXTENSION (350 families)

4. Skills for Jobs Training Entitlement – A Training Entitlement to helpunemployed people nd work giving up to 20,000 South Australian jobseekers training to improve their chances of nding work. EXISTING –NEW FOCUS ON JOBS! (reprioritisation of existing funds of $77 millionover 3 years for this target group)

5. Retrenched Workers program – Support for workers to retrain for jobsof the future – support to gain new skills as traditional jobs disappearand new jobs emerge. EXISTING – EXPANSION (up to 8000 workers)

6. Government procurement policy – application of the 15% policyEXISTING to other areas of Government procurement NEW

7. Skills in the Workplace – work with industry to boost productivitythrough the Skills in the Workplace program EXISTING NB.Manufacturing has always been a priority sector.

The shift in language of Skills for All to Skills for Jobs is simple but alsoobvious however does it go far enough? Jay’s quote at the end of the pressrelease focuses on “workers” which is important but where is the balanceto the focus on workforce demand from business and industry?

Building a Stronger South Australia outlines two key opportunities andinitiatives release to date:



Where are the jobs and skills in the SouthAustralian 2014-15 Budget?

1. Future Fund (contributions from 2015-16) – from mining and resourcesroyalty funds and this will be used for infrastructure and initiatives(jobs, skills, education, early childhood development)

2. Jobs and Skills

I think there will be additional policies and funding initiatives announcedover the next month or so – keep an eye out and watch this blog.

See the latest blog post on WPAA for an outline of Skills for All to Skills forJobs.

Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint, 2October 2013.

Latest announcements (13.12.13) from the South Australian stategovernment include:

Training courses will be ranked according to their industry demand andprojected job openings.

A sliding scale of Government subsidy will be applied to courses withhigher subsidy support for courses that address skills shortages and leadto employment.

This price banding will be more responsive to the changing needs of theeconomy, jobs market and provide greater certainty for the training andskills industry.

Industry groups and training providers told us they wanted to see lessreliance on reducing enrolments through caps and move to a pricebanding model to better target training. (Source: Skills for All Newsletter)

Where are the jobs and skills in the South Australian 2014-15 Budget?

http://wpaa.com.au/from-skills-for-all-to-skills-for-jobs/

http://newsletter.skills.sa.gov.au/home/artmid/3348/articleid/52/skills-for-all-future-directions?utm_source=Skills+for+All+-+Stay+informed+-+website+feed&utm_campaign=416ec6c2a2-DFEESTEnewsDec2013_12_13_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d137f9b4c6-416ec6c2a2-434694221

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/where-are-the-jobs-and-skills-in-the-south-australian-2014-15-budget-2/


To read about these changes in more detail go to this link for an outline ofthe Skills for All Future Directions, Consultation Outcomes Report, FAQ’s,Course List and Guidelines for Training Providers. What’s new or different?

Public Value Framework

The Public Value Framework is an interesting concept that has beenintroduced to help assess a course’s public value including EconomicValue, Participation Value, Employment Connections and YouthTransitions. Whilst it’s not 100% clear or explicit, I think it looks likeEconomic Value may be the rst priority? I think it’s important to haveprinciples underpinning decision making and a way of deciding whatshould and shouldn’t be funded. There are 3 main principles missing fromthis framework in my view:

1. Industry priorities – identi ed via evidence based workforce planningand development

2. Regional priorities – identi ed via evidence based workforce planningand development

3. Motivational priorities – some would see this as ‘target groups’ but Imean this in a di erent way. That is not ‘youth’ or ‘mature aged’ or‘people with disabilities’ or ‘indigenous people’ but what motivatesindividuals to engage in VET. Examples would include get a job,improve language, literacy and numeracy (LLN), gain anApprenticeship/Traineeship, be recognised, move to a new path afterbeing retrenched.

Price banding


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/news/entryid/108/skills-for-all-future-directions



Skills for All is introducing price branding where the fundamental formulais the higher the public value and the higher the training costs then themore funding (up until fee free) is paid. Funding for Foundation Courses,LLN, bridging units and VET FEE-HELP will remain.

The model has 5 bands plus fee free courses,

Price banding will be applied to release 8.0 of the Skills for All FundedTraining List which will be published on 8 January 2014 and take e ect fornew enrolments and training accounts created after 10 February 2014.

(The current subsidy levels are as published on the subsidy calculatorrelease 4.0.)

Band 1: the existing benchmark subsidy – there will be no change to thepublic subsidy currently paid.

Band 2: 90% of the current Skills for All public subsidy will be paid throughSkills for All




Skills for All providers will need to be very clever with their planning into2014 focussing on what their future RTO should be like.




Training Contracts and Training Pilots

I agree that funding for Training Contract quali cations needs to beconsidered separately as in the past versions of the Funded Training Listwe have seen quali cations removed entirely and therefore access tofunded training for Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s) to supportAustralian Apprenticeships. That seemed to be an action that was theopposite of what the South Australian state government would want toencourage, i.e. the employment of trainees and apprentices.

With a personal experience of employing a fantastic school basedapprentice this year (who won her Registered Training Organisationbusiness award and her school’s VET award – well done Jessica!) Ithoroughly support school-based training pathways. I would be interestedto know the split of numbers between school based apprenticeships, theICAN program and the Training Guarantee for SACE Students (TGSS).

Industry connected training pilots’ looks a little bit like a reinvention of pastprograms with initiatives for pre-apprenticeship pathways and traininginnovation pilots all with an employment focus. It looks like a broaderapproach to workforce skills development may include di erent(successful) methodologies.

Demand

Aligning demand would be easy if we had a South Australian WorkforcePlan and it would implement workforce development strategies beyondtraining courses, qualifications and skill sets.




From July 2014, Skills for All will apply purchase limits to each course onthe Funded Training List to provide increased certainty and transparency inthe training market.

This sounds like a capacity management or place based allocation model –it must be underpinned by workforce planning and structured to address:

1. Economic priorities (sectors for growth and those going throughsignificant adjustment)

2. Industry priorities3. Regional priorities4. Motivational priorities5. Participation priorities

A framework is better than a list as long as the funding framework isdesigned appropriately and is underpinned by analysis of workforcedemand both now and into the future.

Language

Re ecting on the Skills for All Consultation Outcomes report it struck meas to how things have been framed in terms of language. For example,from the Funded Training List Survey, to Training Account Limits, No NewEnrolments, and Caps – can you spot a pattern here?

The Frequently Asked Questions document is useful particularly this one:

No. In the VET sector, training is speci cally related to jobs and work placeexperience. Making sure that students in training have skills andquali cations that meet industry expectations is critical, so is targetingpublicly funded training to areas that will bring the greatest public bene tto the State. (p. 2 – see the document for the complete answer)




Skills for All Course List

When I opened up the Skills for All course list I was surprised to see somecourses only available for TGSS or School Based Contracts of Training inareas such as business for example. What about those people who we areaiming to re-engage particularly youth where a contract of training may besuitable but they have left school? It still seems that AustralianApprenticeships for some sectors have become a dis-incentive – is thatcorrect?!

What should come first?

I know the intent of introducing price branding is to simplify the system,invest in priority area and apply the public value framework – it puts thequalification first.

I would put the job rst – critical job roles and areas for jobs growth that isbased upon economic priorities, industry priorities and regional priorities. From the list of critical job roles I would map skills and then see how theylink to quali cations. Every job role we pro le for enterprises and industrysectors has 2-3 quali cations worth of skills, at di erent AustralianQuali cation Framework levels and across multiple Training Packages. Inaddition training is only one of a huge number of workforce developmentstrategies that need to be designed and implemented for a productiveworkforce and economy.

Smart and Skilled – New South Wales announcements




Recently I wrote a blog post about change in New South Wales for Smartand Skilled echoing a number of similar points. Their industry actionsplans are useful to identify industry needs however in this blog I outlinewhy I disagree with a ‘list’.

Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint, 16December 2013.

PS. An important date for Skills for All in the New Year is 10 February 2014when these changes will be implemented with providers noti ed ofcontract changes on 8 January 2014. Planning from now until earlyFebruary will be crucial but so is taking some time o to spend with yourfamily and consider your work life balance – enjoy the Christmas and NewYear break.

The South Australia government Skills for All initiative was implemented inJuly 2012 and has undergone a number of updates and changes. Now theinitiative has both strengths and weaknesses plus a possibly confused setof messages.

With a state election looming and whatever side of politics wins this isprobably a good time to take stock and consider where to next?

Firstly let’s look at strengths and weaknesses as in an upcoming blog I’lloutline opportunities and alternatives to the current focus for Skills for All.


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/smart-and-skilled-2014-nsw-skills-list-and-quality-framework/



Strength #1 – “I ’d recommend this course”Strength #1 – “I ’d recommend this course”

Results of the 2013 Graduate Survey Outcome Report published by DFEESTon Skills for All – Training for Jobs indicated a high level (91% of thosesurveyed) of people recommending their course to others and a number ofareas for improvement or consideration.

The majority of people (80%) undertook their course, “…to get a job or tochange jobs and improve career prospects.”

Weakness #1 – Lag in gaining employmentWeakness #1 – Lag in gaining employment

From the report,

There can be a signi cant period between graduation and employment forsome respondents. Almost half of the respondents who commenced theircurrent job after their course completed their training 6 months or moreago. This compares with less than one third of unemployed respondentswho completed their course 6 months or more ago.

Survey results highlighted that for some there was a long lag betweencompleting their course and gaining employment.



Skills for All – balancing industry needswith workforce participation and

retrenchment?

It seems that for those that were unemployed some completed lower levelqualifications and perhaps in areas where opportunities are limited. Only asmall percentage share of those who were unemployed completed thecourse to start their own business (1.9%).

Weakness #2 – Connection with job requirements and RPLWeakness #2 – Connection with job requirements and RPL

The connection between training and work or job requirements and tasksplus Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) still needs some furtherdevelopment as,

Respondents were less satisfied with:

“My learning needs were appropriately assessed before I commencedtraining”; “The training prepared me well for work”; “I received su cient and relevant practical training during my course”;and “I received appropriate recognition of my existing skills andknowledge”.

Other changes suggested by respondents to improve training were: havingmore time for practical training, better meeting individual learning needs,improving the management and administration of training services,improving equipment / facilities and assisting with work placement andemployment.

From the student satisfaction survey results those in construction andbusiness administration were least satisfied with recognition granted.

Skills for All – balancing industry needs with workforce participation andretrenchment?

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/skills-for-all-balancing-industry-needs-with-workforce-participation-and-retrenchment/


retrenchment?

Strength #2 – Part time employmentStrength #2 – Part time employment

In terms of participants employed during or after course commencement,

The largest share of this cohort (277 or 39.51%) completed a Certi cate IIIlevel quali cation with relatively greater numbers graduating from coursesin Health Services, Community Services and Nursing. 393 or 55.43% ofrespondents were in part-time employment and 235 or 33.15% in full-timeemployment.[1][1]

So perhaps in these areas training is better connected to work withopportunities and outcomes for part-time workers improving (or maybe ifparticipants were working full time they didn’t respond to the survey?).

Weakness #3 – Course delivery mode, practical vs. theoryWeakness #3 – Course delivery mode, practical vs. theory

Course delivery mode, even though many respondents said that therewere multiple modes for their course, re ects mostly “Classroom andpractical based training with a trainer”. By comparison workplace training,work placements, web and online learning (which are used far morefrequently in a workplace setting) were much less common or lessfrequently used.

I received su cient and relevant practical training during my course…13.23% disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement. This level ofdissatisfaction with the amount of practical training is of concern.

Strength #3 – ConfidenceStrength #3 – Confidence




retrenchment?

This is di cult to measure and calculate in terms of return but’s itspleasing to see positive comments about the level of con dence thatparticipants gained particularly evidence in comments from those whowere employed before commencing their course.

For example,

‘As I was already working in the eld the additional training gave mefurther con dence and skills as well as reinforcing the importance of thework we do for children and families living with Autism. I also met otherswho are doing the same job so there was instant camaraderie and thechance to learn from them also.’ (Survey respondent – Best aspects oftraining)

Strength #4 – Personal benefitsStrength #4 – Personal benefits

Many survey respondents identi ed personal bene ts from completingtheir course,

2232 (91.89%) of respondents indicated the course was personallybene cial with 60.27% indicating it was very bene cial. Responses weresimilar across respondents by employment status although respondentswho gained employment during or after their course rated the level ofbene t more highly with 69.46% rating the course as personally verybeneficial.

Advancing skills and satisfaction of achievement were sighted mostfrequently by participants.




retrenchment?

Weakness #4 – “Not happy and not what I expected!”Weakness #4 – “Not happy and not what I expected!”

In the 2013 Student Satisfaction Survey Report,

10% withdrew because they were not satis ed with their training providerand a similar proportion because the training was either not what wasexpected or was not flexible enough.

An area for improvement particularly in terms of managing expectationsand perhaps considering programs that give people practical experience ofwhat the job and training requirements will be like before they commence.

Strength #5 – “I like the trainers”, “I got support” and “I used up toStrength #5 – “I like the trainers”, “I got support” and “I used up todate resources”date resources”

Feedback indicated that, “Trainers had excellent knowledge of the subjectcontent.”

Respondents were highly satis ed with the quality of trainers with 93.59%of survey respondents agreeing with the statement that “trainers had anexcellent knowledge of their subject content” (52.03% strongly agreeing –Figure 13) and 91.74% agreeing with the statement that “trainers explainedthings clearly” (44.14% strongly agreeing Figure 14).

In terms of support,




retrenchment?

91.87% of respondents agreed (40.6% strongly agreed) that they had“su cient contact with trainers to support my learning and complete thecourse.”

Also,

89.29% of respondents agreed that their training used up-to-dateequipment, facilities and materials.

Weakness #5 – Withdrawal statsWeakness #5 – Withdrawal stats

Another area from the student satisfaction (or lack thereof) results as thenumber of respondents who completed the survey and who withdraw was603 (23.22%).

And when this is broken down,

The two most common reasons for withdrawal based on the adjusted totalof 603 were “Changed jobs or started a new job” (15.75%) and “too manypressures on my time” (15.75%). 61 (10.12%)[2][2] respondents indicated theywithdrew because “I was not satis ed with my Skills for All trainingprovider”, 33 (5.47%) “the training was not what I expected” and 21 (3.48%)“the training timetable was not flexible enough”.

Interestingly the highest responses for dissatisfaction were recorded inBusiness Administration. I have a speci c opinion on this that I’ll reveal ina future blog.

Weakness #6 – “Where do I get advice?”Weakness #6 – “Where do I get advice?”




retrenchment?

Students gained information on their options and courses from di erentsources with the least helpful being,

… InfoLine (17.77%), InfoCentre (17.91%) and Job Services Australia orDisability Employment Service Provider (JSA-DES) (19.05%)…

So some de nite areas for engagement and product knowledge up skillingand I wonder if employers were asked this same question what theirresponses might indicate.

Also, was the Skills for Jobs in Regions contact and career developmentservice providers an option to choose in the survey?

A confused set of messagesA confused set of messages

As Skills for All to Skills for Jobs has morphed and changed seemingly witheach version of the Funded Training List (FTL) and policy announcements Iwould describe the messages about Skills for All/Jobs as confused.

If I was advising the new government and DFEEST (or its possiblepredecessor) I’d say this needs to be addressed urgently after the electionis declared and here’s what I would suggest needs to be clarified:




retrenchment?

Firstly a vision for South Australia’s workforce (more on this in a blogsoon) Who is Skills for All/Jobs for? Is it focused on addressing business,industry and employer needs (workforce demand) or individual needs(workforce supply)? What are the priorities? (Is it employment, up-skilling, retention,growth, workforce planning needs and please don’t say “All of theabove!’ How is the vision and priorities re ected in a list of critical job rolesthat informs the FTL remembering that 1 job role = multiplequalifications? Is it time to ditch the FTL for an approach that identifies:

1. A vision for the SA workforce2. Economic priorities – areas where there is employment growth and

outcomes (like Australian Apprenticeships)3. Industry priority sectors (which could also include those in decline) –

skills needed for critical job roles and reflecting regional needs4. Motivational factors rather than target groups and things like

establishing / expanding my business, commencing an AustralianApprenticeship or getting a job

I encourage you to post your ideas, what do you think are the strengthsand weaknesses of Skills for Jobs in its current format?

Keep an eye out for the next blog on Skills for All – Opportunities andAlternatives, thank you.

Written by Wendy Perry, VET Strategist, WPAA, 8 March 2014.




retrenchment?

[1] 50.31% of respondents who were employed before they commencedthe course were in full time employment and 39.04% in part timeemployment.

[2] This includes 8 respondents from the “Other” category who indicatedthey had withdrawn because of dissatisfaction with their training provider.

This blog post is written to outline an alternative approach for planning,prioritising and funding skills development that builds upon Skills for All’sstrengths, addresses the weaknesses and takes advantage ofopportunities, all for the new South Australian government, whomever thatmay be from 15.3.14 or there abouts.

Survey Results and PilotsSurvey Results and Pilots

I have reviewed DFEEST’s recent survey reports on 2013 GraduateOutcomes and Student Satisfaction plus the Training Innovation Pilots inCommunity Services and Hospitality as well as Pre-ApprenticeshipsPathways.

The pilots are clearly about addressing some of the weaknesses identi edin my previous blog, particularly weakness #1, 2 and 3.

An opportunity would be to base these programs on workforce demandwith a workforce plan for the Community Services sector and one for theHospitality sector if they are identi ed as industry sectors of strategicimportance to South Australia and/or reflect regional priorities.

Pre-Apprenticeships and Australian ApprenticeshipsPre-Apprenticeships and Australian Apprenticeships



South Australian Workforce Visionneeded to address State’s Economic

Priorities

In terms of Pre-Apprenticeships I would prefer to see direct support (bythis I mean funding) of Australian Apprenticeships across all sectors andincluding School Based Apprenticeships.

I believe that industry/employer demand and the labour market moregenerally would work out what is needed as employers will not take onAustralian Apprentices unless there is a job opportunity available.

The current version of the Funded Training List contradicts this priorityoutcome by only funding some Australian Apprentices and doing thissometimes in favour of theory based, non-practical training pathways thatare without an employment outcome!

Why would the state government support this approach over a directemployment outcome?

OpportunitiesOpportunities

I’ve identi ed a range of opportunities for the new South Australian stategovernment, the Training and Skills Commission, stakeholders andinterested people like you to consider.

Opportunity #1 – South Australian vision for the workforceOpportunity #1 – South Australian vision for the workforce

If South Australia had a vision for the workforce, aligned to economic andindustry sector priorities, regional and motivational priorities then Skills forAll could be focused on:

South Australian Workforce Vision needed to address State’s Economic Priorities

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/south-australian-workforce-vision-needed-to-address-states-economic-priorities/


Priorities

1. areas where there is employment growth and outcomes (likeAustralian Apprenticeships)

2. skills needed for critical job role3. priority sectors (which could also include those in decline) and regional

needs4. motivational factors rather than target groups

Opportunity #2 – Integration with workOpportunity #2 – Integration with work

This feedback reinforces important components of Skills for All wheretraining and work are integrated like Australian Apprenticeships, courseswith mandatory work placements, skills transferability for those who maybe facing retrenchment and skills enhancement for those currently inemployment to support retention.

Distribution of survey respondents by elds of training would beinteresting to compare to actual Skills for All enrolment and completionstatistics.

Opportunity #3 – Motivational targetsOpportunity #3 – Motivational targets

Reasons for training were generally job related,

82.26% of respondents enrolled in their course for an employment-relatedreason. Most respondents (30.58%) enrolled “to get a job” while othersenrolled to “try for a di erent career” (15.52%), “wanted extra skills for myjob” (14.89%), or “to get a better job or promotion” (7.86%).




Priorities

I would like to see these reasons (motivational targets) re ected in thepublic value framework including business establishment and in the waythat priorities are set rather than an outdated way of classifying peopleinto groups like young people, mature age, and people with disabilities andso on.

In the survey results the majority of people were employed vs.unemployed – how does this compare to the total Skills for All statistics? Isthat the right way around in terms of public investment?

Opportunity #4 – Funding to support industry sectors in growth orOpportunity #4 – Funding to support industry sectors in growth ordeclinedecline

Health Care and Social Assistance was the highest industry division foremployment where respondents to the survey were employed. Interestingly Education and Training was third and I wonder if this was anexisting employee up-skilling activity? A comparison here to industrysectors in growth or decline would indicate whether this training wassupporting industry sector priorities.

Funnily enough,

739 (29.49%) respondents gave the most frequent response “having theircurrent skills assessed and certi ed” as the job-related bene t theyreceived from training, followed by 393 (15.68%) who responded “got ajob”.

How does this statement marry with actual Skills for All statistics on RPLactivity and also feedback that an area for improvement is “I receivedappropriate recognition of my existing skills and knowledge”?




Priorities

Opportunity #5 – Business establishment and expansionOpportunity #5 – Business establishment and expansion

In Table 10 the job related benefits included:

Benefit Count Share %

Able to set up/expand my business 89 6.79

I’d like to see this % share much higher as this has a potential doubleimpact on the outcomes of Skills for All. If this bene t was a priority forSkills for All then it may enable businesses to employ new sta orAustralian Apprentices and up skill existing employees.

Opportunity #6 – Multiple qualifications to meet job requirementsOpportunity #6 – Multiple qualifications to meet job requirements

Identi ed as ‘Further study’ in the survey report results, I don’t think thisdescribes what is happening here as,

867 (35.43%) respondents enrolled in another course after graduating. Ofthese respondents, 580 (66.9%) enrolled in the same eld of training and287 (33.1%) enrolled in a di erent eld of training. Unemployedrespondents were more likely to enroll in another course with 259 or43.97% continuing with studies compared to 33.33% of respondents whowere employed during or after their course.

As a workforce planner who regularly pro les job skill requirements andmatches skills to units of competency from National Training Packages Iknow that most job roles need 2-3 quali cations worth of skills, acrossmultiple Australian Quali cation Framework levels and often from morethan one Training Package.



WorkReady – Ready, Set, Shakeup for VETin South Australia

Skills for All, now Skills for Jobs should focus on the job role requirementsrst and then see who that matches to quali cations or courses. At the

moment it is the wrong way around on the Funded Training List.

Opportunity #7 – Assistance to find workOpportunity #7 – Assistance to find work

I agree with how the situation is now, that is,

Training providers are not required to assist students to nd employment,but where they do, it may signal that the provider has close and e ectiverelationships with industry and workplaces

However through the Skills for Jobs in Regions program I have seen thistype of assistance and targeted programs work very well.

In the future I’d like to see more joint partnership arrangements withregional agencies, industry, business and professional associations, majorprojects, employers, Employment Service Providers, Group TrainingCompanies, Australian Apprenticeship Centres, Recruiters and RegisteredTraining Organisations.

An Alternative ApproachAn Alternative Approach

I believe that there is an alternative to the current focus and approach forSkills for All. This is something that I have thought long and hard about,discussing with some of you.

WorkReady – Ready, Set, Shakeup for VET in South Australia

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/workready-ready-set-shakeup-for-vet-in-south-australia/


What is fundamentally missing in my view is a vision for the SouthAustralian workforce – that is what is it really that we are all workingtowards? If this was clearly stated as a policy direction then the systemdesign, that is, Skills for Jobs (or whatever it might be called) would be fareasier than we think.

There has been a de nite shift from workforce participation to workforcedemand but this needs to go far more than what it has in the past.

South Australia needs a workforce planning and development frameworkthat outlines:

1. A vision for the SA workforce2. Economic priorities – areas where there is employment growth and

outcomes (like Australian Apprenticeships)3. Industry priority sectors (which could also include those sectors in

decline) – skills needed for critical job roles, opportunities for skillstransferability and reflecting regional needs

4. Motivational factors rather than target groups and things likeestablishing / expanding my business, commencing an AustralianApprenticeship or getting a job

In a practical sense this would involve:




Developing a vision statement for the SA workforce Identifying priority outcomes like employment including AustralianApprenticeships (including School Based) and establishing/expandinga business (among others) Clearly identifying industry sectors of strategic importance to SouthAustralia and supporting those sectors to develop industry workforcestrategies like through Skills in the Workplace Regional workforce plans and skills needs analysis identifyingpriorities and areas for growth or skills transferability developed bySkills for All in the Regions Networks supported by the IndustryLeaders Groups Redesigning the public investment framework to consider all of theabove plus motivational factors linked to priority outcomes A critical job role list rather than a Funded Training List with askill/competency map to link to quali cations and units of competencyfrom National Training Packages Information and intelligence on future workforce demand provided toindustry sectors, employers, career advisers and individuals An underpinning evidence based approach to workforce developmentstrategies (including training and assessment) Contracting of endorsed providers to match demand with reward forjoint partnerships and demonstrated relationships with partnersoutlined in opportunity #7.

I encourage you to post your ideas on what you think the opportunitiesand alternatives are for Skills for Jobs.

There is a lot to consider in this blog and so look out for the next post titled– What should South Australia invest in regarding jobs and skills?




Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint, 11March 2014.

With the State Government committing a total of $689 million, including$402 million in capital expenditure, there are important implications forjobs and skills.

This blog post is for you if you want to understand where the jobs are anduncover the skilling opportunities across automotive transformation,infrastructure projects, innovation, food and wine, regional areas andresources.

The rst area to consider has had much media coverage with the need totransform the automotive sector and create jobs.

Automotive Transformation and Jobs PlanAutomotive Transformation and Jobs Plan

The South Australian State Government has allocated $60 million towardsthe “Our Jobs Plan” stating that this plan will revitalise and rebuild the stateeconomy following the decision by GM Holden and Toyota to close vehiclemanufacturing operations in Australia by 2017.

The Automotive Transformation Taskforce will be chaired by formerFederal Minister for Industry and Innovation Greg Combet focusing on:

– Managing the design and delivery of programs and services tobusinesses and workers in the automotive supply chain and at Holden.

– Liaising with the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments in the naldesign and roll-out of the $155 million Growth Fund.

– Working with GM Holden on the future of the Elizabeth site.




– Participating in Government-wide strategies to attract investment andjobs to the State.

– Providing a central point of coordination and communication.

Spending on infrastructure is seen by state government as an importantstrategy to generate jobs.

InfrastructureInfrastructure

The 2014-15 State Budget includes $10.1 billion over four years for majorcapital investment projects, including transport, health, education andpublic housing infrastructure projects.

The key areas for infrastructure development include:

– Education and Health Facilities

– Public Transport and Road Projects

– Riverbank Precinct Development

Specific examples of investment are outlined below:

– $160 million to extend the O-Bahn

– $152.5 million (including funding beyond the forward estimates) toelectrify the Gawler rail line from the city to Salisbury.

– $17.5 million in investing payments to redevelop and expand theneonatal unit at the Flinders Medical Centre




– New City High School – on the existing Royal Adelaide Hospital site.

The forward estimates re ect a major investment program of $10 billionover four years that will continue to rebuild and expand the state’sstrategic economic and social infrastructure and generate an average of4,700 jobs per annum over the next four years.

Creating your own job and jobs for others, through self-employment andentrepreneurship, see’s co-working and start-ups supported.

InnovatorsInnovators

Although I believe the state government could go further in this areas it’svery pleasing to see some support for entrepreneurs and innovation in theState Budget including:

– $400,000 over four years for training and mentoring programs deliveredby Majoran Distillery, to develop skills and provide industry contacts.

– $588,000 over four years to provide grants to entrepreneurs, to helpestablish city premises including activating vacant buildings, enabling themto pursue exciting new concepts and ventures.

– $2.5 million over three years (from 2013-14) matched by funding fromHills Limited to establish the Lance Hill Design Centre and Hills D-Shop asnation-leaders in innovation support.

As a particular strategy for this nancial year the Jobs Accelerator Fund hasjob creation at its heart.

Jobs Accelerator FundJobs Accelerator Fund



WorkReady – shake rattle and roll for VETin South Australia

This initiative provides a once-o $10 million in 2014-15 to support jobcreation in regional areas, providing a strategic and coordinated approachto give regions the opportunity to build on their competitive advantagesand create an environment for jobs growth and improved social andeconomic infrastructure.

For a number of regions, premium food and wine is a priority industrysector.

Premium Food and WinePremium Food and Wine

Working across Australia in agriculture, food and beverage projects I cansee the value of investing in this sector particularly with large operatorsexporting and aiming to improve efficiencies.

The 2014-15 State Budget includes more than $7.6 million to boost SouthAustralia’s international reputation for premium food and wine from ourclean environment.

The investment includes:

– $500,000 over two years to develop a trademark brand for producers andbusinesses to promote their region.

– $2.475 million over three years to make the Tasting Australia food festivalan annual event from 2016.

– $3.2 million over four years to Food SA and the South Australian WineIndustry Association to continue its work developing food and wineindustries.

WorkReady – shake rattle and roll for VET in South Australia

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/workready-shake-rattle-and-roll-for-vet-in-south-australia/


– $1.5 million over four years to develop a symbol certifying top quality SA-grown produce.

Regional branding, economic development and workforce development gohand in hand.

Regional DevelopmentRegional Development

Investment in regions for South Australia has gotten far more serious with:

$6 MILLION – AGRIBUSINESS ACCELERATOR PROGRAM to helpproducers and businesses expand their markets and informationbases $15 MILLION – REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND, ALLOCATED VIA 5NEW PROGRAMS

– MAJOR PROJECTS PROGRAM

– REGIONAL FOOD INITIATIVES PROGRAM

– SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM

– COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM

– COUNTRY CABINET PROGRAM

$3 MILLION – FOR THE EIGHT REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUSTRALIABOARDS ACROSS SOUTH AUSTRALIA – Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu andKangaroo Island, Barossa, Far North, Limestone Coast, MetropolitanAdelaide, Murraylands and Riverland, Whyalla and Eyre Peninsula, Yorkeand Mid North.




Specifically the regional package includes:

• $70 million over four years to establish a Jobs Accelerator Fund tosupport job creation in regional areas and increase the funding available tothe Regional Development Fund and Regional Development Associationsto $15 million per annum and $3 million per annum respectively

• $35.5 million to be spent over the next four years for the continuation ofrural road safety measures including improved signage and delineation,minor junction improvements and removal, and modi cation and shieldingof roadside hazards and median centreline treatments

• a $7.5 million grant in 2014–15 towards the Motorsport Park at TailemBend

• $6 million over four years for the Agribusiness Accelerator Program

• $4 million grant in 2014-15 to upgrade the Innamincka airstrip for boththe community and mining and exploration industries, and

• $6 million over four years for the Remote Areas Energy Supplies Scheme.

A number of regions have signi cant opportunities in the mining andresources sector.

ResourcesResources




Over $40 million over four years will see the construction of a new StateDrill Core Reference Library and a Mining and Petroleum Services centre ofexcellence at Tonsley, expand our world renowned Plan for AcceleratingExploration scheme and defer royalties to accelerate the development ofunconventional gas wells.

Other measuresOther measures

Alongside resources, there other measures that have workforce planningand development implications including:

– $2.3 million to establish an advanced manufacturing school atSeaview High School.

– $9 million over three years to establish Green Industries SA to workwith the business, government and the environmental sector to realise thefull potential of the green economy, and $3 million toward HealthIndustries SA a body that will seek to leverage investment from the healthsector on the back of our $2 billion health precinct anchored by the newRoyal Adelaide Hospital and the SAHMRI.

– $13.7 million over four years for additional Family ServicesCoordinators and Allied Health O cers to provide for expanded services inexisting children’s centres.

– Since the 2013–14 Mid-Year Budget Review the government hasdecided not to proceed with cuts to Education Adelaide and has provided$900 000 per annum (indexed) from 2015–16 to allow Education Adelaideto continue operations as a destination marketing entity for internationalstudents.




– FTEs in the general government sector are estimated to decrease by4080 between 30 June 2014 and 30 June 2018.

What does this mean?What does this mean?

The Premier has called on all Ministers to reconnect with business toensure South Australia’s business environment is as competitive andattractive as possible.

What this means is a potential framework of investment that moves closerto the model that I have been advocating with:

1. Economic priorities – job creation, innovation and entrepreneurship,infrastructure projects like the Riverbank precinct

2. Industry priorities – advanced manufacturing and automotive,agribusiness, civil construction, education, health, food and wine,resources

3. Regional priorities4. Individual priorities – indigenous people, those who speak a language

other than English at home, people with disability, people with a lowsocio economic status, retrenched workers (here I would like to seeindividual priorities related to outcomes like AustralianApprenticeships, getting a job, returning to the workforce and so on)

Written by Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint,July 2014.

Up until now, workforce participation has been the number one priority forSkills for All.




What we see in the latest budget is more of a balanced approach betweenindustry needs, reducing the unemployment rate and increasing thenumber of South Australian’s with qualifications.

State Government Budget 2014-15State Government Budget 2014-15

The State Government budget 2014-15 papers says that Skills for All gets20,000 additional student places aimed at addressing industry trainingneeds with $52 million over two years in addition to $11 million in 2013–14(budget overspend?).

The 2014–15 Commonwealth Budget ceased funding for the continuationof the national partnership from 2017–18. As a result, funding andassociated expenditure will be reduced by an estimated amount of $38.4million in 2017–18.

With Training Places for Single and Teenage Parents ceased by theCommonwealth Government funding and associated expenditure will bereduced by $2.2 million per annum from 2014–15.

Changes in operating expenses for the Department of State Developmentare projected to decrease by $64.5 million primarily due to the profileprofile ofadditional funding provided for the Skills for All program (very cleverlyworded!).




In 2013–14, general government expenses are $310.3 million higher thanestimated at the 2013–14 Budget including $16.0 million in additionalresources provided to Further Education, Employment, Science andTechnology towards the Skills for All initiative.

Overall the net cost of services for Employment and Skills Formation is asfollows:

– 2014–15 Budget- $377 075 000

– 2013–14 Estimated Result – $463 569 000

– 2013–14 Budget – $405 391 000

– 2012–13 Actual Program $439 531 000

Comparing the budget for 2014-15 and the estimated result for 2013-14 thedifference is $86 524 000 less.

When considering the 2014–15 Budget and 2013–14 Estimated Result the$94.7 million reduction in expenses is primarily due to:

• increased training under Skills for All in 2013–14 ($47.7 million)

• targeted voluntary separation packages (TVSPs) provided by TAFE SA in2013–14 ($25.4 million)

• nalisation of the Commonwealth Government funded ProductivityPlaces Program in 2013–14 ($10.6 million)

• reclassi cations from investing to operating expenditure in 2013–14 ($7.8million)




Targets for 2014–15 include:

• Address critical sector needs for training and workforce development byworking with industry to deliver skills training through the Skills for Allpolicy and other industry focussed programs in accordance with industrydemand and government priorities.

–Strengthen TAFE SA’s relationships with industries and engagement withemployers to develop the highly skilled workforce needed by current andemerging industries.

• Finalise construction of the light vehicle training facility as part of theMining, Engineering, and Transport Centre at TAFE SA Regency Campus.

• Develop the TAFE SA inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan.

• Commence implementation of accepted recommendations from the RedTape Reduction review with the VET system.

• Commence a review into Skills for All.

Performance measures for VETPerformance measures for VET

For providers I’d suggest reviewing the performance measures to get asense of where the state government’s priorities lie:



WorkReady – stalemate to solution forSouth Australia

Quality Assurance and Regulatory ServicesQuality Assurance and Regulatory Services

In relation to quality assurance and regulatory services, the targets for2014–15 include:

• Conduct independent validation of assessments for an additional 15 Skillsfor All courses to verify that graduates can apply their skills and knowledgein the workplace to industry standards.

• Conduct comprehensive reviews of approximately 120 Skills for Alltraining providers to assess compliance with quality training andcontractual obligations.

• Provide professional development programs to training providers toimprove training outcomes in line with Skills for All priorities, with aparticular focus on Foundation Skills and Assessment.

• Implement a suite of nationally consistent regulatory and administrativerules for traineeships and apprenticeships aimed at reducing red tape fornational employers.

• Introduce a web portal to the ATLAS data management system to enableemployers, apprentices and trainees to transact business online.

Learning, Workforce Participation and Workforce DevelopmentLearning, Workforce Participation and Workforce Development

For the Sub-program 1.2: Learning, Workforce Participation and WorkforceDevelopment the objective is to address the state’s economicdevelopment, productivity and social inclusion by:

• providing opportunities for people to participate in employment, training,skills development and adult community education

WorkReady – stalemate to solution for South Australia

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/workready-stalemate-to-solution-for-south-australia/


• assist in meeting the current and future labour and skill needs of industry

• providing state and national policy advice.

The $3.8 million increase in expenses is primarily due to:

• increased expenditure under the Critical Skills Investment Program in2014–15 ($2.8 million)

• higher expenditure in 2014–15 to support retrenched workers transitioninto new employment ($1.4 million), including additional support forworkers in response to the decision by GM Holden Ltd to close its SouthAustralian vehicle manufacturing operations by 2017

• additional expenditure in 2014–15 for increased support for the long-termunemployed and older workers to increase their skills and remain in theworkforce, delivering on the Government of South Australia’s electioncommitments ($0.8 million)

partially offset by

• higher expenditure in 2013–14 under the Skills for Jobs in Regionsprogram in ($1.0 million)

• higher expenditure in 2013–14 under the Building Family Opportunitiesprogram ($0.6 million).

With targets for 2014–15 including:

• Reduce red tape in the adult community education sector, enablinglonger term planning and improving service delivery in the community.




• Expand the Skills for Jobs in Regions program to target communitiesfacing the greatest employment challenges, with a goal of 6000 morepeople in jobs over the next three years.

• Support the re-skilling and re-employment of workers a ected by theclosure of GM Holden Ltd.

• Provide Certi cate II pre-apprenticeship pathways to 66 participantsunder the Training Innovation pilot program.

International and Higher EducationInternational and Higher Education

The International and Higher Education, Sub-program 1.4 aims to:

Support higher education institutions in South Australia in sustaining thestate’s reputation for quality teaching and learning for both domestic andinternational students.

Provide high level strategic policy advice to the minister on highereducation policy and planning.

The $1.3 million decrease in expenses is primarily due to:

• a rationalisation of the TAFE SA international unit commencing from2014–15 ($0.8 million)

• the completion of grant payments to Carnegie Mellon University in 2013–14 ($0.7 million)

Targets in 2014–15 for International and Higher Education cover thefollowing areas:




• Implement an international education marketing strategy for China as thepremier target market for Education Adelaide, along with plans for India,Malaysia and Vietnam.

• Provide support for the state government’s position on theCommonwealth Government’s new policy agenda for higher education.

• Strengthen working relationships between the state government and thestate’s public universities.

• Work with the state’s public universities and the Department forEducation and Child Development (DECD) to implement the government’sHigh Quality Education policy, which requires all new teachers to beMasters qualified by 2020.

The target number of international student enrolments for 2014-15 is 45000, a significant jump from 2013-14.

Where to next?Where to next?

I believe Skills for All still needs to go further to truly address SouthAustralia’s economic, industry and regional priorities. A vision for thestate’s workforce, a clear purpose statement for Skills for All, identi edpriorities that put workforce demand rst, and an alternative evidencebase to critical jobs and skills, is what is needed.

Areas of skills development across all sectors, which are often missedwhen looking at something like the Funded Training List include:

– Entrepreneurship and Innovation

– Exporting and Importing




– Green Skills and Sustainability

– International Engagement

Written by Wendy Perry, VET Strategist, WPAA, July 2014.

Press release Monday, August 25th, 2014 – Workforce BluePrint

Australia’s leading workforce planning and development specialist hasrecommended the creation of a South Australian Workforce Plan andWorkforce Capability Framework to re ect the 10 economic priorities thatform part of the new vision for the State’s economic transformation,announced by Premier Jay Weatherill on 11 August 2014 at a CEDA event.

The SA Workforce Plan and Capability Framework would outlinecapabilities and be mapped to units of competency and quali cations anda Skills for All initiative that supports South Australian Economic Priorities.

Wendy Perry, Head Workforce Planner, Workforce BluePrint, said that aState Workforce Vision and Plan would be the next obvious step in StateDevelopment, to cement the State as a place where people and businessesthrive.

“The Premier’s vision focuses on protecting the South Australian way of lifethat we value while opening the door to new ideas, new opportunities, newpeople and new businesses,” Ms Perry says. “The Premier’s statementacknowledges our strengths and tradition but makes way for an ‘edge’. Butwhat might the ‘edge’ be? There is one ingredient missing – a WorkforceVision.”


http://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/31870/south-australian-workforce-vision-needed-to-address-states-economic-priorities#.U_p6c_mSySp


WorkReady: 8 areas the new Minister canquickly make a positive impact

Ms Perry says that while Adelaide is one of the priorities, it’s important thatworkforce priorities are re ected in regional workforce action plans forevery region, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan.

“This would include a combination of overarching workforce capability andindustry priorities with an overarching theme and speci c workforcedevelopment solutions and strategies,” she said.

The 10 economic priorities in the State’s Economic Vision are:

1. Unlocking the full potential of South Australia’s resources, energy andrenewable assets

2. Premium food and wine produced in our clean environment andexported to the world

3. A globally recognised leader in health research, ageing and relatedservices and products

4. The Knowledge State – attracting a diverse student body andcommercialising our research

5. South Australia – a growing destination choice for international anddomestic travellers

6. Growth through innovation7. South Australia – the best place to do business8. Adelaide, the heart of the vibrant state9. Promoting South Australia’s international connections and

engagement10. South Australia’s small businesses have access to capital and global

market

Workforce BluePrint suggests the following workforce capability priorities:

WorkReady: 8 areas the new Minister can quickly make a positive impact

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/workready-8-areas-the-new-minister-can-quickly-make-a-positive-impact/


Advanced Technologies and Digital Productivity Asian Century and Cultural Connections Business Growth and Employment including Australian [and School-based] Apprenticeships Creativity and Innovation Entrepreneurship (in young people and mature aged) and SmallBusiness Exporting and Operating in the Global Economy Knowledge Management and Partnership Development Infrastructure Development and Project Management Research and Development Sustainability and Heritage

The industry priorities identified by Workforce BluePrint include:

Aged Care and Well Being Agriculture, Conservation and Land Management Biomedical and Health Complex Manufacturing, Defence and Engineering Food and Wine especially Food Safety, Biosecurity and ProductIntegrity Government including Local Government International Education Exploration and Energy, Mining and Resources Tourism and the Visitor Economy including Events Transport including the Taxi industry

“The Workforce Vision might be one and the same [as the State’s EconomicVision] but I think for the purposes of addressing the ‘people’ aspect of theEconomic Development 10 Point Plan, this needs to be outlinedspecifically,” Ms Perry says.




”Workforce development goes hand in hand with economic developmentand a Workforce Vision would provide a goal to work towards for theeducation, employment, higher education and VET systems. The Visionand priority framework would inform investment and policy development.”

Read more about the State Vision:

http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/index.php/seven-strategic-priorities/economic-priorities

About Workforce BluePrint:


Related story:

Nations need a vision to inspire their workforce

A new targeted approach to funding Vocational Education and Training(VET) in South Australia has been announced called WorkReady.



http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Nations-need-a-vision-to-inspire-their-workforce-Silent-Achiever-Advertiser-18.1.14.pdf

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/skills/workready



Training leading to jobs in areas of economic and industry priority will bethe focus of this approach which some say should have been obvious fromthe start of Skills for All. It seems with Skills for All the main aim was toincrease the number of people with post school qualifications.

WorkReady will be phased in from 1 July 2015… It has been designed toimprove training completion rates and strengthen connections toemployment opportunities.

WorkReady has been designed to ensure that students, jobseekers,employers, the training sector and the government have the exibility torespond to changing social, geographic and economic circumstances.

For training providers who are reliant on government funding, they willneed to review their business approach, products, programs andalignment to priorities. Where a training provider might gain 75% of theirincome from state government funding, insight, intelligence andinformation on the market and competitors will be critically important. If aprovider has 50% plus funding from government then perhaps the impactmay not be as drastic but a strategic RTO review may be very helpful.

Think of the industry sectors like this. If you work with a sector that isgrowing or if you work with a sector that is going through signi canttransformation, like manufacturing, then WorkReady aligns. Providingevidence for prioritisation will be di cult for industry sectors that are inmaintenance mode, where demand for jobs is cyclical, or where theindustry is in decline.

Take note specifically of the following section in the policy outline,


http://wpaa.com.au/why-the-time-is-right-to-strategically-review-your-rto/



Alignment to strategic industry sectors

To make sure South Australia is a place where people and businessesthrive, public investment will be aligned with strategic industry sectors, andemployers will be involved in developing tailored solutions.

This will ensure that training and employment initiatives respond toemployment opportunities and the need for speci c skills wherever theyoccur across the state.

Co-investment is an expectation with employers, service providers orstudents paying towards the cost of the course.

Workforce BluePrint has long been advocating for a framework ofinvestment that considers:

State economic development priorities Industry and regional priorities Motivational priorities for example get a rst job, gain an AustralianApprenticeship, update skills to support export and innovation

Not only addressing the skill requirements for current jobs, WorkReadyneeds to have a way to deal with emerging skills and future jobrequirements. These skills may not yet be included in National TrainingPackages and so this could be seen as a limitation.

The allocation of places has not yet proven to be a successful approach instates like New South Wales. Details of how this allocation will work indetail, if allocated places that don’t get taken up can be recycled, and howthe timing (twice a year) will drive market and provider behavior are yet tobe seen.




With a belief in ‘true demand’ from employers and industry, a exible, asneeds approach to working up applications for recruitment and up skillinginitiatives would be my preference. This should also be extended fromquali cations to combinations of units of competency, induction andlicence outcomes.

All of this highlights the need for industry and regional workforce plansthat identify demand, critical job roles and critical capabilities. But thename WorkReady sounds like this is all about pre-employment programsso it’s a strategy to address unemployment.

A new subsidised training list should begin with critical job roles, thencritical capabilities, and follow through to matching with skills andquali cations. Alternatively, I would prefer that the list is ditched alltogether and replaced only with the framework of priorities describedabove with the added detail of critical job roles and capabilities.

A central plank of WorkReady is to link prospective students andjobseekers with real job opportunities through an upfront assessment ofindividual learning and support needs.

The identi cation of potential employees should rest with the employerand this statement seems to tip over into the responsibility of an employeror employment service provider.

There are three streams and it will be interesting to see how each worksoperationally and the impact on the VET market.

1. Engagement and strong foundations

This activity stream provides people with foundation learning that supportspathways to higher level courses that lead to entry level jobs.




Activities include language, literacy and numeracy courses, employmentsupport programs and some lower level quali cations such as pre-vocational courses.

2. Skilling for jobs

Activity in this stream provides people with the skills needed for entry-levelemployment, including:

traineeships and apprenticeships industry-recognised entry level qualifications employment programs that help jobseekers who face barriers toemployment, including Aboriginal people and transitioning workers, atthe local and regional level.

Industry advice will guide activity in this stream and employers will beclosely involved in tailoring projects that prepare people for speci c typesof jobs.

3. Skilling for the future

This stream is designed to provide existing workers with the quali cationsand skills necessary to progress in their industry or to transition to a newjob in areas of economic priority.

This includes higher level courses and priority courses, as well as skill setsto broaden and deepen their skills.

Employer and industry engagement will be vital for con dence inWorkReady and informing the subsidised list. The South Australian stategovernment is going to use two approaches to allocating funding:

Competitive purchasing – subsidised qualifications




Where the market for a particular course is well serviced, courses will belisted on the Subsidised Training List, along with the number of places tobe funded, based on an assessment of labour market need and levels ofcurrent participation.

Eligible people will be able to choose any course from the list and anyprovider from the approved provider list who offers the course.

Courses on the Subsidised Training List will attract a subsidy.

These subsidies will guide the level of co-investment expected from theemployer, the employment service provider and/or student.

The new Subsidised Training List will be phased in over time to ensure asmooth transition.

Jobs-first approachThe government will work closely with selected providers to developtailored training for speci c groups, industries or regions where there is anopportunity to:

work closely with employers and regional or industry bodies toprovide quality work placements and transitions to employment (inaddition to accredited training) involve employers in the selection of participants, deliverymethodology and the validation of outcomes.

Training providers will compete to deliver the speci ed courses. This willbe done through a submission process that demonstrates a track recordof quality outcomes that link training to jobs.



South Australian Budget 2016 –Workforce Focus

The Jobs- rst approach, which I would call Workforce demand rst, shouldbe the main game for WorkReady and perhaps over time the wholeinitiative will move to this model. With a more exible way of funding thiswill move away from the January and July intakes which I think will be aproblem for providers and students.

With the di erential subsidy paid to TAFESA being phased out and with apurchase agreement that may or may not be met, a missing piece thatseems obvious to me, is action research into the actual cost of courses andbenchmarking across providers. Productivity improvements andinnovative professional development for training providers will need to bestepped up enormously.

Written by Wendy Perry, VET Strategist WPAA, Head Workforce Planner,Workforce BluePrint, April 2015.

When the announcement was made last Thursday about WorkReady’s newsubsidised training list I made this video WorkReady announcement pre-blog stating that I needed to sleep on the blog that I had written. This is theblog after I slept on it for three nights as there was more to think throughthan I first thought.

There have certainly been signs that Vocational Education and Training(VET) in South Australia is set for a shake up. Back on 17 January 2015 theAustralian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) suggestedthat providers needed more funding certainty with an article published inThe Advertiser.

South Australian Budget 2016 – Workforce Focus

http://www.wpaa.com.au/

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/

https://wakperry.wistia.com/medias/okqjqol6rl

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/south-australian-budget-2016-workforce-focus/


The Training and Skills Commission in their Skills for Future Jobs ve yearplan, called for the introduction a of capacity management system linkedwith a smaller number of quality providers.

Skills for All was launched back in 2012 and whilst there have beenchanges to make the VET system in SA more job outcomes focused,WorkReady seems to take a 180 degree di erent approach although thismay have been lost in communication.

In April I wrote a blog on these changes and the introduction toWorkReady highlighting,

For training providers who are reliant on government funding, they willneed to review their business approach, products, programs andalignment to priorities. Where a training provider might gain 75% of theirincome from state government funding, insight, intelligence andinformation on the market and competitors will be critically important.

Pre-release consultationPre-release consultation

In the pre-release consultation, the WorkReady courses for consultationlist identi ed quali cations where there hadn’t been any studentenrolments in recent years as well as those deemed as having low publicvalue for example:


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/skills-for-future-jobs-foreward-agenda/

http://wpaa.com.au/workready-ready-set-shakeup-for-vet-in-south-australia/



Certificate III in Business, Business Services Certificate III in Business Administration Business Services Certificate III in Retail Operations Retail Services Certificate III in Events Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Certificate III in Hospitality Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Certificate III in Tourism Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Certificate III in Travel, Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Arts and Culture qualifications

Other qualifications were identified as having a no new enrolment date.

WorkReady Subsidised Training ListWorkReady Subsidised Training List

Reading over The Subsidised Training List v1.0 Published May 21 2015E ective Period: 1 July 2015 – 31 December 2015 the state governmentmade the same mistake as the very rst Skills for All list as it didn’t have akey or much explanation and this is an example of missing on thecommunication again.

The list basically includes quali cation codes and titles with coursefeatures like foundation skills, the number of places for TAFESA and thennotes on the non TAFESA subsidised training (shake) places:

JobsFirst: STL Projects TGSS Training Contract Only Unlimited (places), mostly in Certificate III trades

Some quali cations have combinations of the above, for example, TrainingContract Only and Unlimited places. For TAFESA, some of the placeallocations are as low as 10 and you’d have to ask whether that is a viablenumber?




It is not clear to me what it means where there is a quali cation listed butthen there are blanks or dashes – if they aren’t being subsidised then whyhave them on the list?

Jobs First Employment ProjectsJobs First Employment Projects

Last week’s announcement seems to be the rst component as there willalso be the option for Jobs First Employment Projects as outlined in theJobs First Guidelines,

In the second half of 2015, expanded Guidelines for WorkReady Jobs Firstwill be provided to guide contracting for employment projects and serviceswith ‘line of sight’ to demonstrable job commitments.

These projects will include tailored activities for speci c groups, industriesand regions, assisting people to either progress towards employment ormove directly into a job. Jobs First will contract for support services thataddress barriers to employment, such as individual or family casemanagement, structured mentoring, work experience and career services.It is expected these will be provided alongside skills development, workreadiness preparation and brokerage into a job.

ProvidersProviders

There is narrowing (rattle) of the providers that the Department of StateDevelopment (DSD) will work with,




Courses identi ed for Jobs First STL projects were determined through:feedback from industry on recognised pre-vocational and industry entry-level quali cations; mix of strategic industry sectors; likely levels of activityand spread of this activity between public and private providers; previoussuccess through Training Innovation Pilots; and government’s economicpriority areas.

Skills for All Training Providers whose submissions are successful will beo ered a variation to their Skills for All contract which will enable them todeliver the course as part of WorkReady Jobs First.

All submissions will be considered together to ensure total volume limitsfor Jobs First STL projects are not exceeded.

Categories of Courses and Training Places

Submissions are sought for delivery of:

Foundation skills courses Pre-vocational courses Job entry courses.

Training places are for full time enrolments only… [and] will addressspecific requirements identified for …qualifications listed…

Foundation skills courses will be fully subsided. Pre-vocational and Jobentry courses will require a co-contribution.

Expectations of the level of performance of providers is stepped up too:

The outcomes sought from WorkReady Jobs First STL projects are:




70% course completion, qualifications issued Transition into further training. If training is pre-vocational, thetransition is to vocational training. If training is in foundation skills, thetransition is to pre-vocational training. If training is job entry level, thetransition is to employment and/or higher level study Employment, including increased hours of employment and entry intocasual, permanent, part-time or full-time new employment (thisincludes apprenticeships and traineeships).

Submissions must include the outcomes that will be achieved for eachnominated course and the strategies in place to achieve these outcomes.Evidence of strong engagement with employers is required. Industry basedsupervised work placements will be a key consideration in assessingsubmissions. In the assessment of submissions a higher weighting will begiven where direct links to employment outcomes are evident, for examplecommitment to o er work placements or employment opportunities tosuitable participants documented in employer letters of support.

Changes to training subsidies put up to 100 training businesses andthousands of jobs at risk, industry leaders warn, was the headline for thepress release from ACPET.

Where are the priorities?Where are the priorities?

In the WorkReady application information there are provider requirements,course delivery and provider performance requirements and then C.Strategic Benefit assessment criteria:


http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/changes-to-training-subsidies-put-up-to-100-training-businesses-and-thousands-of-jobs-at-risk-industry-leaders-warn/story-fni6uo1m-1227364478024#social-comments



1. Regional priorities2. Industry priorities3. Target group priorities4. Existing students in the training system5. Training market in region/industry6. Contribution to employment growth.

It is positive to see a strategic framework for assessing priorities whichmatches somewhat with the approach that I have been advocating with ahierarchy of:

economic priorities and critical capabilities industry and regional priorities identifying critical job roles and motivational priorities (for tatget groups and individuals)

What needs more of a focus?What needs more of a focus?

Skilling for jobs of the future, not just the current job roles and theconnection to The Premier’s 10 Economic Priorities, needs to be front andcentre for WorkReady rather than as a side reference (roll).

In August 2014 I wrote a blog post on South Australian Workforce Visionneeded to address State’s Economic Priorities where at a high level therewas a mapping to workforce capabilities and industry priorities. Forsomeone with experience in developing job skill pro les all mapped toNational Training Packages and quali cations, it would be a useful step toidentify speci c quali cations and courses that match the 10 priorities. This mapping would demonstrate a logical connection to a subsidisedfunded training list as its not clear why some quali cations are on theWorkReady list and where the numbers came from.


http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/south-australian-workforce-vision-needed-to-address-states-economic-priorities/



Allocating a small amount of funds to the exible Jobs First EmploymentProjects (see the pre-cursor which is the Strategic Employment Fund)should shift as I think that it is under this funding stream that we are likelyto see more examples of truly demand (from employers, industry andregions) driven initiatives. Identifying critical job roles and capabilities forthese projects will be important with input from businesses, employersand industry groups.

There needs to be a mechanism to deal with critical capabilities that areneeded across industry sectors and regions like entrepreneurship andinnovation.

Finally, if you had a very small pool of funding, wouldn’t you prioritiseemployment or job outcomes that means unemployment rates wouldreduce and training outcomes would improve? Australian Apprenticeshipsincluding School-Based and pathways into training contracts should be anumber one priority for WorkReady and the subsidy should be for anyquali cation. This is the most accurate re ection of ‘demand’ plus anindication of business growth!

What happens next?What happens next?

Consultation sessions on draft Guidelines Early June 2015

Information sessions on nal Guidelines and Application Form Late June2015

Submissions open 1 July 2015

Submissions close July 2015




Assessment process July to August 2015

Letter of offer August 2015

Commencement of delivery From receipt of contract variation, withtraining accounts created by 30 June 2016.

After the reaction of some people in the VET sector last week I think we’llsee much more discussion about the implications for the system includingTAFESA and private providers. So, what do you think of the WorkReadyannouncements?

May 2015.

On Friday Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham published a media releasetitle The Training Ball is in Your Court Jay and clearly he is not impressed.

The Advertiser published the story, State Government’s decision to redirecttraining funding away from private providers to TAFE could see Canberrawithhold its $65 million.


http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/state-governments-decision-to-redirect-training-funding-away-from-private-operators-to-tafe-could-see-canberra-withhold-its-65-million/story-fni6unxq-1227374868321


Pre-empting the South Australian StateBudget

Minister Gail Gago’s press release back on 21 May 2015 had the headlineNew list of subsidised training courses focuses on jobs and with JayWeatherill arriving back from the China delegation on the weekend aformal response hasn’t yet been seen but no doubt it will soon.

From a strategic point of view the South Australian Premier’s 10 EconomicDevelopment priorities is the key reference that should be used to informinvestment in skill, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and workforcedevelopment in South Australia.

10 Economic Development priorities10 Economic Development priorities

The 10 Priorities are:

1. Unlocking the full potential of South Australia’s resources, energy andrenewable assets

2. Premium food and wine produced in our clean environment andexported to the world

3. A globally recognised leader in health research, ageing and relatedservices and products

4. The Knowledge State – attracting a diverse student body andcommercialising our research

5. South Australia – a growing destination choice for international anddomestic travellers

6. Growth through innovation7. South Australia – the best place to do business8. Adelaide, the heart of the vibrant state9. Promoting South Australia’s international connections and

engagement10. South Australia’s small businesses have access to capital and global

markets

Pre-empting the South Australian State Budget

http://www.workforceblueprint.com.au/pre-empting-the-south-australian-state-budget/


It is unclear as to how these priorities are re ected in the new WorkReadySubsidised Training List.

What might be part of the answer?What might be part of the answer?

Complimented with industry and regional priorities, if you must have aFunded Training List, then quali cations subsidised from the followingNational Training Packages (and not limited to) may include:




Agriculture, Horticulture and Land Conservation Arts and Culture Business Services Community Services Construction, Plumbing and Services Electrotechnology Financial Services Food Processing Health Information and Communications Technology Laboratory Operations Library, Information and Cultural Services Local Government Live Performance and Entertainment Manufacturing Meat Metal and Engineering Training Public Sector Retail Services Seafood Sport, Fitness and Recreation Sustainability Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training and Education Water Resources and Infrastructure Screen and Media Transport and Logistics

What’s a better answer?What’s a better answer?




A better way to consider the relationship of the 10 economic priorities tothe Vocational Education and Training system would be to identify criticaljob roles and critical capabilities and then map those to National TrainingPackages. This mapping can also be undertaken for industry (identi ed bypeaks and stakeholders) and regional (identi ed by Industry LeadersGroups and stakeholders) critical job roles and capabilities.

Critical job roles can be de ned as those where it is di cult to attract andretain people, where it takes a signi cant time to build up skills andexpertise, where it is needed for a compliance or regulatory function;and/or where the job role is emerging and supports economic growth.

The best indication of true demand is Australian Apprenticeships wherebusinesses are growing and there is a direct impact on the unemploymentrate. With limited funds Australian Apprenticeships, and pathways intothem, would be the best investment.

Who is one of the best states/territories?Who is one of the best states/territories?

If South Australia wants the Vocational Education and Training system tobe one of the best in Australia, connected to the Premier’s vision and the10 economic priorities, then a lot could be learnt from the Tasmanianapproach.

Tasmania has Ministerial Priorities for Training and WorkforceDevelopment for 2014-15 underpinning the state’s economic andemployment priorities with a exible Skills Fund, a Career Start Program,Adult Literacy Programs, and Apprenticeships and Traineeships are aninvestment priority.

So what could you do with WorkReady to unlock the stalemate?So what could you do with WorkReady to unlock the stalemate?


http://www.skills.tas.gov.au/apprenticeshipstraineeships



Preferably ditch the list, or if you must have a list, make it re ect truedemand from employers, industry and regions with the 10 economicpriorities, critical job roles and critical capabilities.

Fund Australian Apprenticeships and pathways into them as a number onepriority.

Place more of a focus (and therefore more money) on a exible, demanddriven fund like the Strategic Employment Fund, moving into the Jobs Firstpool (no list!).

Inside such a fund, enable preferred providers to work with businesses,employers, industry sectors and regions in partnership to designworkforce development initiatives and training programs that match jobrole requirements and capabilities for:

business incubation and coworking collaboration and digital disruption diversification and entrepreneurship export and international connections innovation and growth productivity and profit sustainability and wellbeing

The VET system aims to solve big problems and this cannot be achievedwithout collaboration and communication. Perhaps there is a view thatenough consultation has occurred, or maybe nowhere near enough, butwherever you stand on this, the conversation must ip to practical andworkable solutions.

June 2015




With Gail Gago stepping down from her role as Minister, and a Cabinetreshu e about to be announced, this blog will identify 8 areas that thenext Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills can quicklymake a positive impact on WorkReady.

The Funded Training List (FTL) is the foundation that WorkReady is builtupon and my hope is that we have a more robust system. You wouldn’tbuild a new building on an old, broken foundation – I believe the FTL isbroken and a stronger evidence based foundation would support a freshskills strategy for the future.

In terms of a quick stock take the last announcement from Minister GailGago was for $8 million WorkReady projects,

Up to 1,500 people are expected to get jobs supported by 2,600 newtraining places – as a result of an additional $7.9 million over the next twofinancial years.

$285 million is already committed for training in 2015-16 for privatetraining organisations with Minister Gago stating,

“We are also committing $6.4 million over two years to support 2,250 newtraining places and other support services at private providers, o eredthrough Jobs First STL Projects and Jobs First Employment Projects.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-15/gail-gago-resigns-from-sa-cabinet-jay-weatherill/7090126

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/8-million-boost-for-training-and-employment-projects



Focus areas include aged care, disability, early childhood care andconstruction, but training in other areas will be supported where there is adirect link to a job.

A subsequent call for Jobs First Employment Projects will occur early nextyear.”

The new Minister has the opportunity to rethink the priorities forWorkReady and move away from a list based approach to an evidencebased approach.

In other words, ditch the Funded Training List and extend the Jobs Firstapproach including up skilling of the existing workforce as well as jobseekers making it even more flexible and employer demand driven.

Aligned to the state’s Economic Priorities, key industry sectors (employingsigni cant numbers, with growth potential, or experiencingdecline/transformation), critical job roles (similar to the occupation liststhat the Northern Territory and Western Australia governments have inplace), and critical capabilities could provide a framework for fundingprojects.

Supporting priority industry sectors to develop workforce plans to 2020and designing regional workforce action plans with local employers, likethe Tasmanian government does, would provide a rich evidence base forjob creation and workforce development strategies.

Now to the rst of the suggestions regarding WorkReady and AustralianApprenticeships.

1. Apprenticeships as a number 1 priorityApprenticeships as a number 1 priority




Reviewing the Funded Training List 10.1/Subsidised Training List 1.1, andlooking at the Training Contracts and Places columns, there is somethingthat just doesn’t make sense.

If you are the state with the highest unemployment rate in Australia, andjob creation is an important priority, why wouldn’t your skills policy fundtraining contracts for whatever quali cation an employer wishes to employan Australian Apprentice in?

In fact, if your skills budget was limited, wouldn’t the combination ofemployment plus training, through an Australian Apprenticeship, be yournumber 1 priority?

Funding for Australian Apprenticeships should be supported throughWorkReady for any qualification as this means a job outcome first. Also, asan employer of Australian Apprentices, including School Based Apprentices(SBA), I’d like to choose the training provider that we work with.

2. Economic Priorities should be WorkReady prioritiesEconomic Priorities should be WorkReady priorities

The South Australian 2015 Economic Statement and Priorities should bethe headline policy for WorkReady. If this was the case then the followingareas would be priorities for employment, skills and Vocational Educationand Training (VET) policy:


http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/government-updates-economic-priorities-after-first-year-review



Mining and Resources Agriculture, Food and Wine Aged Care, Disability and Health Education, Higher Education and VET Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Tourism and Hospitality Entrepreneurship Medical Devices Defence ICT Manufacturing Precinct/Hub and Regional Workforces Public Sector Events and Creative Industries Exporting and International Business Small Business and Startups Building and Construction

On the WorkReady website there is some information about skills neededin South Australia, including STEM and the following list:

health care and social assistance mining agriculture, forestry and fishing accommodation and food services public administration and safety education and training transport, postal and warehousing other services (including automotive repair and maintenance, andhairdressing & beauty services) professional, scientific and technical services and retail trade.


http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/750-000-to-accelerate-innovation-in-the-resource-sector

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/about-6300-new-jobs-for-south-australians-as-part-of-the-ndis

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/new-ceo-for-sas-medical-device-industry-alliance

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/manufacturers-explore-opportunities-to-transform

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/careers-jobs/skills-needed-in-south-australia



Logically you would think that these industry sectors would be given moreplaces via the Funded Training List but this doesn’t necessarily follow.

3. Eligibility needs to be reviewedEligibility needs to be reviewed

Taking the eligibility test, where I have a Master of Education and I amrunning a successful business this was my result,

Your result (i.e. my personal result)Your result (i.e. my personal result)

You may be eligible for government subsidised training in:You may be eligible for government subsidised training in:

one foundation skills course (if you are assessed to need it) one course from Certificate III to Advanced Diploma level up to ve bridging units at every quali cation level (if assessed to needthem) unlimited priority courses.

I believe it is ridiculous that I can take unlimited priority courses paid for bythe people of South Australia.

4. Major projects should be reflected in skills priorities4. Major projects should be reflected in skills priorities

Workforce initiatives should pre-empt skills needs for major projects. People should be trained and job ready before their skills are needed. Todo this a workforce plan would be designed for each major project.

For example, construction is an important industry and projects likeNorthern Connector should be underpinned by an evidence basedworkforce action plan with support from WorkReady.


http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/taskforce-to-target-local-workers-for-northern-connector-project



Major projects continue to support employment opportunities across arange of sectors. There are currently 326 major projects underway orplanned in South Australia with a total value of around $95 billion. Themain sectors impacted by major projects include:

minerals and energy urban development defence infrastructure and water management health, education and other services premium food and wine and manufacturing and industrial development.

There are a number of speci c jobs listed as employment opportunities ofthe future on the WorkReady website under a Major Projects heading buthow do they line up with the Funded Training List?

5. Entrepreneurship not self-employment in policyEntrepreneurship not self-employment in policy

Whilst there is some information on the WorkReady website about self-employment, the language and thinking needs to shift to entrepreneurship.

I believe that entrepreneurship should feature in education, employment,higher education and skills policy with starting up a business as anoutcome that is encouraged.

Putting entrepreneurship together with the Economic Priorities, and thisMinisterial portfolio, could see a great combination of new ideas, solutionsand business opportunities.

6. Funding for training – employers and businessFunding for training – employers and business


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/careers-jobs/skills-needed-in-south-australia/growth-industries

http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/careers-jobs/working-in-south-australia/self-employment



The information on funding for training for employers and businessesseems way out of date, nor does it link to the Economic Priorities, or havean evidence based workforce plan as the basis for support.

7. Professional development events for training providersProfessional development events for training providers

Over recent years, the South Australian State Government hasn’tprioritised capability and professional development for the VET sector withthe WorkReady website currently stating,

There are no professional development events for training providerscurrently scheduled.

Subscribe to Stay Informed and we’ll keep you up to date on areas you’reinterested in via regular e-newsletters.

If South Australia has a goal to have a World-class VET system, then a VETWorkforce Action Plan will be the key to unlocking the talent in the sector.

8. Precinct and regional workforce projectsPrecinct and regional workforce projects

Alongside a hub development like Tonsley, a Precinct Workforce ActionPlan, would identify critical job roles and capabilities feeding into theintelligence on what could be funded as a growth skills priority.

Balancing metropolitan and regional workforce needs will be an importantconsideration. With the establishment of Industry Leaders Groups a fewyears ago, and the design of workforce projects through local networks,the success of this approach supported by Regional Manager probablyhasn’t had enough recognition.


http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/for-employers-business/funding-for-training

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/12-million-to-help-new-companies-establish-at-tonsley



In fact, this model was highlighted at the World Technical VocationalEducation Training (TVET) Conference in Sarawak with many countriesinterested in how this collaboration is facilitated.

Here are links to a number of projects announced in December 2015,however this information isn’t prominent on the WorkReady website:

Adelaide Hills Eastern Adelaide Western Adelaide Southern Adelaide Northern Adelaide Murray and Mallee Yorke and Mid North Barossa, Light and Lower North Eyre and Western

To build upon this successful approach, Regional Workforce Action Plansfor hot spots (e.g. Upper Spencer Gulf and Outback, Leigh Creek, Whyallaetc.), identifying priority industry sectors, critical job roles and capabilities,would provide longevity and sustainability for the communities, employersand the local workforce.

To whomever is appointed as the Minister for Employment, HigherEducation and Skills, I look forward to seeing your approach and talkingabout how South Australia can transform into a 21 Century Workforcewith a World-class VET system.

Have your say on the 8 areas, do you agree or disagree and perhaps youhave your own suggestions too? Follow this link to express your views.

January 2016

st


http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-adelaide-hills

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-eastern-adelaide

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-western-adelaide

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-southern-adelaide

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-northern-adelaide

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-murray-and-mallee

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-yorke-and-mid-north

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-in-barossa-light-and-lower-north

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/employment-projects-help-jobs-seekers-gain-work-in-eyre-and-western

http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/regions/grants_and_loans/upper_spencer_gulf_and_outback_futures_program

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nUEDsWKsJB-rymCPxdcMIsbF0DhYbeC3SBt7vH88-0U/viewform?usp=send_form



Premier of South Australia Jay Weatherill

This blog post focuses on the workforce opportunities in the SouthAustralian state budget delivered by the Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis MPincluding employment, entrepreneurship, industry and innovation, regionalsupport and STEM but also highlights a couple of areas that need moreattention.

A new format for explaining the budget describes benefits for:


http://www.statebudget.sa.gov.au/



Business Households Innovation and entrepreneurs Education The community Environment Defence

Employment

For many years we’ve advocated a position of encouraging smallbusinesses to take on new employees’, especially young people givingthem the experience we need. It will be interesting to see how theinitiatives outlined below work with skills and VET policy as well as supportfor training Australian Apprenticeships including those who are SchoolBased Apprentices (SBAs).




Job creation grant scheme Between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2018 $10 000 Grants for businesses with taxable payrolls below $5million for each additional new worker. $4 000 Grants for small businesses and start-ups for eachadditional new worker. Expected to provide grants for 14 000 new full time equivalentpositions.For more details of this grant, visit RevenueSA

Extend small business payroll tax rebate for four years, reducing theirpayroll tax.

Providing up to $9800 for employers with taxable payrolls lessthan or equal to $1.2 million. Around 2 300 businesses to benefit.

Industry participation advocate $1.4 MILLION for the O ce of theIndustry Advocate to expand assistance for local business to buildtheir tendering skills for local jobs and ensuring local content is usedon projects. SA Made campaign $2 MILLION For an awareness campaign so SouthAustralians can identify, support and buy SA made products.

Business SA Applauds Jobs Incentive in Budget and it is good to see a verypractical approach to encouraging employment.

Entrepreneurship

There is an important shift in language to more of an entrepreneurialmindset with $135 million for investment in future industries and thetourism sector.

Commitment to spend at least $20 million on innovation initiatives eachyear. Budget includes an additional $29.8 million for:


http://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/jobs



$10 MILLION – Grants to assist companies at the pre-seed and seedstage of development to grow. $7.5 MILLION – Support for the University of South Australia’s FutureIndustries Institute to encourage innovation and new industry andassist start up enterprises. $4.7 MILLION – Gig city project to create an ultra-high speedbroadband innovation network.

These initiatives build on the government’s $53.6 million existingcommitments including the Premier’s Research and Industry Fund and Bio-Innovation SA Industry Development grants.

SA Venture Capital Fund $50 MILLION Fund to partner with privatesector nanciers to support innovation and help build high-growthcompanies. Tourism, Marketing and Major Events Fund $35 MILLION Additionalfunding to encourage visitors to South Australia and attract majorevents. Economic investment fund

$20 MILLION to continue to attract businesses to the state. $1.9 MILLION Fund biosecurity measures which will enable accessto high value domestic and international markets.

Planning reforms $24.8 MILLION – Investment will be made to reformthe State’s planning system. ePlanning will facilitate faster approvals,consistent planning rules and ready access to information.

Industry and Innovation

Sectors that are supported to grow through the budget include:




Defence Disability Green industries and a goal of Adelaide becoming the rst carbonneutral city Food and wine Health ICT and bioscience Public safety and emergency services Tourism Transport

Interestingly I wonder if the, “$44.4 MILLION Industry assistance packageto the taxi and chau eur vehicle industry for reforms to the sector”, willsee changes including the expansion of Uber and ride sharing services?

Having worked with the Defence Teaming Centre (DTC) on the DefenceIndustry South Australia Workforce Strategy it is excellent to see a numberof measures to build capability across the defence industry.


http://servicesa.cdn.on.net/budget201617/pdfs/media-releases/13.7_million_dollars_investment_in_defence_industry.pdf

http://servicesa.cdn.on.net/budget201617/pdfs/media-releases/making_adelaide_the_worlds_first_carbon_neutral_city.pdf

http://servicesa.cdn.on.net/budget201617/pdfs/media-releases/35_million_dollars_more_to_grow_tourism_and_create_jobs.pdf

http://www.dtc.org.au/



$6 MILLION Defence Industry attraction fund – To secure new defenceinvestment and jobs in South Australia and ensure the futuresubmarine supply chain is based in South Australia. $5 MILLION For the extension of the wharf at the Techport CommonUser Facility. Funded by an investment from ASC AWD Shipbuilder PtyLtd. $4 MILLION To build partnerships, and stronger cultural and economicrelationships with France to enhance the bene ts from the submarinecontracts. State Defence Industry – $2.3 MILLION To deliver programs andservices that maintain and develop the state’s defence industry. Masterplan of Techport $1 MILLION IN 2016-17 – For a masterplandesign of Techport infrastructure at Osborne to prepare for futureprojects. Trade Exhibition $420 000 – For state representation at theEURONAVAL international maritime trade exhibition in France.

Thank you to the Hon Kyam Maher MLC for highlighting the Innovation forJobs website that was launched today which brings together the newmeasures in the budget along with the existing e ort in the innovation andcommercialisation space, and identi es support and fundingopportunities. This could provide an opportunity to integrate evidence,insight and intelligence on Jobs of the Future and the capabilities neededfor the 21 Century as identi ed by employers and industries throughworkforce planning.

Regional Support

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http://innovation.sa.gov.au/

http://innovation.sa.gov.au/innovation-for-jobs-statement/

http://innovation.sa.gov.au/support-and-funding-opportunities/

http://workforceplanningtools.com.au/jobs-of-the-future/



The State Government’s 2016-17 Budget contains new initiatives that willresult in additional regional speci c investment of $384 million over the

ve years from 2015-16 to 2019-20. The Budget provides investment tofurther drive regional growth, create new job opportunities and build newinfrastructure in South Australia’s regions.

Read more here>

Key infrastructure projects and initiatives with budget fundingannouncements by region are outlined in this interactive map.

Speci c support has been announced for regions facing economicrestructuring,

Supporting Whyalla $50 MILLION Funding to support a new owner of the Whyallasteelworks. $9.6 MILLION Interest-free loan scheme to support smallbusinesses experiencing cash- ow challenges as a result ofArrium entering administration.

Supporting the northern suburbs $24.2 MILLION A range of initiativeshave been announced aimed at job creation, innovation, business andindustry growth and community programs in northern Adelaide.

STEM

For Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) there is aninvestment in schools and Adelaide as a Smart City.


http://servicesa.cdn.on.net/budget201617/pdfs/media-releases/new_initiatives_to_support_regional_economic_growth.pdf

http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/regions/publications/e-news/11_july_2016_-_issue_20/budget_reflects_regional_support



$250 million Refurbish and redevelop contemporary science,technology, engineering and mathematics facilities in 139 publicschools.

77 Primary schools 44 High schools 18 R12 and area schools

Develop an over-arching Smart City Strategy for Adelaide in partnershipwith the Adelaide City Council and Cisco and continue to invest in SmartCity projects and initiatives, including the deployment of high speedbroadband infrastructure to our innovation precincts (Gig City program).

International Education, Skills and Youth

Going searching for areas that you might have expected to be moreprominent in budget initiatives, such international education, skills andyouth, means that you’ll need to look carefully.

For youth a target is to, “Develop and release the 2017 Youth Strategy forSouth Australia”, where it would be good to see the connection of policyacross employment, entrepreneurship, global opportunities, innovation,skills and STEM.

In Agency papers covering vocational education there are only a fewstatements that make a reference to VET,

Ongoing improvements in vocational education and information andcommunications technology (ICT) infrastructure are planned to underpin amore contemporary and efficient method of educational delivery.”




Work with the school education, higher education, vocational educationand training, and STEM-skills based industry sectors to implement strategicreform priority initiatives that will encourage South Australians to pursuehigh-value employment opportunities.

With international education there isn’t any major announcements butmore of an approach that builds upon existing initiatives with more of ageneral export focus:

Deliver the government’s international program of inbound andoutbound business missions in support of greater commercialengagement with target markets. Develop a new program of strategic engagement with Europe. Continue to develop a comprehensive Business Education Program toprepare South Australian businesses for international export success. Continue to deliver the Tradestart advisory program in partnershipwith Austrade and the Export Partnership Program, supportingbusinesses in developing new export markets. Expand the South Australia Club network with new chapters inSingapore, Bangkok and Mumbai.

Overall, a more innovative budget that picks up on entrepreneurship,industry and regional development, startups and STEM but the stategovernment still needs to bring this thinking increasingly to employment,VET and youth policy. An example of how this could be integrated isindustry and regional workforce action plans that informs employmentand skills growth strategies in an entrepreneurial context and the newinnovation framework.

July 2016




With the South Australian budget to be handed down tomorrow, let’s lookforward to a refocus on current and future job opportunities, consideringeconomic, environmental, social and workforce development needs.

And how might the state with significant unemployment rates do this?

Firstly by understanding employment and job demand, where are thecurrent and future jobs, how are jobs changing and what skills arerequired. Making it easier to employer new people with more measureslike the Job Accelerator Grant Scheme are expected.


https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/index.php/kyam-maher-news-releases/7637-south-australia-s-unemployment-rate-at-6-9-per-cent

https://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/grants-and-concessions/jobacceleratorgrantscheme



At this time, one of the best indications of job demand linked with skills isAustralia Apprenticeships. Whilst numbers have been declining, AustralianApprenticeships should be a number one priority especially those that areSc hool Based. What would be excellent to see is the design,implementation and promotion of School Based Apprenticeships (SBA) inbusiness and related elds for Small and Medium Enterprises especially. There are so many tasks, particularly those that are digitally based, that anSBA can manage for you. There could be new shared models of managingAustralian Apprentices, students on work placements, Higher Ed studentsworking on projects, and industry connections with education and youthservices.

Fundamentally South Australia needs more jobs. That means we needexisting employers to expand from large corporates to small businesses –we need more employers, more entrepreneurs. E orts with the SouthAustralian Early Commercialisation Fund are beginning to bear fruit andthis fund could be even further expanded alongside other levers thatencourage scaling up.


http://techinsa.com.au/programs-funding/saecf/



Export and international capability development, where countries seekexpertise or experiences that are held within South Australia must be in themix. Access to those visiting on inbound business missions can havedepartmental gate keepers and sometimes o cial channels ofcommunication don’t move fast enough but knowing who else might behosting international delegations, would be very useful. On this point,delegations usually have bespoke itineraries designed for them withforethought and behind the scenes tours. Our overseas colleagues learnso much when they visit however local businesses and organisations mightnot even know these gems exist. Regular comments and feedback indicatethat delegations put their experiences in South Australia above other statesand regions. What if we could share this knowledge via a program forSouth Australian businesses?

Sister cities, whilst mostly negotiated between local government partners,provides an underutilised opportunity to connect South Australianbusinesses with markets and partners all over the world. Imagine if wecould leverage the sister city connections that all councils have across thestate with international cities. Perhaps these opportunities are somethingthat the state government, Business SA and industry associations, LocalGovernment Association of South Australia, as well as the businesscouncils or chambers from di erent countries based here, couldcollaborate on?


http://workforceblueprint.com.au/adelaide-austin-sister-cities-achieving-big-things/



Hospital redevelopment and expansion will need support, as well asfurther partnership development with the defence sector for navalshipbuilding and upcoming projects. Another area is connectingmanufacturers with entrepreneurs, inventors and those creating physicalproducts. Sometimes overlooked in favour of tech solutions, which mustalso be explored, are the guys who make things in factories andworkshops for local, national and international markets. Often engineers,they can see a concept, idea, or prototype and with a couple of suggestionsor modifications, make it easier and more cost effective to produce.

Building upon strong regional networks, a workforce stocktake and futureforecasting would provide a framework for understanding where jobopportunities could be created. A Workforce Action Plan for each region,matching jobs and skills required with the local workforce, could see majorinvestment attraction that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. There may bespeci c locations or towns, such as Kangaroo Island, Whyalla,Peterborough or Mount Gambier where a workforce action plan for theisland or town would work best, working together with local championsand facilitators.

Being a state of SMEs, with a divide between traditional small businessesand the entrepreneurial ecosystem, this chasm needs to be bridged. Exposing owners and managers to lean start up methodologies, thebusiness model canvas in action, and what might be possible to scale up orreinvent could unlock massive potential. ‘Growth hacking’ SMEs in a shorttimeframe, with students and young people working on tasks that arealways on the ‘to do’ list or digitally based, would bring many into the 21Century. This approach could also be applied to growth hacking a precinct,Main Street or a town.

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Speaking of which, the 21 Century Capabilities that everyone is talkingabout and wanting to describe, are not currently included in schoolcurriculum or VET Training Packages. If South Australia wants to changeits trajectory with unemployment rates then the state must explore thesecapabilities including 21 Century STEM and new discovery technologies ineducation, employment, entrepreneurship and youth programs. Industryconnections with education are key and a stand out school is theAustralian Science and Maths School who are hosting the ASMSEntrepreneurs Week event on 6 July 2017 with free registration on whereyou are invited to pitch your problems and ideas to students to solve onthe Real Day Out.

Support for scaling up from South Australia to the world is a gap in theentrepreneurial ecosystem as for many businesses overseas markets arehuge and need collaborating, complimentary partners. But it can be hardto know who is already doing what and where the points of collaborationmight be. Entrepreneurs Week is a good initiative to facilitate theseconnections, and if collaboration is on your mind then please come alongto the Pitch to Collaborate event on Monday 10 July 2017, 5-7 pm.

If you want to be involved in the dialogue on where South Australia hascome from, and where we need to get to, then please register for anintimate dinner on Monday 3 July 2017 at the British Hotel where we’lldiscuss From Clusters to Ecosystems.

In the June 2017 South Australian budget, it will be important to see anumber of interconnected investments that pull the state forward withvision, insight and pragmatism. It will be interesting to hear what isannounced and if this blog has sparked ides for you or holds opportunitiesto collaborate then please get in touch, thank you.

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https://www.asms.sa.edu.au/

https://events.asms.sa.edu.au/events/entrepreneurs-week-asms-event/

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/pitch-to-collaborate-tickets-35072802697?aff=es2

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/from-clusters-to-ecosystems-our-journey-over-the-past-20-years-tickets-35071782646?aff=es2



21 June 2017

