24 Apr 2024 - Skills Facts 287

Welcome to our first Skills Facts for 2024.

In today's newsletter:

• Nominations open for the 2024 Tasmanian Training Awards
• Skills Tasmania Industry Compacts update
• Train Now Fund
• Developing Industry Trainers Program
• WorldSkills Australia – empowering excellence in young Australians since 1981
• Disability Standards for Education Review
• Australian Training Awards

Nominations open for the 2024 Tasmanian Training Awards

Applications for the 2024 Tasmanian Training Awards are now open.

The Tasmanian Training Awards are held annually by Skills Tasmania to recognise outstanding work in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. The awards celebrate and reward the achievements of students, teachers/trainers, employers and registered training organisations.

There are 14 award categories – nine for individuals and five for businesses and training organisations.

There is also a special Tasmanian Award – The Trevor Leo Medal, which recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the VET and skills sector for more than 15 years.

As well as the recognition, networking and professional development the awards offer, eligible winners will go on to represent the state at the Australian Training Awards in Canberra in November.

If you’ve thought about applying, visit the Tasmanian Training Awards website for more information or contact Jacqui Maclaine on jacqui.maclaine@skills.tas.gov.au or 03 6165 6008.

Train Now Fund

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are reminded that the Train Now Fund is available to provide grants for nationally recognised training in skill sets that meet an immediate or unexpectedindustry or enterprise training need, and/or an immediate or unexpected learner training need. Applications need to complement the strategic, longer-term funding provided under Skills Tasmania’s Building a Skilled Workforce program.

Applications can be submitted any time before 30 June 2024 or until funds are fully allocated. For information about how to apply, go towww.skills.tas.gov.au/funding

Enquiries can be directed to the Grant Program Manager on 03 6165 6060 or trainnowfund@skills.tas.gov.au

Skills Tasmania Industry Compacts update

Skills Tasmania is well underway in the development of the Industry Skills Compacts and the arrangements that will support their successful delivery. So far compacts have been signed with eight sectors – Automotive, Advanced Manufacturing, Mining, Transport, Building and Construction, Tourism and Hospitality, Energy and Early Childhood Education and Care.

• Through the period July to December, the Mining, Advanced Manufacturing, Transport, Automotive, Energy and Early Childhood and Building and Construction sectors have each signed their respective Industry Skills Compacts, with Tourism and Hospitality being signed in early January 2024.
• Development of the Forestry Priority Action Plan is progressing well.
• Development of the Agricultural Priority Action Plan is also progressing well, having been sent to internal Tasmanian Government agencies for review in November and presented to a number of key peak bodies in December.
• On Monday, January 29, the Skills Tasmania met with ICT sector representatives to finalise the draft action plan for the Technology Industry Skills Compact. This Compact will shortly be signed by industry peaks.

The Industry Skills Compacts will become a key part of the larger skills and workforce growth system and will inform funding priorities. While the focus will be on the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, feedback on broader workforce development issues such as non-accredited training and migration have been highlighted for further investigation.

Australian Training Awards

The Australian Training Awards are the peak national awards that showcase best practice in vocational education and training.

Winners from each state and territory (in aligned categories) compete for a national award title. The Australian Training Awards also has awards that are available by direct entry rather than through the Tasmanian Training Awards.

Nominations are now open for this year’s direct entry categories:

• Outstanding Achievement in the VET and Skills Sector Award
• Innovation in VET Award
• School Pathways to VET Award
• Australian Apprenticeships – Employer Award
• Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice Award

For further information regarding the Australian Training Awards, including how to enter the direct entry categories, please visit australiantrainingawards.gov.au

Disability Standards for Education Review

The Australian Government‘s report on the implementation of the recommendations from the 2020 Review of the Disability Standards for Education 2005 is now available at www.education.gov.au/disability-standards-education-2005/resources/implementation-report-recommendations-2020-review-disability-standards-education-2005

Resources for students with disability and their family members and carers developed in response to the review are available at www.education.gov.au/disability-standards-education-2005/information-resources-students-disability-and-their-caregivers

These resources include a workbook for students with disability to help them arrange reasonable adjustments for their education or training. Some of these resources are applicable to learners in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and we encourage training organisations to promote them to your students.

The Australian Government is also developing resources to guide VET providers on how to support students with disability throughout their training and advice and resources are also available from the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training www.adcet.edu.au/

WorldSkills Australia – empowering excellence in young Australians since 1981

WorldSkills Australia (WSA) is a national, not-for-profit organisation that provides young Australians aged 23 and under the opportunity to gain new skills, compete against their peers in their chosen trade and fast track their skills and career development.

Tasmania has been a member of WorldSkills Australia since its inception in 1981.

WorldSkills Australia supports skills excellence is through skills competitions, which are held over a two-year cycle and happens at regional, national and international levels. They allow young people to benchmark their skill level against their peers and being involved can provide wonderful opportunities.

Competitors who do well at a regional competition are invited to compete at the national championships. From there, competitors may be asked to join the Skills Squad, where they will have the opportunity to travel internationally and test themselves against the best trades and skills talent in the world.

2024 is the first year of the two-year cycle with Regional Competitions to be held around the state from June-October. In Tasmania, WorldSkills is administered by Skills Tasmania, with TasTAFE as the Regional Competition co-ordinator.

For more information about WorldSkills Australia or to register interest visit www.worldskills.org.au or contact Jacqui Maclaine jacqui.maclaine@skills.tas.gov.au or 03 6165 6008.

Developing Industry Trainers Program

Congratulations to the students who recently completed the TasTAFE Developing Industry Trainers Program (DITP).

TasTAFE were successful in obtaining funding of the second iteration of this program through the Energising Tasmania Training Market Development Fund.

The DITP has been designed to develop and deliver the TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment for the upskilling of industry specialists with a goal of boosting capabilities, by delivering training that has been specifically tailored to meet the needs of the energy and related sectors.