Industry Skills Advisor

Navitas Professional

Full Time

Navitas is a diversified global education provider that offers an extensive range of educational services for students and professionals including university programs, English language training and settlement services, creative media education,workforce education and student recruitment.

Navitas, or PIBT as it was then, was founded in 1994 with the goal of helping more international students succeed at university in Australia via improved student support and an extended academic year. Since this time Navitas has significantly expanded the services it offers its students and clients and is now creating opportunities through lifelong learning for over 83,000 people in 23 countries per year.

Navitas Professional is focused on creating opportunities for individuals to manage their careers and for employers to secure the right skills mix for their organisations. The Division provides quality vocational training in range of diverse areas as well as higher education qualifications coupled with employment and placement services.

Navitas Professional has secured a Federal Government contract for the provision of Industry Skills Fund Advisory Services to business through the Industry Skills Fund Adviser Network. As part of the Industry Skills Fund (ISF), the Skills Adviser Network will work with Australian businesses to assist in building a highly skilled workforce that can take advantage of growth opportunities and adapt to rapid technological change. Navitas Professionalis now seeking to fill a number of full time positions in the role of Industry Skills Adviser across Australia.

Introduction to the Role

The Industry Skills Adviser will be primarily responsible for providing skills advice to businesses eligible for Industry Skills Fund support, assisting businesses to identify their training and workforce development needs. The Skills Advisor will also be responsible for promoting the Industry Skills Fund to businesses and industry networks, providing market and industry intelligence to the Department of Education and Training.

Key Responsibilities:

  • build an understanding of an applicant’s business, including the industry sector/s and operational environment it is operating in;
  • confirm a ‘growth opportunity’ as identified by a business within the context of its overall strategic direction and market position;
  • identify the gap between the current workforce skills capability and a future state which will enable a business to exploit a growth opportunity;
  • where appropriate, provide information on how addressing language, literacy and numeracy issues within a business’ workforce could improve competitiveness and/or business productivity and how this and other forms of support, for example mentoring, can be embedded into a skills development strategy; and
  • develop and recommend skills training and other workforce development solutions that, once implemented, are expected to provide businesses with the necessary workforce skills to address the skills gap and exploit a growth opportunity.
  • support, attendance or presenting at industry trade shows or conferences, including leveraging involvement in workshops and seminars to promote ISF services; providing follow-up information and calls to eligible businesses from contacts made at industry trade shows or conferences;
  • distribution of marketing material as provided by the ISF;

Essential skills and experience

  • Business development skills and the verbal communication, interpersonal and influencing skills to engage owners, managers and staff of SMEs and to sell the vision of skills development to help achieve business goals
  • Ability to grow and maintain business networks and form links with relevant industry bodies, enterprises, media outlets, etc
  • Strong presentation skills with an ability to engage with a range of different personnel, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • Strong report writing, analytical and presentation skills
  • Strong results focus and a high level of attention to detail
  • Skills in “closing” client visits, projects and feedback reports to the Industry Skills Manager for consolidated industry intelligence reports to the Department of Education and Training
  • Business acumen, including business advisory and planning skills that cover:
  • workforce planning
  • performance planning
  • job design
  • assessment of skills needs
  • development of formal training plans
  • identifying business needs for support services such as language, literacy and numeracy and knowing how to access these services
  • An ability to work independently and exercise initiative
  • Knowledge of the Australian vocational education and training system, its products and providers and the tailoring of the design and delivery of training to most appropriately meet the needs of individual business
  • Good computer and internet skills
  • Industry knowledge in at least one of the following sectors:
  • Food and Agribusiness
  • Mining Technologies (including Oil, Gas and Energy)
  • Medical/Pharmaceuticals
  • Advanced Manufacturing
  • Enabling Technologies
  • Experience in working with businesses, preferably SMEs across different industry sectors, and providing business advice e.g. management consulting experience

Desirable criteria

  • Good understanding of financial management in a business/profit centre context
  • Working in or closely with Registered Training Organisations or Government vocational education and training-related agencies
  • Tertiary level qualifications to suit the role and industry sectors targeted
  • Relevant vocational education and training qualifications

The Navitas Group offers outstanding long-term career opportunities within Australia and abroad, and is values driven and an equal opportunity employer.

If you think you have what it takes to become an Industry Skills Advisor, please forward your complete application, including a cover letter and resume, to Helen Kiselovski at Applications close on 7th July 2015.

Successful applicants require working rights inAustralia, and will be subject to relevant pre-employment checks, which may include a National Police Check and/or a Working with Children Check.Applicants must have current driver’s licence and reliable car.

Note: This is an Australian Government Funded position.

Position Description

Title:ISF Skills Advisor

Division: Navitas Professional

Reports to:ISF Manager Navitas Professional

1.Overview and Objectives of the Position:

Skills Advisers provide a review of the skills needs of a business which has been referred by the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training to Navitas as an ISF Skills Adviser Network provider.

2.Key Relationships:

  1. ISF Manager
  2. Client Director

3.Key Result Areas:

Tier 1 responsibilities

Skills Advisers utilise a workforce strategy process that includes a custom-built online tool developed by the Department. Using this tool, for which training is provided, the Skills Adviser gathers information such as the business’ industry sector, nature of its growth opportunities, key business details such as governance framework and strategic/financial/marketing plans. The Skills Adviser then works with the business to analyse its workforce development needs. This process allows the Skills Adviser to:

  • build an understanding of an applicant’s business, including the industry sector/s and operational environment it is operating in;
  • confirm a ‘growth opportunity’ as identified by a business within the context of its overall strategic direction and market position;
  • identify the gap between the current workforce skills capability and a future state which will enable a business to exploit a growth opportunity;
  • where appropriate, provide information on how addressing language, literacy and numeracy issues within a business’ workforce could improve competitiveness and/or business productivity and how this and other forms of support, for example mentoring, can be embedded into a skills development strategy; and
  • develop and recommend skills training and other workforce development solutions that, once implemented, are expected to provide businesses with the necessary workforce skills to address the skills gap and exploit a growth opportunity.

Tier 2 responsibilities

Expected Skills Adviser activities include promotion of the ISF to eligible businesses, through communication and business development activities to their networks, members and eligible businesses to encourage interest in and take up of the ISF. This could include the facilitation of collaborative efforts for ISF support through their industry linkages.

Promotional activities could include:

  • support, attendance or presenting at industry trade shows or conferences, including leveraging involvement in workshops and seminars to promote ISF services; providing follow-up information and calls to eligible businesses from contacts made at industry trade shows or conferences;
  • distribution of marketing material as provided by the ISF;
  • utilising industry and local media andreferring applicants to business.gov.au

4.Qualifications and Selection Criteria

Essential:

  • Business development skills and the verbal communication, interpersonal and influencing skills to engage owners, managers and staff of SMEs and to sell the vision of skills development to help achieve business goals
  • Ability to grow and maintain business networks and form links with relevant industry bodies, enterprises, media outlets, etc
  • Strong presentation skills with an ability to engage with a range of different personnel, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • Strong report writing, analytical and presentation skills
  • Strong results focus and a high level of attention to detail
  • Skills in “closing” client visits (writing up outcomes in the CRM, developing next steps, etc), projects (finalising reports, assisting clients to make ISF submissions, following up clients, etc) and feedback reports (to the manager for consolidated industry intelligence reports to the Department)
  • Business acumen, including business advisory and planning skills that cover:
  • workforce planning
  • performance planning
  • job design
  • assessment of skills needs
  • development of formal training plans
  • identifying business needs for support services such as language, literacy and numeracy and knowing how to access these services
  • An ability to work independently and exercise initiative
  • Knowledge of the Australian vocational education and training system, its products and providers and the tailoring of the design and delivery of training to most appropriately meet the needs of individual business
  • Good computer and internet skills
  • Industry knowledge in at least one of the following sectors:
  • Food and Agribusiness
  • Mining Technologies (including Oil, Gas and Energy)
  • Medical/Pharmaceuticals
  • Advanced Manufacturing
  • Enabling Technologies
  • Experience in working with businesses, preferably SMEs across different industry sectors, and providing business advice e.g. management consulting experience

Desirable:

  • Good understanding of financial management in a business/profit centre context
  • Working in or closely with Registered Training Organisations or Government vocational education and training-related agencies
  • Tertiary level qualifications to suit the role and industry sectors targeted
  • Relevant vocational education and training qualification