Talking points for Bill Galvin

NSW Industry Training Advisory Bodies (ITABs)

6 February 2018

NSW Department of Industry

Estimated speaking time 20 minutes plus Q&As

  • It’s my pleasure to be here to share my experiences and insights as the NSW member for the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC), a collaboration between industry and Government which gives industry a leading role in Australia’s vocational education and training system.
  • Before I begin, I respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we meet and pay my respect to elders past, present and future. I give a special welcome to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.
  • Today I would like to share with you some of the exciting work we have underway that is ensuring the national training system is responsive and flexible and meets the needs of employers.
  • Before I do so, I would like to tell you about the AISC, how it operates, and the role of its national network of Industry Reference Committees (IRCs) and how you can contribute.

The AISC

  • The AISC was established by the Council of Australian Governments Industry and Skills Council in April 2015 to give industry a leading role in training package development and to advise Commonwealth and State and Territory Skills Ministers on national VET policies.
  • The Committee includes a nominee from each State or Territory and three Commonwealth members. The three national industry peak bodies also share one position, which rotates annually. The Business Council of Australia is the current member.
  • The AISC provides leadership and guidance to the VET system, and is made up of experienced industry leaders with links across the Australian economy, including in the construction, disability, information technology, mining and hospitality and tourism sectors.
  • The members bring a strong industry-based perspective to the decisions of the Committee.
  • [option to talk about your own background in the hospitality industry]
  • This industry-led system provides a real opportunity for industries at the coal-face to be involved at the outset to ensure training outcomes align with jobs and respond to changes to the economy now and into the future.
  • As members of the AISC, we are working to assist Government in implementing the key priorities of:

-making it easier for people to move between occupations and across industry sectors

-improving efficiency by creating units that can be used by multiple industries

-simplifying the system by removing qualifications and units of competency that are no longer being used or that are duplicative

-fostering greater recognition of skill sets to better support re-skilling and upskilling, and

-improving speed to market so that new training courses are developed more quickly to support skill needs.

IRCs

  • To ensure it is truly representative of industry, the AISC draws on advice from a network of 64 Industry Reference Committees (IRCs), representing key industry sectors across the Australian economy. With more than 700 memberson our IRCs, industry has a significant and strengthened voice in the training system.
  • IRCs are responsible for 1400 qualifications, representing 85 per cent of Australian occupations, and have a combined total of over 140 bodies of training package review and development work currently underway.
  • Each IRC is made up of people who are leaders in their own sectors – including big business, small enterprises, peak bodies and unions. They have an in-depth knowledge of their industry and play a key role in making sure training package qualifications meet the needs of the sector they represent.
  • One of the AISC’s initial priorities was to review the membership and structure of all IRCs. Bringing together the fresh ideas of new members with the deep experience of longer serving members has resulted in some truly innovative thinking across government and industry. A great example is IRC members teaming up with the Pharmaceutical Industry Growth Centre to establish a ‘pop-up’ IRC to review outdated pharmaceutical manufacturing qualifications to create better training for employees, giving industry a more mobile, contemporary workforce.
  • Our IRCs are supported by six professional service organisations, known as Skills Service Organisations (SSOs).
  • IRCs, with support from their SSO, work across their industry to ensure their advice reflects the needs of employers and the modern economy. I’m aware that some of the ITABs are represented on an IRC. This varies from industry to industry, and I understanding that a couple of Skills Service Organisations are also ITABs.
  • Each year IRCs prepare an Industry Skills Forecast that identifies skills gaps and emerging skills needs.
  • The skills forecasts are prepared for industry sectors and identify trends in the workplace that will impact on the skills needs of the sector. The forecast gathers industry intelligence to understand the trends that are shaping the industry and the skills priorities for the sector. This then assists in planning for the development of training products to reflect those priorities.
  • For example, in my own industry, tourism, travel and hospitality, the key trends that are shaping the industry include:

-sustainability, both environmental and economic

-the impact of technology and need for digital skills to respond and maximise the opportunities that are provided by technology

-risk and crisis management, and the need for business skills such as financial, human resources and management.

  • These trends will be of critical importance in the future tourism, travel and hospitality workforce, and the training products and training systems developed from here on in must reflect this. It is about moving with the times, being responsive and adaptable.

National consultation

  • As I’m sure you will agree, high quality national engagement is fundamental for training package development to ensure industry relevance and stakeholder support for the final product.
  • IRCs, through their SSOs, ensure consultation is commensurate with the product being developed, the scope of work, the level of industry support and industry’s timeline and requirements for access to new skills. It is expected, for example, that consultation with one industry sector could be less extensive than the consultation required for training package development and validation for a case involving a number of industry sectors and training packages.
  • SSOs, under the guidance of their IRCs, analyse stakeholder views, taking into account things like the role of the stakeholder and the impact of their views.
  • As part of this consultation, the NSW State Training Authority would then seek advice from relevant ITABs, as representative of the views of particular industries in the state.
  • That said, it’s quite possible that SSOs, under the guidance of their IRCs, may involve ITABs directly in the stakeholder consultation process. It’s up to them, depending on the industry and the situation.
  • SSOs use a range of methods (informed by their IRC) to receive and impart information to stakeholders. At a minimum, SSOs ensure that the following are available:

-key documents relevant to the consultation being undertaken

-draft IRC Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedules of Work for the duration of the relevant consultation and then the final industry analysis components of each Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedule of Work once submitted to the AISC

-draft Case for Change for each submission and then the final Case for Change once submitted to the AISC

-a draft Case for Endorsement, qualifications, units of competency, assessment requirements and Companion Volume Implementation Guide for each submission and then the final Case for Endorsement once submitted to the AISC

-an issues register recording issues raised and other feedback by stakeholders throughout the year

-evidence of consultation that includes a description of the methodology followed and why it is appropriate.

  • Consultation in the context of training package development work is aimed at achieving broad industry consensus about the final form and content of the training package. States and Territories are an important part of the consultation process at all stages.

Cross-Sector Projects – collaborating across industries

  • I referred before to how the AISC recognises the importance of being responsive to future skills needs.
  • We all know that increased digitalisation and automation is already changing the way we work. The pace of that change is exponential, although different industry sectors and markets are impacted at different rates.
  • One of the ways we are responding to the rate and nature of change is by looking across industry to identify the shared cross-sectoral needs that are emerging in a rapidly changing economy. Last year, the AISC commissioned nine cross sector projects to respond to the future needs of industry, bringing together multiple industry sectors to address common skills needs. The projects offer an innovative approach to training package development and will reduce complexity in the system and support occupational mobility for students.
  • For example, the AISC has commissioned a cross sector project led by Skills Impact to look at automation.

-The project is investigating the impact of robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and computerisation on skills standards

-Training packages most exposed to the impact of automation including: transport and logistics, construction, property services, information technology, manufacturing and defence

-IRCs related to these sectors will be in the driver’s seat identifying opportunities to develop transferable skills and knowledge and modernising qualifications to take advantage of the predicted growth in automated processes and systems.

  • The AISC has also progressed the development of common units in teamwork and communication skills in a project led by PWC. Approximately 25 industries, including Automotive, Business Services, Education, Retail Services, Maritime and Public Safety, have identified the need for teamwork and/or communication skills in their forecasts.
  • An initiative focused on inclusion of people with disability in VET aims to develop a bank of units to be used across different industries in a wide range of training package qualifications. They will help employers more effectively include people with disability in their workplaces, improve customer service to people with disability and support educators to include students with disability. This work recognises that significant employment growth is expected in the disability sector and ensures that the training package system can provide the workforce skills to meet this demand. It also recognises that people with disability are an important and underutilised resource for employers seeking skilled workers.

Industry-focused research

  • Another key priority for the AISC has been to build a stronger evidence base for industry.
  • Last year we commissioned two resources to help industryprepare for future skills needs.
  • The National Industry Insights Report, launched in December 2017, is a user friendly websitethat provides easy to access data and information by industry sector on economic and employment trends, and education and training patterns. Content for additional industries will be added to the website in the coming weeks. It will shortly also contain a national overview with a high level, cross industry analysis of skills needs, factors that affect the demand for these skills, and key training package development projects.
  • The second resource, Future Skills and Training is a practical tool that aims to help IRCs plan for the future by exploring how emerging trends may impact on their workplaces and industries, how their industry currently responds to change, and the implications for skills needs and training. This will help inform their annual skills forecasts and schedules for training package development work.
  • These resources can be used by all of Australian industry, not only those of us in the VET system, to help look over the horizon to better comprehend the evolving workforce in a changing world.
  • I encourage you to visit aisc.net.au to explore these resources.

Conclusion

  • The AISC is always looking for opportunities to improve VET and strengthen industry involvement.
  • Key industry stakeholders are becoming increasingly engaged and working collaboratively to ensure training packages meet the needs of the nation’s economy.
  • Organisations such as the New South Wales ITABs can play an important role to ensure training packages truly represent the needs of industry.
  • I encourage you to work with your State and Territory Authority, or where appropriate with relevant IRCs and SSOs to engage directly with the training package development process, to shape the future of your industry sectors.

Questions and answers