The training of skilled workers in Europe: report of Australian Tripartite Mission 1968-69 [Tregillis report]

In July 1968, the then Minister for Labour and National Service, the Hon. Leslie Bury, in consultation with the then Minister for Immigration, the Hon. B. M. Snedden, appointed a Mission to Europe 'to investigate the methods for training skilled workers in European countries, particularly in relation to the engineering and electrical trades' to provide a basis for revising the criteria for the selection overseas and the recognition in Australia of migrant tradesmen coming within the scope of the 'Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act'. The Mission was required to submit a comprehensive report identifying and evaluating the methods of vocational training and other ways in which persons became skilled workers in various European countries. The report was a major contribution to training policy and helped raise awareness of the need for industry to train. It warned against relying on migration to overcome the shortage of skilled labour and stressed the need to update training methods within Australia, pointing out that out of all the advanced industrialised countries, Australia remained the only country where there was no general co-ordination of training on a national basis to ensure a uniformity of training methods, a uniformity of standards and a common acceptance of qualifications. It recommended increased funding for industrial training as the provision of adequate vocational training was extremely costly and the amounts devoted to technical education were small compared to the expenditure on general and tertiary education. It further recommended that the system of technical teacher training should be given greater attention. Following the report's publication, the Ministers of Labour Conference (MOLAC) supported increased Commonwealth involvement in the financing of technical education and noted the small amount spent by both the Commonwealth and the States on technical education as compared to the amount spent on the other sectors of education. Other direct outcomes included: the establishment of two 'train the trainer' centres in 1972; and the establishment in November 1973 of industry training councils in about 14 industry sectors which became the forerunners to national industry training advisory bodies (ITABs).

A summary report is indexed at TD/TNC 86.150. Show less