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AE News Volume 16, Issue 41
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Thursday, 16th November 2023
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Upcoming Events
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Apprentice Training Awards
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The stage is set, and the spotlight is shining bright on Victoria's apprentices, trainees and group training organisations. It's time to applaud their hard work, dedication, and remarkable achievements as the 2023 Apprentice Training Awards, hosted by AEN and Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN) Australia, kick off.
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These prestigious awards are all about recognising excellence in the group training sector and acknowledging the outstanding contributions of apprentices, trainees, GTO members, staff, and Industry Partners across Victoria.
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We are proud to have 37 finalists out of over 150 nominations with this years finalists being dominated by female Apprentices & Trainees.
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Winners will be announced on at a Gala Dinner on Wednesday evening.
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Additionally we are excited to announce the recipient of the GAN Australia International Apprenticeship Exchange.
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School-Based Apprentice or
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STAR (Stop Taking a Risk) Award
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Indigenous Student of the Year
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Inspiration Award:
Women in Trades
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GTO Service Excellence Award
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Traineeship Disability Employment Pathway
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Jobs Victoria Manufacturing Skills Project
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WaTT - Women and Their Trade
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Wednesday 22 November 2023
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191 Collins Street, Melbourne
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Congratulations and best of luck to all our 2023 Apprentice Training Awards finalists.
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Jobs and Skills Australia
2024 Skills Priority List Stakeholder Survey
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The information that you provide as part of this survey will give insights into the recruitment challenges and occupations that might be in shortage across the Australian labour market and will help make sure the 2024 SPL is based on comprehensive evidence.
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You’re also able to provide additional evidence and information such as member surveys that you have run, relevant industry reports commissioned, and other data you may have to further build the picture.
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The most recent release of the SPL (2023) provided rich insights that have already been used in many valuable ways and JSA look forward to the next SPL to build upon this knowledge base.
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For more on the stakeholder survey and how it’s used, visit the SPL Methodology page.
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Put Local Jobs First: Have Your Say
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Businesses and workers are invited to help shape the future of the Local Jobs First policy by providing feedback to the Victorian Government to support Victorian businesses into a strong pipeline of work across the state.
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Minister for Jobs and Industry Natalie Hutchins this week called for input into the proposed reforms to the Local Jobs First Act 2003 – Australia’s longest-standing industry participation law.
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The Act gives Victorian small and medium businesses an advantage to compete for government contracts – creating local job opportunities with a focus on apprentices, trainees and cadets.
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The Government is looking to strengthen the Act to make sure local workers and products are used for public projects where possible.
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The proposed changes focus on compliance and enforcement of Local Industry Development Plans – including increasing the Local Jobs First Commissioner’s powers – and for uniforms and personal protective equipment to be made locally for Strategic Projects.
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The reforms will build on policy changes in June 2022 that created better outcomes for the local steel industry on Strategic Projects. Strategic Projects are valued at more than $50 million – with projects ranging from transport and healthcare to sport and tourism.
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Since December 2014, local product requirements have been used for more than 300 Strategic Projects – with a combined value of around $149 billion and supporting more than 50,000 jobs.
Other Labor Government initiatives focused on local and socially responsible government purchasing include the Fair Jobs Code and the Social Procurement Framework – with both driving secure local jobs and socially responsible Victorian businesses.
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International Student's Day
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- Why do students choose to leave their home, family and friends to study abroad?
- What do they want to study? What attitudes do they encounter?
- What barriers and challenges do they face?
- Do they get a job while studying?
- Do they go home or stay after graduating?
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Long-term returns remain strong despite volatility in investment markets.
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Over the last 3 months to 30 September 2023, growing uncertainty around inflation and interest rates saw share markets rise in July before falling again in August and September.
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This resulted in a subdued end to the quarter for each of AustralianSuper’s PreMixed investment options. The Balanced option returned -0.11% for super accounts and -0.13% for Choice Income account based pension accounts for the three months ending 30 September 2023.
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These results outperformed the median balanced fund by 0.41% for super accounts and 0.46% for Choice Income respectively*.
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Looking at the long-term returns for the same investment options, returns remained strong – an 8.04% average annual return over 10 years for AustralianSuper’s Balanced option for super accounts and 8.86% for the Balanced option for Choice Income accounts to 30 September 2023.
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How long will these current conditions last?
The main issues affecting investment markets during the September quarter – inflation, rising interest rates and the possibility of slowing economic growth – will likely remain during the short to medium term. This could also mean further volatility in investment returns is likely.
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The AustralianSuper investment team will continue to review and adjust the Fund’s investment portfolio to help members benefit from any recovery in investment markets.
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*AustralianSuper Balanced investment option compared to the SuperRatings Fund Crediting Rate Survey - SR50 Balanced (60–76) Index and SRP50 Balanced (60-76) to 30 September 2023. Returns from equivalent investment options of the ARF and STA super funds are used for periods before 1 July 2006.
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Investment returns aren’t guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
This information may be general financial advice which doesn’t take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision about AustralianSuper, you should think about your financial requirements and refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement available at australiansuper.com/pds or by calling 1300 300 273. A Target Market Determination (TMD) is a document that outlines the target market a product has been designed for. Find the TMDs at australiansuper.com/tmd.
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Sponsored by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd, ABN 94 006 457 987, AFSL 233788, Trustee of AustralianSuper ABN 65 714 394 898
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Supporting Women to Achieve VET Based Careers
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The Australian Government has made it clear that women’s equality is essential for strengthening our economy, our society and our nation.
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It has committed to advancing gender equality as a national priority and placed this at the centre of much of the Government’s work.
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The Australian Government cannot tackle this issue alone, it needs assistance from other levels of government, employers, business, unions, communities and individuals, as well as education and training providers to support lasting cultural change.
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The Department is consulting with a range of stakeholders to guide policy and program design to assist women to achieve higher-paying careers via VET pathways.
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In late 2022, the Department engaged with stakeholders to understand what is most effective in attracting and retaining women in VET-based occupations with low levels of women’s participation.
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This phase of consultation is designed to gather views on what further work can be undertaken.
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This discussion paper contains questions and information to provide context and help you frame your thoughts and feedback.
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Responses will help the Department understand what is important for the design and implementation of initiatives.
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The Department welcomes written feedback from interested parties by 5pm AEDT, 18 December 2023.
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Worksafe Victoria Update
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An industrial component manufacturer and its director have been convicted and fined a total of $2.24 million and the director placed on a five - year Community Corrections Order after an apprentice was seriously injured in Gippsland.
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RMIT Launches New Trades Innovation Centre
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Located at RMIT’s Bundoora East campus, the new Trades Innovation Centre will be a technology-backed facility that supports a training pipeline for northern corridor population growth and infrastructure investment.
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Students will benefit from simulations, sector-leading equipment and teaching practices, and programs that integrate job-ready and future-ready industry skills.
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It will also provide an opportunity for industry to use the facility to test, learn, trial and demonstrate, and access RMIT’s expertise to solve real-world problems.
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By 2025 it is projected that our state will need more than another 4,000 electricians, 2,400 plumbers and 500 refrigeration mechanics.
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The Trades Innovation Centre will enable RMIT to contribute to meeting forecasted demand over the next 3–5 years, in line with the Victorian Government Skills Plan and Clean Economy Workforce Skills requirements.
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RMIT Deputy Vice-Chancellor Vocational Education and Vice-President, Mish Eastman, explained the importance of investment in trades education.
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“Victoria is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by major infrastructure investment, a shift to a clean economy, and evolving occupational requirements,” Eastman said.
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“There is a need for hundreds of thousands of additional construction workers in the next five years to meet evolving industry workforce requirements and government initiatives such as the Victorian Big Build.
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“In addition to meeting shortages in the workforce, the sector also needs to adopt technology innovation to improve productivity.”
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For further information please visit, RMIT.
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Young People in Western Melbourne’s Voices on Work
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This report investigates the views of young people from the western suburbs of Melbourne.
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OECD – Skills Outlook 2023
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Countries should significantly scale-up efforts to strengthen initial education systems and provide improved upskilling and reskilling opportunities for lifelong learning, to ensure skills available respond more effectively to the needs in the labour market.
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This is also essential to ensure societies can harness the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics and successfully transition to a net-zero economy, according to the OECD’s recently released Skills Outlook 2023.
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Investments in skills are critical to building a resilient green and digital transition. However, the speed of environmental and digital transformations is outpacing the rate of change in education and skills policies and their capacity to respond to emerging trends and needs in society and labour markets.
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As new job profiles and skills requirements emerge, on average across OECD countries only around four in ten adults participate in formal or non-formal learning for job related reasons.
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This hampers the ability of workers to upskill and reskill, limiting their opportunities to reallocate from sectors and occupations and their ability to strengthen the skills they will need to work alongside new technologies to make the most of potential productivity gains.
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“Skills play an essential role in building strong, fair, and sustainable economies and societies, but the skills need of our economies and societies are evolving,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said. “To ensure everyone can participate in and benefit from economic development and growth and in particular the opportunities created by the green and digital transformations, policymakers must better aligning education and skills training with the skills needed in the labour market.
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This is essential to help workers navigate the significant impacts of these transformations on labour markets.”
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Ensuring adequate upskilling and reskilling, as well as providing assistance for populations negatively affected by climate change, is critical to ensure continued support of action to halt environmental degradation.
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Education systems should redouble their efforts to build the environmental sustainability competences of young people, equipping them with both the skill and the will to support the achievement of green objectives.
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Only around one in three young people in OECD countries combine foundational levels of scientific literacy with the attitudes and behaviours that enable them to be thoughtful consumers and future workers in the green economy.
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Developments in generative artificial intelligence and robotics will require individuals to develop skills to work alongside AI systems and not just existing technologies. This will pose a second challenge for education and training systems. Although on average across the 14 OECD countries analysed, less than 1% of online vacancies required AI-related skills, significant changes in skills demand will arrive because of economy-wide adoption of AI.
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Individuals from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds are also less likely to gain proficiency in a range of skills during formal education, including to develop attitudes and dispositions that can support the twin digital and green transition and reduce their vulnerability to environmental and technological changes.
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Policy action is needed to identify vulnerability due to a lack of proficiency in skills in order to improve both equality of opportunity and overall well-being.
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Please keep a look out for our Professional Development Calendar for 2024.
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Please login to the members area prior to purchasing tickets to access the members rate or to RSVP for a free event.
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Since the program commenced in May 2020, a total of 1,133 participants have been supported to date.
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Apprentices and trainees who have lost employment are encouraged to register.
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Once registered, apprentices and trainees will be assisted by one of our program officers until placed with a host employer through a Group Training Organisation (GTO), or directly with an employer.
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If you have an apprenticeship position you would like to fill, please contact the AEN Office so we can forward potential candidates that meet your criteria.
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Head on over to GAN Australia and subscribe to the newsletter to be kept up to date with everything that’s happening with GAN Australia and the wider VET sector?
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Thanks to our Industry Partners
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