Apprenticeship Employment Network

AE News Volume 11, Issue 39

Friday, 26th October 2018
Hi Reader!
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Upcoming Events

13 Nov - OHS Network Meeting
22 Nov - AGM & Awards Dinner
23 Nov - Codehouse User Group Workshop
Click here for all upcoming events.

AEN 2018 Annual Awards – Finalists Announced

This year AEN received a record number of entries for our annual awards.

The 2018 AEN Annual Award finalist are:

ATOA Apprentice of the Year - Sponsored by Australian Super
(winner receives $250 gift card)

  • Daniel Aarons - Gforce - Certificate III in Automotive
  • Thofan Boontham - SMGT - Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
  • Ethan Hardwick - CVGT - Certificate III in Mobile Plant Technology
  • Katrina Palmer - Gforce - 5th Year Electrical & Instrumentation
  • Nathan Ramsbotham - AGA - Certificate III in Carpentry
Trainee of the Year - Sponsored by VicSuper
(winner receives $250 gift card)
  • Abbey Halton - Gforce - Certificate III in Companion Animal Services
  • Kyle Lancaster - Programmed - Certificate IV in Telecommunications Engineering Technology
  • Craig McCauley - CVGT - Certificate IV in Operating Theatre Support
  • Lucy Smeaton - AFL Sports Ready - Certificate III in Business
  • Rosalie Summers - Westvic Staffing Solutions - Certificate III in Business
STAR (Stop Taking A Risk) Apprentice/Trainee Award - Sponsored by EML
  • Joel Hancock-Bice - BGT - Engineering Fabrication Apprentice
  • Jayden Mollica - Programmed - Electrical & Instrumentation Apprentice
  • Brody Murphy - Gforce - Certificate III in Horticulture

OHS Service Excellence Award - Sponsored by EML
  • TBA
GTO Service Excellence Award - Sponsored by MARSH
  • AGA - AGA SEAT Program
  • Skillinvest - Jobs Victoria Indigenous Employment Program
  • Westvic Staffing Solutions - Glenormiston Agriculture Employment Program
  • Victorian Group Training - Speak Up
Thank you to everyone that took the time and effort to enter the awards.

The calibre of nomination was extremely high which made the judges decisions tough.

Congratulations to all finalists.

We look forward to hearing more at the awards dinner on Thursday 22 November at Pelicans Landing in Williamstown.

Tickets are now on sale through our new online registration process.

The Apprenticeship Factory Awards

TAF - Photo 3
TAF - Photo 2

On Thursday evening this week The Apprenticeship Factory held their annual awards in Shepparton.

With over 350 guests in attendance it was a great showcase highlighting the very best apprentices and trainees from around the region.

Best 1st Year apprentice Lachlan McLean – Cert III Electrotechnology
Best 2nd Year apprentice Alex Ring – Cert III Engineering Mechanical
Best 3rd Year apprentice Tim Wilson – Cert III Electrotechnology
Best 4th Year apprentice Jack Elliott – Cert III Carpentry

Best Cert II & III Trainee Caleb Noller – Cert III information Digital Media and Technology
Best Cert III Education Trainee – Joint Winners Jesses Trower & Rachael Slattery
Best Cert IV Trainee – Chloe Thomas – Cert IV Local Government

Barry Franklin Apprentice of the Year Jack Elliott – Cert III Carpentry
Trainee of the Year - Jesses Trower

The Apprenticeship Factory also announced a major new initiative on the night – the “giving back” to community grant program.

This program funded by The Apprenticeship Factory will allow other small not for profit community programs to receive funding to support local youth.

An initial program donation was awarded on the night with $20,000 going to GV Health to build a therapeutic garden.

There was also an unofficial award going on the evening between The Apprenticeship Factory field officers – Natalie, Nathan and Caz, to see who was thanked the most on stage by the award winners.

It was a close contest with Natalie winning in the end by a single vote.

Congratulations to all the finalists, winners and the team at The Apprenticeship Factory.

Victorian Labour Hire Legislation


On Wednesday this week the Victorian Government released their official response to the labour hire Act (Response to Public Submissions on the Exposure Draft Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018).

The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources has published a response to public submissions on the exposure draft Labour Hire Licensing Regulations.

Three issues arising in the submissions need specific clarification.

Firstly, under the Act, any organisation operating in Victoria which meets the definition of a ‘provider of labour hire services’ is already covered by the scheme. Labour hire does not apply to direct working relationships.

Draft regulations 5 and 6 confirm the application of the scheme to certain industries and activities where there are outsourcing or similar arrangements.

These are additional activities and industries in relation to which the scheme will apply if they were not already covered by the scheme as defined by the Act.

The regulations are being clarified to address this confusion.

Secondly, it is important to note that the wording of a State Act cannot override the operation of Commonwealth legislation.

Mutual recognition is accomplished through the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth) and only extends the mutual recognition principles to natural persons. Consequently, the mutual recognition provisions of the Victorian Act can only apply to natural persons (not corporations).

Thirdly, it is important to correct a statement made in some submissions on the treatment of group training organisations (GTOs) under the scheme.

These submissions included a statement asserting that in December 2017 there were consultations with the Department to the effect that it was not desirable to include/cover GTOs in the scheme.
This statement is a misunderstanding.

As was discussed, the scheme covers GTOs but the Regulations can prescribe certain laws and schemes (including in relation to certain GTOs in Victoria) which will allow the Authority to use its discretion to reduce certain compliance obligations when applying licensing requirements.

The Act passed the Victorian Parliament on 20 June 2018. Certain administrative provisions of the Act commenced operation from 27 June 2018.

However, licensing is not yet in force and the commencement date for compliance obligations will be announced well in advance. Compliance obligations are not expected to begin before early 2019.

Labour hire providers and hosts will be given sufficient notice of the commencement of obligations, and information sessions will be held prior to the scheme commencing.

AEN look forward to working with the new Commissioner and the Labour Hire Authority to finalise the GTO position.

For more information, please visit the Economic Development and Labour Hire Authority websites.

First School-based Trainee Completion for Horsham Police Station

Tania Morrison - Horsham Police Station

Tania Morrison started her Certificate III in Business Administration in February 2017 as a school-based traineeship with The Victoria Police; Tania is based in the Horsham Station and works one day a week while still completing her secondary schooling.

Skillinvest has partnered with the Victorian State Government and Victoria Police to provide opportunities for secondary school students that identify as indigenous.

The program is delivered via the school-based traineeship program as a state-wide initiative in Victoria.

Funded by Jobs Victoria after a successful pilot program was ran by Skillinvest, students are studying a certificate III business administration traineeship.

The program provides students with exposure to an office-based environment in an operating police station to be completed over two years.

Tania is the first student to complete the program in the Wimmera and the first for the Horsham Police Station.

Dimboola Secondary College Principal Anne Gawith first presented Tania with the opportunity to complete the traineeship when she was 16.

Tania was that excited she said yes on the spot as she has loved the police force since she was 6 years old.

“I never thought I’d be able to get to an area like this and with the help of my teachers and my friends and family I can do this, it sets me a standard of what I want to be”, said Tania.

Tania is due to complete Year 12 this week and attended her last day at the station on Thursday.

A morning tea was held in her honour where Tania was presented with her certificate of completion.

Tania thanked the Horsham Police staff for all their help and support over the last 2 years and Skillinvest Business Trainer Chris Gray for her support and encouragement during her training.

The Horsham Police Station is looking forward to a new trainee commencing next year and applications are currently being sought.

Interested Indigenous students can find out more and apply through the Skillinvest Jobs.

The program to date has seen 44 Indigenous students commence in Police Stations across the state. Seven students have successfully graduated, 10 students have not continued for various reasons and the remaining 27 students are well on their way to completing their traineeships.

Congratulations to the team at Skillinvest.

Further resources available at Jobs Victoria & Skillinvest.

More Teachers and New Literacy and Numeracy Standards

Hundreds of new expert teachers will help lift Victorian students’ literacy and numeracy standards, as part of the biggest overhaul of the VCE and VCAL in decades.

The Victorian Government will introduce new literacy and numeracy standards that will be reported as part of VCE and VCAL results. Victoria is currently the only state not to explicitly include or plan to include literacy and numeracy standards as part of its senior secondary reporting.

As part of these reforms, and to ensure that struggling students get the targeted support they need to meet these standards, the Victorian Government will invest $187 million to provide direct, individual support and tuition for those students that need it the most.

This is the single biggest investment in individualised support in the state’s history, giving students every opportunity to complete their secondary school with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed.

The funding will provide 700 expertly trained teachers over the next four years, who will lead their colleagues in improving literacy and numeracy training in all government secondary school classrooms.

The change follows the Minister for Education James Merlino’s referral of this matter to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority to investigate options for changes to the VCE and VCAL.

After a thorough investigation, the VCAA found there is value in explicitly reporting senior secondary students’ literacy and numeracy attainment levels as part of their VCE and VCAL certification.

It has been long called for by employers and will help ensure all of our kids are ready to enter the workforce with the foundational skills they need to succeed.

From 2021, students completing VCE or VCAL will, as part of their General Achievement Test results, receive information about whether they have demonstrated or exceeded the literacy and numeracy standards typically expected of those entering the workforce from school.

The GAT, which is already completed by students studying a Unit 3/4 VCE subject, will be modified to include explicit assessments of common reading, writing and numeracy standards for both VCE and VCAL students.

Students that perform below national minimum standards in Year 7 and Year 9 NAPLAN will receive individualised support delivered by expertly trained teachers.

Importantly, this support will begin in 2019 to ensure all students will receive the individual support they need before the changes to the Year 12 reporting come into effect in 2021.

This new reporting and support will help employers, who have been calling for simple and clear indicators on the job readiness of young people.

To read more please visit the Premier Victoria website.

Thanks to our Industry Partners

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