When it comes to Training, are Industry requirements being met?

GAVIN MOREIRA, CMPA Administration Officer reports on the recent discussions had between Skills DMC, RTO’s and Industry to try and form a collaborative approach to meet the Industry demand for a safe and productive workforce today and into the future.

ON the 12th February 2013 the CMPA held an industry employers and educational providers discussion to look at the pathways forward for training services into the future for the industry. The room was filled with about 40 people who had over 700 years experience in the industry. This was made up of 237 years training experience and about 469 years quarry experience.

The first half of the forum saw formal presentations made by Registered Training Organisations that provide nationally accredited products supporting the Resources & Infrastructure Industry Training Package (RII09) including: Box Hill TAFE, Bendigo TAFE, Ashley Institute, Quantec Solutions and William Adams.

This was followed by organisations that provide educational products including: Mine Resilience, Leadership Management Australasia and the Institute of Quarrying Australia.

Skills DMC’s Manager for Workforce Planning and Development Steve Earles then made a presentation on ‘Assessing Workforce Funds’.

As we broke for morning tea there was great opportunities for employers to network with educational providers and discuss requirements for training for the year ahead for their employees.

The second half of the forum was an open discussion based around a presentation made by Ron Kerr Honorary CEO of CMPA on industry training needs and are they being met.

“We see that vocational training and assessment must be applicable to the real job the employee is being paid for. It must result in addressing our competency obligations and deliver productive requirements.”

TRAINING SERVICES BUILT BY INDUSTRY NEEDS

The following is the action plan resulting from the meeting held on 12th February 2013 between RTO, Industry and Skills DMC.

KEY POINTS

1. The training and funding arrangements, and a language all of its
   own, all combine to present a formidable barrier for employers
   and employees in engaging with the training system to up-skill our
   workforce – SkillsDMC are well placed to simplify this for industry.
2. Vocational training and assessment must be applicable to real
   and typical employee jobs.
3. Industry qualifications must overlay these job profiles in order
   for SkillsDMC qualifications to have the potential to add value
   to the industry.
4. This will ensure that employer investment in training is targeted
   at productivity, compliance and safety improvements.
5. Is Certificate III a practical and achievable level for the workforce
   to aim for when it does not align to real jobs within the quarry
   site? Are the existing funding arrangements skewing training in
   our industry and jeopardising positive outcomes that might
   otherwise be achieved?
6. The CMPA is committed to assisting SkillsDMC to develop an action plan that identifies the issues raised and a road map on how these issues can be addressed to the satisfaction of all.

OUTCOMES TO BE ACTIONED

1. Follow up meeting – Supply all attendees with a summary of the meeting and an invitation to a follow-up meeting in approximately 3 months time.
2. Collection of data – There is a lack of industry training data.
   SkillsDMC is well placed to provide this to the industry. For instance:
   1. enrolments by qualification level and region (non-traineeship),
   2. successful completions by qualification and region (non-traineeship),
   3. traineeship commencements by qualification and region,
   4. traineeship completions by qualification and region. Additionally, data/reports are necessary that outline the outcomes of training in terms of productivity gains, improved compliance, and improved safety regimes etc. This type of data/reports would provide an invaluable promotional tool for the CMPA to broadcast training as a valuable investment by companies rather than a discretional cost.
3. Employers need to release employees to engage with the VET/training system, in terms of release from productive work for periods negotiated with the RTO. (A successful implementation will rely on a strong link with ‘data/reports’ requirement in point 2).
4. The endorsement by industry of RTOs that offer a quality training service.
5. We need to develop real job profiles listing all activities/tasks that have relevance to managers and employees; and from this, develop competency profiles. About twelve of these jobs were mentioned at the 12th February 2013 industry/RTO/SkillsDMC meeting. These competency profiles need to be reconciled or contrasted with existing qualification frameworks/specifications to ensure industry relevance. These profiles will also provide a clear direction for RTO course content.
6. These ‘real job profiles’ (competency profiles) need to form the basis of the training provided to industry into the future. (These will form part of the quality training service provided by industry endorsed providers at point 4 above)
7. Hardcopy RTO learning and assessment resources need to allow for contextualisation to individual jobs and workplaces. Note – future discussion required regarding the retention of resources at workplaces. (These will form part of the quality training service provided by industry endorsed providers at point 4 above).
8. Support a skills passport as underpinning evidence for units in the form of a Personal Work Record Book.
9. The involvement of employers in RTO assessment decisions (agree/disagree) must form part of the ‘quality training service’ provided to Industry.
10. Statements of attainment/Certificates are provided to students/trainees as a matter of course. Copies must also be provided to the entity paying the training service invoice. (These will form part of the quality training service provided by industry endorsed providers at point 4 above).

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