Skilling the Existing Workforce Project

The Skilling the Existing Workforce Project is a tripartite (industry-government-individual) approach to addressing the need to skill existing workers, particularly in industries experiencing skills shortages.  The Project will develop, trial and evaluate training models that blend informal, non-formal and formal adult learning strategies, with the view to informing good practice workforce skills development approaches. 

The Australian Industry Group is leading the Project’s three stages:

1. The development of a Background Research Report and public consultation papers to inform national stakeholder consultations.
   
   
2. Trial approaches: a minimum of five different workforce skills development approaches will be trialled in different enterprises across the country.
   
   
3. Evaluation of trial approaches and report on Project outcomes.

Final Project outcomes will be available in 2008. 

Ai Group has recently commenced a national round of consultations to give stakeholders the opportunity to discuss how the skilling needs of existing workers are being addressed and how current workplace practices might be built upon to achieve accelerated outcomes for enterprises and individuals.

Stakeholders have the opportunity to:

• Discuss issues raised in the Ai Group commissioned report, Skilling the Existing Workforce Background Research Report    (1.0 MB), and
  
  
• Address the questions outlined in the Project’s consultation papers for company representatives     (345.6 KB)and educational and training stakeholder representatives    (379.8 KB).

Written submissions must be provided to Ai Group by close of business on 25 May 2007.  For more details, visit http://www.aigroup.asn.au/. 

Ai Group will also conduct consultation forums in five cities during April 2007: 

• Monday 3rd April - Melbourne
• Friday 13th April - Sydney
• Tuesday 24th April - Brisbane
• Thursday 26th April - Adelaide
• Friday 27th April - Perth.

To register for one of the consultation sessions please contact the Project Administrator, Glenda Short, glenda.short@aigroup.asn.au or (03) 9867 0290.

The Skilling the Existing Workforce Project is a Commonwealth-State Skills Shortage Initiative funded through the Strategic National Initiatives component of the 2005–2008 Commonwealth-State Agreement for Skilling Australia’s Workforce.

The Project is being led by the Australian Industry Group, under the direction of a Project Steering Committee.

Name	Position	Organisation
1. Megan Lilly Co-Chair	Associate Director,	Ai Group
2. Matt Davies Co-Chair	Branch Manager, Skills Branch	Australian Government Department of Education, Science & Training
3. Phillip Clarke	General Manager, Office of Training & Tertiary Education	Department of Education & Training
4. Pam Christie	Institute Director	Sydney Institute of TAFE
5. Raylene West	General Manager	Caterpillar Institute Pty Ltd
6. Don McMillen	Regional Manager	MTU Detroit Diesel Australia
7. David Graham	Learning & Development Manager	Huntsman Chemicals
8. Tom Karmel	Managing Director	National Centre for Vocational Education Research
9. Bob Paton	CEO	Manufacturing Industry Skills Council
Lee-Anne Fisher Michael Taylor	Project Managers	Ai Group