Skilling Queensland
Edition - five
In this issue
Minister's message
In Focus
Fashion goes global
Graduate cultivates a career in wine
Students taste life on the land
Strength in numbers
An excellent idea
Getting it right in any language
The lure of community
Centre develops boatbuilding skills
Diving safety
Budget boosts vocational education and training
The girls light up
Queensland Skills Plan progress report
Download the full report [PDF 547kb]
Minister's Message
The July edition of Skilling Queensland is a revealing and informative snapshot of Queensland's vocational education and training sector.
It goes behind the scenes to show the ground-breaking work being done in the public and private sectors to turn around the State's skills shortages.
From outback Queensland to the Gold Coast, a number of innovative programs are having an impact on the issues facing our training sector.
The magazine focuses on some of those programs and talks to the committed staff in the Department of Education, Training and the Arts who plan, install and monitor them.
It also looks at the exciting results that occur when government links with industry to work cooperatively towards a common goal.
The Queensland Government supports the creation of a world-class workforce to match the State's unprecedented economic growth and acknowledges the progress being made to achieve the reforms of the $1 billion Queensland Skills Plan.
This edition has stories about the success of the fashion department of Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE, an electrical trades training course for women in Far North Queensland and an interview with one of the first graduates of Queensland College of Wine Tourism at Stanthorpe.
I know you will enjoy this edition of Skilling Queensland.
Rod Welford MP
Minister for Education and Training
Minister for the Arts
In Focus |
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Leading trainers More than 400 of the State's top training achievers have been nominated for this year's Queensland Training Awards. Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said he was impressed by the high calibre of nominations received from individuals, employers and training organisations in all 11 award categories. Regional finals will be held during July and August with winners progressing to the state final on September 11, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. State winners are eligible to enter the prestigious Australian Training Awards which will be held in Darwin on November 20. |
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Chileans choose Queensland Queensland has been chosen by the Chilean government as one of only three worldwide destinations for its scholarship program. Australia, Canada and Spain were selected as the study locations for 2008 - in the first stage of a program to give 500 Chileans training in English language and technical areas such as mining, energy, tourism and metallurgy. In 2008 - the first year of the three-year scholarship program - 30 vocational education and training students from Chile will train in Queensland. Education and training is one of Queensland's leading export earners and in 2006-07 returned more than $1.6 billion to the state economy. |
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Best of the best Around 55 apprentices and trainees from Queensland will travel to Sydney this month to test their skills against apprentices from other Australian states in the 2008 WorldSkills Australia national competition. The biennial event aims to challenge young people, their teachers, trainers and employers to achieve world-class standards in work skills and promote the status of vocational education and training across Australia. In the 2006 national competition held in Melbourne, Queensland picked up five gold, seven silver and six bronze medals. In 2007 four Queenslanders travelled to Japan to compete at the world finals.In 2007 four Queenslanders travelled to Japan to compete at the world finals. |
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RPL for Surf lifesavers The Queensland surf lifesaving community is benefiting from the Australian Lifesaving Academy Queensland's (ALAQ) involvement in recognition of prior learning (RPL). To date, more than 4500 volunteer members have been recognised for their experience and commitment to surf lifesaving, due to the Academy's focus on providing their members with qualifications. In 2006-07, ALAQ undertook an RPL process for all volunteer members who held the surf lifesaving award, Bronze Medallion. Members were recognised for their experience and awarded a Certificate II in Public Safety (Aquatic Rescue). email rpl@deta.qld.gov.au |
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Gold Institute of TAFE now a statutory institute On 1 July 2008, Gold Coast Institute of TAFE began a new era as a statutory institute in Queensland's TAFE network. Statutory TAFE institutes are better equipped to operate a dynamic and competitive business which will be more responsive to individual and industry needs. The move to the statutory authority model will allow Gold Coast Institute of TAFE to further grow and invest in its infrastructure and resources to meet the future training needs of Queensland. In addition, statutory TAFE institutes will compete more freely in the national market to take steps to address identified skill shortages. |
Fashion goes global
What do leading Queensland fashion designers Daniel Lightfoot, Julie Tendahl, Gina Kim, Hwa Sook Lee Bora, George Wu, Deanne Mayoochi and Fanny Lamb have in common?
All of them studied fashion design at Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE before weaving successful careers in the Australian retail fashion industry.
The fashion department at MSIT's Mt Gravatt campus has been a creative force behind the development of fashion design and production in the state since it opened its doors 25 years ago. It trains hundreds of students each year in fashion design and production and has an enviable reputation within the fashion industry in Australia and overseas.
Its long-standing relationships with overseas fashion institutions were given a boost in April with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SIT and Bunka Gakeun Educational Foundation in Japan to develop a collaboration to benefit students and staff at both institutions.
The MOU was signed in Tokyo by Foundation Chair Sunao Onuma and Institute Director, Linda Brown, in the presence of Premier Anna Bligh.
"MSIT is the first Australian TAFE to partner with Bunka Fashion College and we look forward to strengthening our ties with them as part of the institute's increased global outlook as a world-class service provider," Ms Brown said.
Martin Watts, Portfolio Manager Creative Industries at MSIT, is excited about the new development.
"The significant markets in the world are Europe, the US and Asia and because we take a European view, we're expecting a strong flow of students coming here from Japan," Mr Watts said.
"It's early days yet, but one of our ideas is to offer a short course around casual beach wear, particularly swimwear."
"We'd also like our courses to have a cultural element, including looking at Indigenous culture" The proposed collaboration program aims to include:
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exchange programs for students and faculty members
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intensive or short-term courses for students from either institution
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seminars for industry professionals
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development of joint initiatives in fields such as research, culture and language.
MSIT already has strong relationships with overseas design colleges, including the Polimoda Institute of Fashion Design and Marketing in Florence and the Fashion Institute of Technology in Milan.
Students have been vying for scholarships to the world-renowned Italian fashion institutes for the past 15 years.
Mr Watts said more overseas partnerships were planned.
www.msit.tafe.qld.gov.au
phone 1300 657 613
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Winning Style |
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Emily Black started sewing when she was eight years old and by the time she was 10 she was the proud owner of a sewing machine. What began as a hobby making clothes for herself, her sisters and friends, has grown into the beginning of a promising career in the fashion industry for the third-year fashion design student from Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE. In March this year Emily, 25, won the Student Designs category at the National Retail Association Awards held on the Gold Coast. Her entry, which reflects her interest in retro clothing and vintage fabrics, was a black dress with a sailor collar and a three-tiered skirt. "To be able to have my work seen by some of Australia's leading designers, key buyers, top industry people and a national TV audience was a one-off opportunity," said Emily, who one day hopes to sell her own label from her own store. Emily said she enrolled at MSIT to gain the professional skills needed for a career in design. "The course covers all aspects of design and production, from pattern-making to sewing, fitting, making samples and some marketing subjects." Along with other second and third-year students enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Textiles, Clothing and Footwear at MSIT, Emily is working on a range of clothes which will compete for the Moda Italia scholarship to the Polimoda Institute of Fashion Design in Florence. Creativity runs in the family. Emily's mother is a patchworker who made clothes for her daughters and encouraged them to sew. Her cousin, Daniel McIlwraith also studied fashion design at MSIT and won the Moda Italia scholarship in 2003. Another MSIT fashion design student, Kimberley Lim will fly to Beijing next month to compete against finalists from 32 countries in an international lingerie design competition. Kimberly won first place at the Australian final of the Triumph Inspiration Award in May. Fellow student Nomiki Glynatsis took second place honours. |
Graduate cultivates a career in wine
Tania Drakatos is learning all she can to play her role in Queensland's wine industry.
The 18-year-old, pictured above, is one of the State's first crop of Food Processing (Wine) TAFE graduates from the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE, located at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism.
She is now learning the art of viticulture in the Granite Belt, the State's premier winegrowing area.
"My vocational teacher at high school told me if I wanted to understand the art of winemaking, I needed to learn viticulture the cultivation of grape vines," Tania said.
After graduating with a Certificate II in Food Processing (Wine), Tania took up the challenge and has not looked back.
She is now working for Peter McGlashon, a self-employed vineyard services contractor, in a job which gives her the opportunity to work in different vineyards in the district, including Ridgemill Estate.
"I would have given up without the great support and mentorship I've had from Peter," Tania said.
He has given me a positive outlook on the industry and its future."
Peter said he saw the potential in Tania and was pleased he could help develop her skills.
"In the current climate of skills shortages we can't afford to lose good people," he said.
Tania's tasks vary, depending on seasonal requirements.
Vintage (harvest time) occurs once a year from February to April and pruning takes place over winter.
"I don't get bored because Peter makes the work fun and there is such a variety of things to do in a vineyard," Tania said.
Her daily work involves operating irrigation systems, looking for vineyard diseases and pests and treating accordingly, training and pruning vines, sampling grapes in the vineyard and helping the winemaker process the grapes.
As part of a small team, Tania sometimes helps out in the winery or the cellar door.
She feels she has a bright future in the wine industry.
"I would like to visit other vineyards both in Australia and overseas, especially France."
www.sqit.tafe.qld.gov.au
phone 4685 5000
Students taste life on the land
School students weighing up a career in the agriculture industry can now experience first-hand the range of jobs available in rural Queensland.
Getting a taste of what life on the land has to offer is the focus of a school holiday program designed by the Australian Agricultural College Corporation (AACC) to show the training and careers in agriculture, horticulture, conservation and land management.
The TASTE (The Agricultural Skills & Technology Experience) Program, launched in 2007, will return for the 2008 September school holidays.
AACC College Director, Malcolm McKay, said the response to the innovative program had been overwhelming and this year it had been rolled out to all AACC campuses at Burdekin, Dalby, Emerald, Longreach and Mareeba.
Mr McKay said after last year's course at the Emerald Campus, 30 per cent of TASTE students went on to enrol full-time at AACC.
"And it's not as if the remaining 70 per cent weren't interested in further studies. We've found many are eager to complete their senior schooling first and then look to the AACC," he said.
The course, aimed at students in Years 10, 11 and 12, introduces them to all aspects of agriculture and provides valuable industry exposure. It is ideal for students considering full-time or school-based study and perfect for those studying or training for their first job.
Participants in TASTE explore course options, speak to experienced industry trainers, test their agricultural skills and check out their preferred campus.
They take part in a variety of rural activities such as developing their skills in animal welfare, operating machinery, using GPS equipment for locating and plotting courses, power tool operation, tie-downs and restraints, and enhancing their knowledge of cropping, horticulture and soil-testing techniques.
"The program has been altered to reflect the interest of students," Mr McKay said. "We have placed an emphasis on technology and how it is related to the agricultural industry."
"If the response to last year's program is anything to go by, it will again be a popular choice for those students interested in the agricultural field."
www.aacc.edu.au
phone 1800 888 710
Strength in numbers
As the Manager of the Manufacturing and Engineering Gateway Schools Project, an important part of Alana Thornber's job is putting schools and industry in touch with each other.
Since her appointment earlier this year, Ms Thornber has been talking to state government departments and industry throughout Queensland to identify manufacturing and engineering businesses that need workers.
"I've also been speaking to schools, looking at those which have, or are developing, partnerships with the manufacturing and engineering industries, and providing a link so they can work together to address local skills shortages," she said.
"Through this project, industry will have access to work-ready young people."
Ms Thornber said a priority of the Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA) was to make sure young Queenslanders were educated and trained in sustainable industries such as manufacturing and engineering.
"We need to retain students to Year 12 and encourage them to continue on to a full-time apprenticeship or traineeship or into further education such as university," she said.
"In the manufacturing and engineering industries they have the flexibility to move between trade, technical and managerial roles during their career."
Ms Thornber said part of her job was to help solve skills shortages in the manufacturing and engineering industries to maintain Queensland"s economic growth.
"But it can't be a one-way street," she said.
"Industry must take ownership of this initiative and accept they also have a responsibility for skills formation, including recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce."
Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said the Manufacturing and Engineering Gateway Schools Project was a joint initiative between DETA, the Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry and the manufacturing industry through Manufacturing Skills Queensland.
"It is based on the successful aerospace, wine tourism, ICT, and minerals and energy projects, which have developed strong partnerships with industry and are providing valuable experience for young people in these industries," he said.
"The curriculum reflects the needs of the local manufacturing and engineering industry and students work in partnership with industry mentors on 'real life' projects as well as through school-based apprenticeships and traineeships, cadetships and scholarships."
Regional Development and Industry Minister Desley Boyle said manufacturing was crucial for Queensland industry.
"In 2006-07 the industry represented about $15 billion of the State's gross product and this project is another strategy to ensure the sustainability of one of Queensland's most important industries.
"It's an ideal opportunity for industry to create local strategies for dealing with workforce needs, working with organisations, training providers, schools and the government to ensure the State's continued economic prosperity."
a.thornber@msg.org.au
phone 3364 0600
Getting it right in any language
With cranes moving heavy metal overhead and welders and grinders constantly flashing brightly, John Holland's steel fabrication workshop at Richlands could be a dangerous place.
But John Holland Fabrication and Coatings Operations Manager, Jock Ehlers, says safety is the company's highest priority.
"We have quite a good safety record and by the end of May we achieved 12 months without time off for injury," he said.
"But we did identify a need to provide extra training for staff because of language barriers.
"Our workplace has some 135 staff with more than 10 languages between them so we needed to ensure they understood how to manage safety in the workplace.
"We found out about the Workplace English Language and Literacy, or WELL, program run by the Southbank Institute of Technology (SBIT).
"It is partly funded by the Australian Government, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and it suited our budget."
Jamie Brown, a teacher-trainer from SBIT, came on board to run a 40-week customised training program.
"Workshops like the one at John Holland are potentially very dangerous places, particularly when workers come from different backgrounds with varying experiences and language skills," Mr Brown said.
"It's essential they have a good understanding of the safety issues," he said.
Mr Brown's work involves conducting a training needs analysis and tailoring a training program to suit the situation.
"I then work with staff to improve workplace language, literacy and, where necessary, numeracy and meld this into broader on-the-job training.
"I make sure all staff understand the safety issues and can complete documentation so they can plan what they are going to do, identify hazards and implement safety controls or measures.
"It's also important to help supervisors with their language skills so that workers understand their directions - this not only aids safety but improves efficiency."
The training is appreciated by workers such as Thanh Van Nguyen, 42, who has worked at John Holland's workshop for about three years, after coming to Australia from Vietnam some 30 years ago.
"I've worked in a number of places, including Wollongong, and John Holland's workshop is a very safe place to work," Mr Van Nguyen said.
"The bosses are friendly and helpful - where safety is concerned, whatever we ask for they give us.
"They also run barbecues every month and we get $50 or $100 vouchers if we come up with good safety ideas.
"I will work here for the rest of my life."
www.Southbank.edu.au
phone 13 72 48
The lure of community
The people of the idyllic islands and warm blue waters of the Yam Island region of the Torres Strait will soon welcome the services of their own fully-fledged plumber.
At the end of the year, the fourth-year plumbing apprentice, crayfish diver and father of six, Phillip Pearson-Bann, pictured right, will become a fully qualified tradesman after completing the final component of his apprenticeship.
Phillip, who is completing his apprenticeship at Torres Strait Island Regional Council-Yam, wants to use his specialised skills to help others, particularly young people, in his small community.
"Yes, this is home," Phillip said. "I hope to start a small plumbing business and work in a 40 kilometre radius around Yam, Sue and Coconut Islands.
"There are kids here who need those skills and I want to take them on and teach them."
He also wants to help protect his precious islands and the fragile reef.
"My main concern is for the environment of this area and to ensure any infrastructure mixes well with local custom so the islands are not being misused," Phillip said.
Phillip's apprenticeship training included learning theory and skills application at Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE in Cairns, some 1000 kilometres from home.
TAFE plumbing teacher Kyle Payne said Phillip was now reaping the rewards of three years of hard work and study.
"Phillip is a very studious apprentice with an outstanding work ethic," Mr Payne said.
"He has done his community and himself a real favour by getting through this training. He's a great role model."
"You learn skills for life and a little bit about yourself along the way," he said. "I'm looking forward to being able to help my community and use my plumbing skills. Then, as soon as I knock off work, I'll go crayfish diving."
Life doesn't get much better than that.
www.tnqit.tafe.qld.gov.au
phone 1300 656 959
Centre develops boatbuilding skills
Gold Coast boatbuilders are reaping the rewards of working with government after the opening of a purpose-built training centre in the heart of their marina precinct at Coomera.
TAFE Marine Gold Coast opened in March and was developed in consultation with industry to overcome skill shortages and help the Gold Coast become one of the world's leading marine industry centres.
Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said TAFE Marine Gold Coast would give one of Queensland's fastest growing industries a boost by training 600 apprentices this year, rising to 1000 by 2010.
"The Gold Coast boatbuilding facilities at Coomera are the biggest of their kind in the Southern Hemisphere, employing 7000 people and exporting luxury yachts, cruisers and marine craft to more than 30 countries," Mr Welford said.
"Like other booming industries, marine construction has faced a skills shortage which the State Government is addressing through the $1 billion Queensland Skills Plan.
"Gold Coast Institute of TAFE is the lead institute in Queensland for marine construction training and this centre represents an exciting new phase of industry engagement for TAFE Queensland."
Shane Mitchell, Head of Training with Azzura Marine, said his company was involved in the Marine Industry Skills and Training Forum and its strategy with the Gold Coast TAFE to develop training plans and their delivery.
"Moving the training facility into the Coomera marine precinct has shown collaboration between industry and TAFE is alive and well and the skill level in Australian boatbuilding will continue to grow," Mr Mitchell said.
Michael Orsmond, Director of Global Force Marine Pty Ltd, sees the close proximity of the training centre to the industry precinct as beneficial to both the industry and the trainers.
"This will help make the Gold Coast the icon of quality boatbuilding and superyacht maintenance in the world," he said.
www.goldcoast.tafe.qld.gov.au
phone 5581 8300
Diving safety
More than 500 people have enrolled in courses being conducted throughout Queensland under a $2.8 million strategy to improve safety standards in the State's occupational dive industry.
Queensland's seafood harvest divers are taking part in the State Government's Work Safe Dive Safe courses, which finish in October.
Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said the multi-million dollar project was coordinated by Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE in Cairns and delivered in partnership with private trainers and industry throughout the State.
"The training targets divers from the sea cucumber, sponge, aquarium and crayfish harvesting sectors," he said.
"Our partnership with IRES Remote Corporate Services in Cairns and The Underwater Centre in Launceston, Tasmania, is an excellent example of how public and private registered training organisations can work together to provide significant opportunities."
Work Safe Dive Safe was developed following the introduction of a new diving work code of practice that outlines legislative requirements for all occupational underwater diving.
Training is being delivered at locations across Queensland, including Cairns, the Torres Strait, Mackay, Bundaberg and Mooloolaba, and incorporates diving operations, emergency procedures and safe work practices.
The project is a Queensland Government Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative delivered by the Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA) and the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations (DEIR).
www.deir.qld.gov.au
phone 1300 656 959
The girls light up
Michelle Birchall's current roles as single mum of two small boys and second-year electrical apprentice have fused nicely.
Ms Birchall, pictured above, is one of 13 women who are part of the Girls with Spark electrical trades training course, a partnership between Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE, Construction Skills Queensland and Cairns employers.
"It's hard sometimes but the boys go to day care while I'm at work," she said.
"The apprenticeship takes four years so you have to be dedicated and interested in what you're doing."
TNQ TAFE Institute Director Joann Pyne said Ms Birchall had completed a 13-week pre-vocational training program which was run to attract more women to trades not traditionally associated with women.
"Because of today's tight jobs market, many exciting and potentially lucrative trades are available to women, and there are fewer barriers to their participation," Ms Pyne said.
"Encouraging more women into non-traditional trades is part of the State Government's $1 billion Queensland Skills Plan which was launched in 2006 to help solve the skills shortage."
Ms Birchall said her family and friends were not shocked at her decision to switch from office work, landscaping and working with horses to a trade.
"They're very supportive. They thought I'd end up working in some sort of industry because I've always been outdoorsy and hands-on."
Ms Pyne said 11 far northern businesses had employed the apprentices.
Ms Birchall's job at mining industry electrical supplier CIE, in Cairns, includes building, maintaining and refurbishing industrial switchboards for many large mines in Queensland and Papua New Guinea.
She said her co-workers were supportive, particularly when heavy lifting was involved.
"I'm not physically strong but they're always willing to help. They've been great."
Ms Birchall said she would recommend a non-traditional trade to other women.
"Take the challenge and go for it."
www.tnqit.tafe.qld.gov.au
phone 1300 656 969
Queensland Skills Plan progress report
| Action | Progress |
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| Action1: Growing the Queensland VET Sector |
Australian Quality Training Framework 2007 Work is continuing toward the implementation of the excellence criteria for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to take effect from 1 January 2009. These criteria have been developed for the Australian vocational education and training sector, based on a set of validated best-practice management principles leading to improved training organisation performance and outcomes for clients. A national pilot of 16 RTOs is underway which includes small, medium and large public and private organisations. Three RTOs are representing Queensland. |
| Action 10: Age-proofing our workplaces through the new Experience Pays Awareness Strategy |
The Experience Pays awareness strategy
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| Action 11: Dealing with the demand for skilled tradespeople |
Meeting the increased demand for trades apprenticeships The Department of Education, Training and the Arts is well on track to achieve the target of an additional 17 000 trades training places by 2010. Strategies introduced by the Government have encouraged a strong growth in the number of apprentices, with more than 48 000 apprentices in training as at 31 March 2008. This represents a growth of more than 10 800 people undertaking an apprenticeship since the introduction of the Queensland Skills Plan, which exceeds the 30 June 2008 target of 8500. |
| Action 21: Maximising our workforce through Skilling Queenslanders for Work |
Skilling Queenslanders for Work The most recent surveys undertaken by the Office of Economic and Statistical Research (Queensland Treasury) show 68 per cent of those who received work placement assistance were in a job approximately 12 months after they completed their work placement. Successful job outcomes for those who undertook job preparation training are 63 per cent. |
To read Skilling Queensland online go to www.trainandemploy.qld.gov.au/skillingqueensland/
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