The 28th meeting of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (the Committee) was held on 10 October 2019. The meeting was proceeded by a workshop on key VET reforms and a meeting with all six Skills Services Organisations (SSOs) to discuss opportunities for ongoing improvements to training package development and review processes.
At the workshop, the Committee was provided an overview of the reforms by Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business staff. The Committee then discussed the key objectives and design elements for the Skills Organisation pilots.
At the SSO meeting, SSO leaders were invited to discuss operational and technical lessons learned over the past three years, and trends, issues, opportunities and challenges emerging from industry engagement. Issues discussed included:
- the importance of supporting IRC leadership to:
- progress the development of training packages in a timely manner and ensuring industry members are driving the work and consultation strategies
- engage effectively with the diverse range of industry members
- processes to support the review and development of training packages where it is difficult to achieve consensus.
COAG Skills Council Update
Ms Nadine Williams, Deputy Secretary, provided an update on key matters discussed at the COAG Skills Council Meeting held on 20 September 2019 including: the shared vision and future priorities for vocational education and training; implementation of the Commonwealth’s Skills Package: Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow; and national training system regulation and operation.
Ms Williams advised that Council had endorsed 35 training packages approved by AISC, and had agreed to out of session processes to endorse training packages in the future which will ensure Ministerial approval is received before training packages are published on the National Register of VET.
Training Package Development
The meeting considered two Cases for Endorsement and three Industry Skills Forecasts for 2019. An update to the RII Training Package was approved by the AISC and referred for out of session endorsement by Ministers. Proposed changes to the FBP Artisanal Food and Beverage were not approved as the Committee required more information on AQF alignment.
CASES FOR ENDORSEMENT (CfE)
|
IRC |
Details of submissions |
AISC decision |
|---|---|---|
|
RII Training Package – 5 Projects:
|
The CfE involves: Updating:
New: 1 qualification (Certificate IV in Emergency Response Co-ordination) and 4 units Deleted: 1 unit |
Approved
Referred for out of session endorsement by Ministers |
|
FBP Artisanal Food and Beverage |
The CfE comprises two new qualifications (Cert IV in Artisan Fermented Products & Diploma in Cheesemaking), 27 new units of competency, one revised unit of competency (with code change), five units of competency revised with minor updates (not for endorsement) and nine new skill sets (not for endorsement) |
Not approved.
Requested – more information on how the AQF alignment between the two cheesemaking qualifications was determined. |
COMMISSIONED WORK
The AISC reviewed the following 2019 Skills Forecasts (ISFs) and Proposed Schedules of Work and ISF Resubmissions and has commissioned the following work:
|
IRC |
Project title and description |
AISC decision |
|---|---|---|
|
Automotive Vehicle Body Repair IRC |
AUR Training Package – Vehicle body repair.
|
Approved to proceed to training package development two new units of competency: 1. Diagnose and repair Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technology 2. Identify and repair high strength aluminium components Instructed the IRC to update existing AUR Training Package units to address its paint-less dent repair skill needs, rather than create another new unit in this area. |
|
Corrections IRC
|
CSC Corrections Training Package – Correctional Management |
Approved to proceed to training package development. |
NOT APPROVED
The AISC reviewed the following 2019 Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedules of Work and has not approved the following projects:
|
IRC |
Project title Project title and description |
AISC decision |
|---|---|---|
|
Transport and Logistics IRC |
TLI Transport and Logistics Training |
Not approved – Requested: clarification of the national regulator’s position. |
Industry Skills Forecast Rolling Program
The Committee discussed and agreed to implementing a three-year rolling schedule for submitting the Industry Reference Committees’ (IRC) Industry Skills Forecasts and Proposed Schedules of Work (ISFs), updating timeframes and approval delegations. The Committee also requested the new annual template be trialled with two IRCs to check its useability in the intervening years.
AISC Commissioned Projects - Updates
The Committee discussed:
- the joint AISC/Skills Senior Officials Network (SSON) Draft Streamlining Skills and Training System Report which identified areas for improvement within each phase of the training package development and implementation process
- tools to support IRCs to analyse the workforce development needs of their industries, including approaches to survey design and implementation to gather information on small and niche industries workforce requirements
- opportunities to further support Ministers’ priority to declutter the national system, including how to incorporate the work on low or no use national training products into the options arising from the streamlining project.
Cross Sector Projects
The IRC Cross Sector Protocols, which seek to address IRC concerns about how cross sector projects are managed in order to ensure effective engagement with relevant IRCs and industries, were approved by the Committee.
Next meeting - The next meeting of the AISC will be held on 3 December 2019.