The Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council welcomes the budget announcements that support the development of the National Vocational Education and Training Industry.
The Critical Investment Fund (CSIF) is of particular interest to the Skills Council as it is the method through which Skills Councils directly interface with industry in the analysis of workforce development strategies that have the capacity to lift productivity through increased skill and knowledge application. Funding for these actions has been applied by Skills Councils through the Enterprise Productivity Placement Program (EBPPP) which will now morph into the CSIF.
Increase funding to provide support in adult language literacy and numeracy (LLN) will help offset a key constraint in the industry where a lack of these skills limits the capacity for further learning and career progression for many people. The Skills Council has provided feedback to Government to extend support for the Workplace Language and Literacy (WELL) program and to provide sufficient funding for skilled LLN personnel to deliver services in industry and in the context of the workplace; the budget measures make a serious commitment in this area. It is anticipated that each Skills Council will be able to receive funding to employ an industry focused (a person on the ground) resource for this area.
The Quality Skills Incentive, to be shared amongst the top 100 VET institutes (by enrollment volume) will provide opportunities for large institutions to raise quality standards in teaching and course completion rates. This initiative has the capacity to significantly improve the provision of training and information services to industry and to act as a catalyst for overall VET system improvement. For Transport and Logistics Industry Training Providers it may form the basis for new alliances that focus the long term provision of training in areas that have low student enrollments (lean markets) or where changes in industry dictate new training strategies.
Of course the emergence of the National VET Regulator is something that is welcomed by the Skills Council. The vocational training sector continues to suffer significant productivity and implementation challenges due to differences in funding and policy application in each jurisdiction. For many companies that seek to access government funded training across state boundaries the journey can be so complex they often just give up. Whilst the Enterprise Based Productivity Places Program provided a central point for the provision of training funds there are still significant gains that can be made through centralised and consistent vocational training regulation in Australia. We welcome the future in this regard and look forward to building a vocational training system that supports industry and individuals.