Apprenticeship Employment Network

AE News Volume 16, Issue 37

Friday, 20th October 2023

Upcoming Events

October
Best Life, Best Work
AEN Celebrating 40 Years

November
Facilitating Crucial Conversations
African Cultural Awareness & Recruitment
Apprentice Training Awards

FINALISTS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!

Apprentice of the Year
Al Gonzalez
Bridget Bottcher
Cynthia Molnar
Jessah Iliopoulos
Katrina Kessaris
Pippa Macpherson



School-Based Apprentice or
Trainee of the Year
Basit Ali
Ngatatji Bysouth


Inspiration Award:
Disability Achievement
Annie Hanna
Ashlyn Miller
Greg Charteris
Lauchlann Fraser
Patrice Vassiliou


Inspiration Award:
Overcoming Adversity
Asma Kakar
Majd Ammar Aleas
Say Mu Paw
Wendy Clark

Trainee of the Year
Alexander Cooper
Asma Kakar
Chelsea Hill
Jack Turner
Lauchlann Fraser
Madi Fri
Wendy Clark


STAR (Stop Taking a Risk) Award
Chloe Trivett-Keevers
Portia Northcott
Toby Borthwick


Inspiration Award:
Indigenous Student of the Year
Alexander Cooper
Chelsea Hill
Drue McEntee
Tay-Lee Gilbert
Tiarna Cutajar


Inspiration Award:
Women in Trades
Bridget Bottcher
Cynthia Molnar
Jenna Humphries
Katrina Kessaris
Michaela Healey
GTO Service Excellence Award
Indigenous SBAT Program
CVGT Employment

Traineeship Disability Employment Pathway
NECA Education & Careers
Jobs Victoria Manufacturing Skills Project
Ai Group

WaTT - Women and Their Trade
NECA Education & Careers

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.


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.

When:
6.30pm – 10.30pm
Wednesday 22 November 2023

Where:
The Plaza Ballroom
191 Collins Street, Melbourne

Celebrate 40 Years of Group Training

Please join us to celebrate 40 years of the group training network in Victoria. Over this period our members have supported more than 250,000 apprentices start their careers.

When:
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Saturday 28th October 2023

Where:
The Pavilion - IKON Park
Royal Parade, North Carlton
Entry via Gate 6

Following the event, please join us for a BBQ, drinks and AFLW match between Richmond and Geelong. We encourage you to invite your Apprentices and Trainees for photo opportunities with government officials.

This is a FREE event for AEN Members & apprentices. Please refer to your member email for coupon code when registering.

Registrations close Friday 20th October or until sold out!

Health and Safety Month - October 2023

From Warrnambool to Wodonga, WorkSafe will visit 17 locations across Victoria in October, giving employers and workers the opportunity to hear from health and safety experts, industry leaders and pioneers in workplace safety.

The free, expert-led safety events are tailored to suit the needs of each community, and registrations for all sessions are now open.

Mentally healthy workplaces, hazardous manual handling, helping newly arrived migrant workers understand their safety rights, and dealing with drugs and alcohol in the workplace are just some of the items on this year's agenda.

Breakfast or lunch will be provided at each event, as well as a Q&A session where participants can raise their queries or concerns around workplace health and safety.

Former Cats captain turned commentator Cameron Ling is on board again, hosting a Business Owner's Breakfast at Essendon Fields plus other events in Shepperton, Traralgon, Geelong, Pakenham and Bendigo.

The month will conclude with a week-long series of webinars, with Health and Safety Month Ambassador Sean Aherne taking to the virtual stage to lead insightful discussions on how to enhance health and safety in workplaces.

Visit WorkSafe Victoria to register and see full list events.

Landmark National Skills Agreement

A new 5-year National Skills Agreement was recently signed between the Commonwealth and all state/territory governments, including Victoria. This landmark agreement, set to commence next year, aims to enhance cooperation and investment in Victoria's TAFE and training sector.

The Commonwealth Government is allocating $3.15 billion to expand Victoria's VET sector, focusing on quality training and addressing critical skills needs.

With significant workforce growth expected in Victoria, the agreement will invest in training, infrastructure, and participation initiatives.

It prioritises TAFE, includes baseline funding commitments, and extends Free TAFE funding by $105 million, providing an additional 62,800 places for Victorian students.

Nationally, the Commonwealth's $12.6 billion investment includes $2.4 billion in flexible funding to support State and Territory skills sectors, focusing on critical and emerging industries, clean energy, sovereignty, care services, and digital capability.

The agreement will:
  • Deliver a national VET system that provides high quality, responsive and accessible education and training to boost productivity.
  • Support Australians to obtain the skills and capabilities they need to obtain well-paid, secure jobs.
  • Ensure Australia has the skilled workforce it needs now and into the future, with TAFE at the heart of the VET sector.

National priorities are areas where governments have agreed require focused effort to address critical skills and workforce shortages. The agreed inaugural national priorities are:
  • Gender equality
  • Closing the Gap
  • Supporting the Net Zero transformation
  • Sustaining essential care services
  • Developing Australia’s sovereign capability and food security
  • Ensuring Australia’s digital and technology capability
  • Delivering reforms to improve the regulation of VET qualifications and quality.
For further information please visit, National Skills Agreement.

National Carers Week 2023

National Carers Week will run from Sunday 15 to Saturday 21 October 2023.

It is a time to recognise, celebrate and raise awareness about the 2.65 million Australians who provide care and support to a family member or friend.

Carers make up nearly 11% of our population. Many combine paid work with caring for someone with disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness or someone who is frail aged.

Offering flexible workplace provisions which allow employees to combine paid work with the caring role is essential for businesses to foster a productive, efficient and effective workforce.
  • There is a range of resources and supports available to carers and workplaces:
  • Carer Gateway: 1800 422 737
  • Your Caring Way: 1300 585 636
  • A Life Changing Life
  • The Women Who Care information hub
  • The Carers and Employers Program, which has 10 tips for a carer-friendly workplace fact sheet for employers.
To register, please visit National Carers Week.
The latest NCVER report shows that apprentice and trainee numbers are returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Although apprentice and trainee commencements in the March 2023 quarter declined since the 2022 peak, they are 13.1% higher than what they were in the March 2019 quarter.

Between the March 2022 and March 2023 quarters, apprentice and trainee commencements declined by 37.4%.

The largest decreases were seen in the Accommodation (66.5%), Construction (30.8%) and Administrative and Support Services (29.5%) industries.

As at 31 March 2023, there were 387 505 apprentices and trainees in-training, a 3.4% decrease from 31 March 2022.

Updated Skills Priority List

The latest Skills Priority List shows that 36 per cent of the occupations assessed are in shortage, with technicians and trade workers, and professional occupations (health, engineering, information communication technology (ICT) and science roles) having the highest shortages, particularly in regional and remote areas.

For further Information, please visit Jobs & Skills Australia.

Best Life, Best Work

‘Best Life, Best Work’ apprentice wellbeing program is designed to provide younger workers (and those new to work in industry settings) with information, insight and awareness around risks facing young and inexperienced workers that can impact on their employment, on safety at work and on personal wellbeing.

The purpose of this program is to ensure that every young worker is inspired – through awareness and understanding – to thrive in their chosen careers, to protect their employment, to be always at their best,to work safely always and to also ensure the wellbeing and safety of colleagues and co-workers.

Date: Tuesday 24th October 2023
Time: 9:30am - 4:00pm
Delivery: In Person

Facilitating Crucial Conversations

Sometimes we choose to avoid difficult conversations as they seem too hard, but unfortunately the problems remain unresolved. Other times we facilitate crucial conversations and wish we knew how to handle them better. Here’s the upside: there are well-tested communication strategies to swiftly turn dysfunctional situations into constructive conversations.

This engaging session is a great opportunity to learn how to guide and influence productive outcomes from difficult situations through a better understanding of human behaviours and with simple yet effective and powerful communication strategies.

Date: Wednesday 1 November 2023
Time: 10:00am - 1:30pm
Delivery: In Person



Registrations:
For information about these PD Session's and to register, please go to AEN Events Calendar
and select the event. All prices include GST.

AEN Members:
Please login to the members area prior to purchasing tickets to access the members rate or to RSVP for a free event.
Retrenched Apprentices and Trainees Program Logo
Since the program commenced in May 2020, a total of 1,133 participants have been supported to date.
  • 84% Male
  • 16% Female
For Individuals
Apprentices and trainees who have lost employment are encouraged to register.

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.
For Businesses
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.

For further information or to register for the program, please visit Apprenticeship Employment Network.
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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ApprenticeshipSupportAustralia
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WorkSight

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