December 2010 E-Newsletter
Welcome to the December issue of the SSA Newsletter
Latest News
VET Course Completion Rates Higher than Reported
Research by Service Skills Australia, TAFE NSW and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported VET course completion rates of 90% or more, significantly higher than those recently reported by NCVER.
Service Skills Australia investigated all reasons for non-completions by having three registered training organisations, one large TAFE Institute, one private provider and one enterprise RTO, monitor every non-completion in retail training over a five-month period and found that nine out of ten students completed their course.
“Our research shows non-completions are much lower than the 73 percent cited by NCEVER, and that the reasons students don’t finish a course vary widely,” Jeanette Allen, CEO of Service Skills Australia, said.
TAFE NSW has seen enrolments and completion by job seekers increasing by 28 percent between 2007 and 2009. Enrolments by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students increased by 21 percent and completions have increased by 30 percent.
A detailed examination of apprenticeship non-completion by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that employers, apprenticeship service providers and training providers can have a positive impact on completion rates of apprentices. “Our research has shown that the most important factors in apprenticeship completions are ensuring the right fit between the employer and the apprentice and providing them with meaningful work and interesting training” said Mary Hicks, ACCI Director of Employment, Education and Training.
Service Skills Australia Assist Sector Skills Councils in India
Jeanette Allen (centre) and Bernard Moore (4th from left) meet with Sector Skills Councils representatives in India
Bernard Moore (far left) and Jeanette Allen (2nd from right) meet with Dilip Chenoy (left) and Basab Banerjee (right) from the National Skills Development Corporation India.
Service Skills Australia was invited to attend and present at the Federation of Inidan Chambers of Commerce and Industry "Third Annual Global Skills Summit" in New Delhi. Bernard Moore presented a paper with Sue Freeman from First Impressions Resources at the conference. Subsequently, SSA were invited to meet with India's National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to provide support and assistance in the formation of India's Sector Skill Councils, the equivalent of Australia's Industry Skills Councils.
Jeanette Allen and Bernard Moore met with 12 industry groups and found that each was at a different stage in the development and understanding in the role of a skills council. A common focus was on the quality assurance process for training and qualifcation outcomes rather than on the industry led nature of the sector council.
Service Skills Australia Launches Revised National Beauty Training Package
Kit McMahon, Karen Banks and Colleen Shaw at the beauty package launch
Jeanette Allen discusses the new beauty training package with industry stakeholders
Service Skills Australia launched the revised National Beauty Training Package in Sydney on Wednesday November 17.
The SIB10 Beauty Training Package is the national framework for skills development for the beauty industry and includes recognised units of competency and qualifications to train and assess individuals in a range of beauty specific skills and occupations. It is designed to increase professionalism, define career pathways and expand training in newly emerging areas within the beauty industry.
For further information on the National Beauty Training Package see http://www.serviceskills.com.au/beauty-training-package
or email Karen Banks kbanks@serviceskills.com.au
ISPN Recognises Hairdressing Skills and Training
The International Professional Standards Network (IPSN) was established with a vision to improve the mobility and training levels for skills based occupations worldwide. Service Skills Australia represents Australia as one of four founding country members. Hairdressing was the first industry to be benchmarked for training qualifications and industry standards to an agreed framework leading to mutual recognition.
Qualified Australian hairdressers who are qualified and have current experience can apply for certification. The certification will be recognised by member countries including: New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada. Work has now began to benchmark the beauty industry.
The first graduation of susccessful candidates was held at the November 2010 meeting of the IPSN in Auckland, New Zealand. Jane Trewin, Manager of the Centre for Retail and Personal Services at Gordon Institute, received certification at the ceremony. Two graduation ceremonies will be held in Australia in early 2011.
2010 Australian Training Awards
The 2010 Australian Training Awards were held at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre on Friday 19 November.
The awards recognise the exemplary commitment made by businesses, organisations and individuals to our national training system and rewards them for their outstanding efforts in skilling the nation.
The Service Industries were well represented in all the award categories with the following awards achieved:
Employer of the Year - Crown Melbourne Limited
2nd Place, Vocational Student of the Year - Heidi Scher , Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment/Howards Storage employee.
2nd Place, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year – Russell Freeburn, North Coast Institute of TAFE, Certificate IV in Retail Management/Gibbos Auto Spares employee.
2nd Place, Australian Apprentice of the Year – Gareth Robbs, Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) TAFE NSW Hunter Institute Cessnock/Bistro Molines employee.
Changes to the Australian Training Awards and Minister's Awards for Excellence
The Australian Training Awards were reviewed for relevance of categories to the current priorities of in the vocational education and training sector in 2009.The process included the Minister's Awards for Excellence categories.
The review is now finalised and recommendations for changes to the Minister's Awards for Excellence and the categories of the Australian Training Awards will be implemented in 2011. Further information is available at www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Awards/ATA
Service Skills Australia Annual General Meeting
The 2010 Service Skills Australia Annual General Meeting was held at the Grace Hotel in Sydney on Tuesday 23 November 2010. Two new members were appointed as Service Skills Australia Board Directors: Jan Sutherland from Sport South Australia and John Sweetman from the Australian Hotels Association.
Training Package Updates
SIS10 Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package Submitted for Endorsement
The SIS10 Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package is expected to be endorsed by the NQC prior to Christmas. All non-endorsed SIS10 volumes are available on the SSA website for downloading during the period of NQC consideration. Implementation workshops will be held from late February to late April 2011. We encourage stakeholders to submit any specific questions for implementation of the Training Package to SSA by the end of January. For enquiries contact Karen Beattie, Senior Project Officer on kbeattie@serviceskills.com.au.
SIB10 Beauty is now live on NTIS
The SIB10 Beauty Training Package was endorsed by the National Quality Council on 23 September 2010. This Training Package has now gone live on the National Training Information Services (NTIS) website with a release date of 10 December 2010. Please contact the relevant registering body for information on transition arrangements.
SFL10 Floristry Training Package submitted
The SFL10 Floristry Training Package was submitted to the National Quality Council and is anticipated to be endorsed before the break. The revised training package, user guide and other supporting materials will be available in the new year. Thank you to all stakeholders who have contributed to the updating of the floristry training package.
Community Pharmacy – Draft 1 Now Available
The first draft qualifications and units for the community pharmacy industry are now available for stakeholder feedback. New units have been developed to address the expanding role of the pharmacy assistant and dispensary assistant. Feedback on these drafts is encouraged on the online feedback register, as well as email and phone. Consultation meetings will be held early in the new year. If you would like to discuss the first drafts or anything relating to the review of the community pharmacy qualifications please contact Karen Banks on kbanks@serviceskills.com.au
Tourism, Hospitality and Events - Training Package Update
Version 2.3 of the SIT07 Training Package was submitted to NTIS earlier this month via the interim ISC Upgrade process. The Training Package was updated to incorporate the requirements of the Flexibility and Sustainability Policies.
Planning is underway for the Training Package Review in 2011. The review will commence with an assessment of the tourism and travel components.
Keep an eye out for information about the consultation process in the new year.
For more information contact Therese Ma at t.ma@serviceskills.com.au
Validation Process for Hairdressing now complete
The Feedback Register for validation of the revised Hairdressing Training Package is now closed. Thank you to those who contributed to this part of the project.
The finalised drafts based on the validation feedback will undergo a quality check process before they are submitted for endorsement to the National Quality Council.
For further information on this project, please contact Lina Robinson on lrobinson@serviceskills.com.au or 03 8346 8535.
Project Updates
Taking the Lead
Taking the Lead website is a one-stop-shop for information and advice on developing core language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills in the service and other industries.
Read the latest LLN news and search for new resources and reports from Australia and international. Subscribe to Taking the Lead’s monthly e-newsletters and stay up-to-date or catch up on past e- newsletters for November and December.
W: http://www.serviceskills.com.au/workplace-english-language-and-literacy
