Australian Training Fast Facts - 6 September 2005 - no222

The Australian Training Awards for 2005 will be announced at a gala dinner at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre on Thursday 17th November 2005. Ten awards will be presented in a range of different categories including Employer of the Year and the Prime Minister’s Award for Small Business of the Year.

To nominate for the Australian Training Awards 2005 or to find information on how to book tickets for the Australian Training Awards Ceremony, visit http://www.dest.gov.au

The Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard MP and the Minister for Vocational and Technical Education, the Hon Gary Hardgrave MP officially congratulated the seven Australian medallists on their outstanding achievement at the 38th WorldSkills International competition in Helsinki at a reception at Parliament House last Monday afternoon. The medallists were Jeremy Gransden (Welding); Jarrad Langdon (Web Design); Robert Peel (Manufacturing Team Challenge); Andrew Moore (Manufacturing Team Challenge); and Brent Butler (Manufacturing Team Challenge).

Gold medallists and volunteers from the ACT WorldSkills competition also attended the reception and were congratulated by both Mr Howard and Mr Hardgrave.

NCVER has released their latest New Apprenticeships figures for the quarter ending 31st March 2005. New Apprentices commencing in traditional trades continued to grow over this quarter with 61,300 commencements in the year ending 31 March 2005. This is a 21% increase over the 50,700 commencements for the year ending 31 March 2004. Find out more information at:

http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/1612.html    

Interested in articulation and credit transfer? A draft set of guidelines has been developed for providing students and potential students with information on credit and articulation pathways. The Draft Principles for Good Practice Information Provision was developed in response to the endorsement by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs of two sets of principles aimed at improving articulation and credit transfer between VET and Higher Education. To comment go to http://www.training.com.au/portal/site/public/menuitem.653fe9edbd8e1060cbfb111017a62dbc/    

NCVER are holding a series of breakfast briefings throughout Australia which will provide an overview of findings from their latest research about how employers view and engage with training. The presentation will be based on the initial findings of the 2005 national VET survey of Australian employers and a range of other research projects. The briefing series will commence in Perth on 8 November 2005 and will move to the remaining capital cities, with the exception of Darwin, throughout November. For more information on the briefings go to http://www.ncver.edu.au/newsevents/events/employers/breakfast.html    

Service Skills Australia are holding their inaugural conference on 21st and 22nd September at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney. The key note speakers include Bernard Salt, Partner KPMG and author of the popular bestselling book The Big Shift: Welcome to the Third Australian Culture and Brian Canavan, CEO of the Sydney Roosters Rugby League football Club. The Hon Gary Hardgrave MP, Minister for Vocational and Technical Education will give the opening address on the second day of the conference. For more information, visit www.serviceskills.com.au