The Victorian Skills Pledge is a key initiative under the government's Securing Jobs for Your Future - Skills for Victoria policy, and is a voluntary commitment by businesses to driving business improvement through appropriate upskilling of their employees.
Taking the Victorian Skills Pledge is open to businesses of all sizes in the private, public and community sectors. It can be done quickly and simply through the online sign-up facility on the Skills Victoria website.
Skills for Growth: the Workforce Development Program provides a team of independent specialists who will work with you - free of charge - to identify your strategic business aims and objectives.
Further information is available on the Business Victoria website.
The Victorian Government and the Australian Government provide a range of incentives and assistance to support individuals and businesses with the uptake and successful completion of apprenticeships and traineeships.
The Skills Victoria website has further details.
The Deputy Prime Minister has announced Apprentice Kickstart - a $100 million investment to support two measures designed to counteract the impact of the global recession on Australian Apprenticeships commencements and retention.
Between 1 December 2009 and 28 February 2010, the Australian Government will provide a $3,350 Apprentice Kickstart Bonus to employers who take on a young person aged 19 years and under into a traditional trade Australian Apprenticeship. The introduction of the Apprentice Kickstart Bonus represents a tripling of Government support for employers of eligible Australian Apprentices in their first year of an Australian Apprenticeship.
Visit the Apprentice Kickstart page on the Australian Apprenticeships website for more information.
In November The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard announced a $25million program to co-fund 11,000 additional training places to address skills shortages as the economy improves.
From the press release:
The Enterprise Based Productivity Places Program (EBPPP) will provide up to 90 per cent of the cost of training from Certificate III to Advanced Diploma level. It is designed to increase the skills of existing workers especially in occupations on the priority occupations list.
The Government's contribution will depend on the size of the business, with organisations with less than 100 employees receiving 90 per cent of their training costs, those with between 100 and 199 receiving 75 percent, and those with 200 or more employees receiving 50 per cent of their training costs.
Read the rest of the press release here.
Find out more about the Productivity Placements Program here.
Applications must be directed through AgriFood and will be received until April 2010.
View information and register an application through AgriFood here.
In December 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed a new Green Skills Agreement.
[The Agreement] will enable individuals and businesses to contribute to a sustainable, low-carbon economy in their workplaces and communities.
The Agreement commits the Australian and state and territory governments to working with training organisations and business to ensure skills for sustainability are an integral part of all vocational education and training (VET) and are relevant to the needs of industry.
This commitment will be achieved by:
Click here to find out more information on the DEEWR website.
What is WELL?
WELL is the acronym for Workplace English Language and Literacy. It is a Government funded program that funds language, literacy and numeracy training for employees below a certain level in conjunction with undertaking accredited training.
For information on Workplace English Language and Literacy for the agrifood industry please visit the AgriFood Skills-Australia website.
Click here for the official Federal Government WELL website.
An interactive approach to Food Industry communication and safety
From Gordon Institute of TAFE:
Promotion packs of the “How do you know?”, Literacy in the Workplace resource were distributed in early October 2009 across Australia to 38 TAFEs and 45 RTOs listed/registered on the NTIS as delivering Food [...]
From AgriFood Skills Australia:
AgriFood Skills Australia is currently reviewing the Food Processing Training Package and as part of that review has decided to review the coverage of cheese making, including if required the development of new units of competency or a qualification to support cheese making in Australia.
Feedback must be returned by [...]
From the Dairy Australia website:
Victoria’s dairy producers triumphed at the 2010 Australian Grand Dairy Awards held at Carousel, Albert Park today, taking seven out of the twenty Champion titles in the categories of Dairy and Cheese, and winning the coveted title [...]
RMIT University has converted its existing Certificate IV in Food Science and Technology course into a 2 year part time program which is delivered directly into the workplace by flexible delivery (e-learning and print based) and assessed via workplace based projects. [...]
The Baking Industry Association of Victoria (BIAV) will be hosting it’s annual Easter in the Fruit Bowl event on Saturday, 20th and Sunday 21st of February.
[This is a] national event proudly sponsored by EOI Bakery and Oostra Spices. This highly successful annual event is becoming a firm favourite for both regional and metropolitan participants as [...]
The ABC website is hosting a short Salmonella Food Safety quiz on their website.
Do you know whether it’s chocolate mousse or baked custard that’s more likely to cause salmonella? Take our food safety quiz and learn how to enjoy your next picnic, without having to worry about uninvited ‘guests’.
Click here to take the quiz on [...]
AgriFood Skills Australia is seeking feedback on drafts of the Cert IV and Diploma level Food Science and Technology qualifications.
There are new units in many specialist areas including: Confectionery, Poultry and Dairy Processing, within this new suite of qualifications. Deadline for comment: 16 February.
The proposed national training package qualifications are intended to [...]
In December 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed a new Green Skills Agreement.
[The Agreement] will enable individuals and businesses to contribute to a sustainable, low-carbon economy in their workplaces and communities.
The Agreement commits the Australian and state and territory governments to working with training organisations and business to ensure [...]
Throughout 2009, the VFITB in conjunction with MESAB and supported by Skills Victoria, conducted a project to explore training options for Mechanical Trades people in the Food Processing industry. We are pleased to publish the final report and receive feedback from interested parties. In the first half of this year we will be promoting the [...]
From Peter Bush of the Food Technology Association of Australia (FTAA)
Food Science and Technology Education Forum
SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES
The FST Education Forum was held at CSIRO, FNS, Werribee on the 24th November 2009. It was attended by 46 delegates who represented Universities offering FST, TAFEs offering FST, Regional Development Victoria, representatives of the food industry and [...]
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