IBSA supports an integrated response to business workforce and skilling issues.
This approach, referred to as workforce development, offers better advice and resources for businesses to address workforce-based productivity.
Businesses in IBSA’s industry sectors have access to streamlined advice, information and support through better connecting IBSA’s activities:
- training package enhancement priorities
- the annual environment scan
- advice to Governments on key skills and productivity issues
- niche areas of research
Skills Australia, an independent body that provides advice to the Australian Government on current, emerging and future workforce development and skills needs, has highlighted the importance of a workforce development approach for businesses using Australia’s national training system. Workforce development is defined as:
Increasing the capacity of individuals to participate effectively in the workforce throughout their whole working life and increasing the capacity of firms to adopt high performance work practices.
(Schofield, K. (2003) in Lomax-Smith, J. Skills for the future: the final report of the Ministerial Inquiry. Government of South Australia, Adelaide)
IBSA’s integrated workforce development approach responds to and, where possible, anticipates shifts in industry skills needs by:
- reliably quantifying the priority skills needs in IBSA’s industry sectors
- targeting industry-specific areas of research that need to be better understood
- focusing training package enhancements in areas of projected skills need, and
- providing professional development and resources to RTOs so they can better respond to industry training needs.
Click on the links below to view IBSA’s Factsheets for Employers and Employees on skills development and training.
Factsheet 1 Employers: skills development and training
Factsheet 2 Employees: Increase your work opportunities
Factsheet 3 Industry Skills Councils
Factsheet 4 Employers: Training will help your enterprise grow and remain competitive
Factsheet 5 Employees: Training courses now available to help develop skills
Factsheet 6 Employers: Ensuring continued success for your enterprise
Online independent workforce development advice
IBSA is moving forward with a fresh emphasis on working directly with industry / enterprise clients to build businesses’ capacity to plan and address workforce development needs.
TVET Workforce Development Tool is a simple online survey tool that provides immediate feedback as to the needs and status of your current workforce. The result will offer you advice on how to address some of the issues in your workforce as well as make some predictions about the future of your enterprise. If you are interested you may go directly to the TVET site at http://workforce.tvetaustralia.com.au. Please print out your results and send them to IBSA at wd-ppp@ibsa.org.au so we can further assist you in decisions about upskilling and training of your employees.
The Productivity Places Program (PPP) is funded by the Australian and State and Territory Governments to increase the skill level of Australia’s working age population to respond to the productivity needs of businesses, the economy, and workers.
Under its Skilling Australia for the future initiative, the Australian Government has funded 711,000 training places over five years under PPP. The allocation of these training places is industry-based, aiming for training to be more responsive to the needs of businesses / enterprises. Of these training places, 392,000 have been allocated to existing workers wanting to gain or upgrade their skills and 309,000 places will be allocated to job seekers. Training under PPP will be delivered by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). Details about approved RTOs and available courses can be located at: Find an Approved RTO and/or Available Courses.
State and territory PPP arrangements: access by businesses to PPP funding for training for existing workers varies across the states and territories – information on each state’s and territory’s arrangements are available at - For Existing Workers.
National enterprises: where national enterprises need training arrangements for existing workers, across jurisdictions, IBSA is able to provide a single contact in the respective state or territory; businesses should request this advice by email – ppp@ibsa.org.au.
Priority Occupations: PPP training places are being allocated on the basis of priority occupations and skills needs with the priority occupations assessed as being in demand being those that employers are experiencing recruitment difficulties. IBSA has provided advice to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) on priority occupations and skills needs in our six (6) industry sectors; DEEWR’s full priority occupation list is available at: Priority Occupations and Qualifications List. The priority occupations applying to IBSA’s industry sectors start on p14. For further information about the background research to the list see IBSA’s 2009 Environment Scan.
IBSA undertakes additional workforce development activities including conducting two national enterprise Productivity Places Program (PPP) trials and advising on state and territory-based skilling priorities. In undertaking these roles IBSA draws on widespread industry networks and information.
National Enterprise PPP Trial Projects
Industry Skills Councils are piloting PPP arrangements with national enterprises, offering more than 1,250 training places to increase the skills of existing workers. The Australian Government funded up to 50 per cent of the training costs; approximately $3 million, with the remaining training costs covered by the national enterprises.
IBSA’s two national enterprise pilots are with St George Bank and Qantas. With the enterprises adjusting to global economic circumstances, St George is focused on building leadership and learning development skills and Qantas has targeted leadership capability across a number of its business groups.
Further information on the ISCs’ national enterprise PPP trials is available in the media release of 18 November 2008 from the Hon Julia Gillard MP: Government and Industry Partnerships to Train Workers.
PPP Implementation - Job seekers and existing workers: Phase 1 PPP, for job seekers, was administered directly by DEEWR on behalf of the Australian Government: effective from 01 April 2008 and continuing into Phase 2 from 01 July 2008.
Phase 3 for existing workers has been gradually implemented in 2009 as the state and territory arrangements have come into place. Comprehensive information about PPP and releases by the Australian Government can be accessed through the following links: