The Minister's Awards for Excellence
The Minister's Awards for Excellence will be presented by the Australian Government Minister for Education, The Hon Julia Gillard MP at a gala dinner at Parliament House, Canberra, to be held on Thursday 4 September 2008.
If you would like to purchase tickets to attend the awards dinner, please complete the registration form and return to LOC 723, GPO Box 9880, ACT, 2601 by 20 August 2008.
Nominations for both the Minister’s Award for Support Services Excellence and the Minister’s Award for Commitment to Australian Apprenticeships have now closed. We are pleased to inform you that 22 nominations were received for the Support Services Excellence award and 25 for the Commitment to Australian Apprenticeships award. All nominees have been advised of the outcome of their nomination.
Nominations for these awards have been judged on a national basis, with three finalists for each award being selected to attend the Minister’s Awards presentation dinner. The three finalists for the Support Services Excellence award are:
The three finalists for the Commitment award are:
- Vincent Ball - ACT Regional Building & Construction Industry Training Council; ACT
- Royce Fairbrother - Fairbrother Pty Ltd; Tas
- Bob Taylor - EE-Oz Training Standards; ACT
The finalists will be interviewed by the selection panel on the day of the presentation dinner to determine the national winner for each award.
Registrations open for the 2008 Australian Training Awards Presentation Dinner
The 2008 Australian Training Awards will be held in Darwin at the Darwin Convention Centre on 20 November. To register your attendance to witness the best in Australian training, visit http://www.australiantrainingawards.gov.au/Register_to_attend/
Australian Training Awards will be presented in the following categories:
- Employer of the Year
- Prime Minister’s Small Business of the Year
- Australian Training Initiative
- VET in Schools Excellence
- Large Training Provider of the Year
- Small Training Provider of the Year
- Australian Apprentice of the Year
- Australian Apprentice (Trainee) of the Year
- Stella Axarlis Australian School-based Apprentice of the Year
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year
- Vocational Student of the Year
In addition to these categories, the Australian Training Awards provides a platform for presentation of the following awards:
- Institute for Trade Skills Excellence Trade Teacher of the Year Award
- Australian Flexible Learning Framework Innovative Business Award
- The inaugural National Centre for Vocational Education and Research VET Researcher of the Year Award
Contact Emma Gaughwin on (02) 62405408 or email
emma.gaughwin@deewr.gov.au for more details.
2008 Australian Apprenticeships Roundtable
The Australian Apprenticeships Roundtable provides a forum for Australian Apprentices to inform government about issues affecting their training and careers. This is the only forum that gives a voice specifically to Australian Apprentices as key users of the national training system.
LET YOUR VIEWS BE HEARD!!
Roundtable members have identified and prioritised key issues of concern to Australian Apprentices. They are now seeking your views through a series of surveys, in order to gather information on which to formulate findings that will be presented to the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education and the Skills Symposium to be held in Darwin in November 2008. The key issues of concern encompass:
- Information and communication
- Commencement and retention
- Industry and workplace
- Training and learning
- Future focus
The five surveys have been designed to seek comment from three key stakeholder groups in the vocational education and training sector:
- Students, trainees and apprentices
- Registered training organisations, teachers, trainers and careers advisors
- Employers
The surveys are posted on the
Australian Apprenticeships website.
Please urge your networks to complete the surveys to support the Roundtable members in their work and provide valuable feedback to the process. Surveys should be completed and returned by cob Friday, 29 August 2008 either by
email to
AAroundtable@deewr.gov.au or facsimile: 02 6123 5343.
Training package for translators
Government Skills Australia is pleased to advise that it has been commissioned by the Department for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to develop a training package for translators, interpreters and bilingual workers (TIB09) for national endorsement in 2009.
The training package project arises from the recommendations of a project to scope the need for competency standards for interpreters and translators, completed in December 2005 by Service Skills Australia. A copy of the scoping project report is available on the Service Skills website at:
http://www.serviceskills.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=128
Training pack TIB09 is expected to translate into increasingly consistent training and professional development opportunities for translators and interpreters, and the ability to obtain nationally and internationally portable VET sector qualifications through recognition of prior learning, on the job assessment, or formal training.
The TIB09 project has significant implications for the interpreters and translators profession, its trainers and educators, and its employers and contracting service providers.
A national consultation process began in June and will continue over the next six months. We trust you will take the opportunity to provide input to this historic undertaking. Please contact Government Skills Australia via our project officer tamara.shinners@governmentskills.com.au should you wish to participate in future consultations or work shops.
VETnetwork Australia National Conference 2008
Connections, Capacity, Collaboration
1 - 3 October 2008
Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour
This is the peak, biennial event in Australia for anyone involved in vocational education and training in the school sector. Building on the theme Connections, Capacity, Collaboration the program includes keynote addresses from Matt Church, a leading voice on new thinking about communication; Jackie Furey, principal of Bedrooms to Boardrooms and media expert on bringing out the best in people in the corporate world and Professor Jim Bright, head of career education and development at the Australian Catholic University, on what research is saying about modern notions of career. In addition, Michael McQueen, an authority on Generation Y will be giving a keynote address on The Rules of Engagement.
The VETnetwork conference offers a rich program of complementary events, including concurrent sessions from leading practitioners across Australia on everything from good vocational teaching practice to teaching science in VET programs and case studies on engineering in schools. Panel sessions include an industry-led forum involving industry, education and training leaders on the theme VET in Schools – Are We Heading in the Right Direction? The program includes facilitated tours and site visits as well as a number of industry courses delivered as part of the program.
The conference has significant value for teachers of VET and school-based apprentices and trainees, Local Community Partnerships, TAFE and university personnel, education and training policy and systems, people from federal and state systems, and industry-based people working with schools.
Register online or contact the conference secretariat on Ph: 02 9526 1221 or email: admin@venuemarketing.com.au. For further information contact Janice Martyn, conference convenor, on 02 9244 5252 or email janice.martyn@det.nsw.edu.au
Nominations now open for the 2008 Trades and Skills Teacher of the Year
The 2008 Trades and Skills Teacher of the Year Awards are now open. Nominate a trades or skills teacher you think deserves recognition for the commitment, expertise and hard work they undertake to ensure their students are trained to the highest industry standards.
The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence is awarding prizes of $5,000 to outstanding trades or skills teachers in the following areas:
- Automotive
- Manufacturing
- Building and Construction
- Metals and Engineering
- Electrical
- Mineral Resources
- Hospitality and Personal Services
- Rural and Farming
The overall winner will be announced Australian Trades and Skills Teacher of the Year at the Australian Training Awards to be held in Darwin on 20 November, 2008.
For further information please contact Pip McConachie, Colvin Communications (02) 8314 7178 or 0402 448 745.
Apprentices increase again – and they’re finishing
Trade apprentices are again on the increase and greater numbers are completing their training faster, according to new data released today by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
NCVER Managing Director Tom Karmel said that in the 12 months to December 2007, there had been 82,900 trade training commencements, an increase of 6% from the previous year and almost double the 41,800 commencements in 1997.
“The 11 years of data that we have available shows a steady trend of increasing numbers of trade apprentices, which is a reflection of the demand for these skills by employers,” Dr Karmel said.
Dr Karmel said the new statistics also showed trade apprentices were completing full trade qualifications faster.
In 2007, over a quarter (28%) of all trade apprentices completed their training in two years or less. In 1997, around one in six (17%) completed a trade apprenticeship in two years or less.
“This can only be good news for industry,” he said.
The new data also showed that the drop out rate for trade apprentices in the first twelve months is slightly lower than the average for all trainees. Within a year of starting, the attrition rate for trade apprentices was 28%, against an average of 30% for trainees in all occupations.
Analysis of apprenticeship and traineeship data also reveals that the completion rate for trade apprentices is just under 50%. Some trades, notably engineering, printing and electrical, have higher completion rates. Hairdressing and the food trades have particularly low completion rates.
Each year, NCVER releases quarterly and annual statistics for apprentice and trainee activity.
The data included in this release can be found in tables 4, 10, 12 and 21 of Australian vocational education and training statistics: Apprentices and trainees 2007—Annual.
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