Welcome to the March edition of our newsletter

2024 Workforce Plans Draft now Available for Comment

The 2024 Workforce Plan drafts are now available for your feedback.  

Workforce Planning for each of our four key industries, Transport and Logistics, Rail, Aviation and Maritime, is central to our role as a Jobs and Skills Council. While data and research underpin the Plans, your insights and experience are critical to getting the information right. Bringing together your insights and our data and research builds a strong evidence base that will ensure the Workforce Plans are effective in addressing the issues that really matter, and delivering high-impact, meaningful solutions.  

The Workforce Plans set out the industry's workforce development challenges and opportunities and serve as a roadmap for the future by identifying what the national skills system, governments, and industry itself, need to do to build an agile, highly productive and resilient workforce. 

Together, we are shaping an innovative, inclusive, and forward-thinking future for your industry. 

Explore the Draft Workforce Plans and submit your feedback. 

Project Updates

We recently commenced two new training product development projects for the aviation industry. There will be opportunities for all stakeholders to have a say throughout the life of the projects. 

You can find out more about all of our projects here. 

Technical Committees of subject matter experts are currently being formed for these projects. If you’d like to express your interest in participating, you can find more information on the project pages linked below.

AVIATION RESCUE PROJECT 

The Certificate III in Aviation (Rescue Crew Officer) and Certificate IV in Aviation (Air Crew Officer) are being reviewed and updated to enable broader applicability across different sectors such as emergency services and defence.  

The review will enable more aircrew and rescue crew officers to access nationally accredited training, whether they use rotary or fixed-wing aircraft to conduct search and rescue operations in different contexts. This is expected to enhance the qualifications' usability, leading to increasing enrolments and greater workforce mobility.  

Find out more here. 

AVIATION: TRANSPORT SECURITY PROTECTION PROJECT 

This project will review and update the Certificate II in Transport Security Protection (TSP) to align it with regulatory changes, the latest technologies and current industry practices. 

Screening officers in the aviation, maritime, and air cargo sectors are required to hold a Certificate II in TSP. The review will ensure that skill standards are in line with current workplace requirements in each sector. This will streamline and enhance the delivery of the qualification by training providers, leading to increased efficiency and lower delivery costs, especially for regional training providers. 

Find out more here. 

MARINE ORDER 505 PROJECT 

Draft materials aligning training products with Maritime regulation Marine Order 505 have been developed by a Technical Committee of subject matter experts and Industry Skills Australia is currently seeking stakeholder feedback.  

 The draft materials include the following new Skill Set and Unit of Competency:  

• Coxswains Grade 3 Skill Set  
• Command and manage a voyage on a vessel up to 45 metres (Near coastal)  

The project has also updated 18 qualifications, eight Skill Sets and 76 Units of Competency.  

Find out more here.  

TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS: CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY PROJECT 

Feedback has been received on draft updates of two Units of Competency pertaining to Chain of Responsibility, which have been aligned with National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) requirements.  

A Technical Committee of subject matter experts revised the units to incorporate principal obligations relating to Chain of Responsibility for specific job functions, and current industry terminology. 

Find out more here. 

Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System

The Australian Government has initiated a strategic review of the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System in light of the critical skills shortages Australia faces, plus a massive drop in apprentices and trainee commencements, the most severe in recent decades. 

The review will: 

• Examine the complementary role of services, support and high-quality training provision.  
• Address the need to build the necessary skills and talent in the workforce.   
• Support businesses to meet their current and emerging skills needs, including future pathways that emerge with the net zero transformation.  
• Consider the cost-of-living pressures and financial stresses that prevent apprentices from completing their training.  
• Ensure engagement with underrepresented groups, such as women, First Nations people, and people with disabilities, to improve apprenticeship participation in priority occupations facing skills shortages.  

The review will be informed by targeted research and underpinned by broad stakeholder consultation. 

For more information: 

• Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System 
• Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System Guidelines 

New Jobs and Skills Australia Commissioner

Professor Barney Glover has been named the next Commissioner of Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA). Professor Glover will assume the role in April 2024, replacing David Turvey, appointed as acting Commissioner, and Professor Peter Dawkins, the founding Commissioner. 

Professor Glover comes from long careers in both business and academia, having held senior leadership roles in both fields. 

Previous roles included Vice Chancellor of Charles Darwin University, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research at the University of Newcastle, pro Vice Chancellor of Research and Development at Curtin University, and Chair of Universities Australia. 

In January 2019, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to tertiary education, professional associations, and cultural organisations. 

Professor Glover has also served on the boards of corporate organisations and several state and national centres in fields including health and medical research, energy, mineral exploration and telecommunications. 

In his new role, he will work closely with JSA’s tripartite partners, including employers, unions, state and territory governments, and the education and training sectors, to ensure JSA’s advice to government and stakeholders is high-quality, balanced, and incorporates a wide range of views. 

Industry Skills Australia congratulates Professor Glover on his appointment, and we look forward to working with him to advance the skills development of Australia’s workforce.