Search Results

This document follows the Agribusiness, Food and Fibre Industries Skills Report [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 149.307], which was produced collaboratively with the assistance of 12 Industry Reference Committees. The Agribusiness, Food and Fibre Industries Skills Report documented the skills and issues that are common across those industries. This document is an attempt to identify how those common issues relate specifically to the Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation and Ecosystem Management industries.

Key findings include: (1) The Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation and Ecosystem Management industries are going through significant transformation and facing challenges from multiple sources, including natural disasters, global markets, changing consumer taste, technological development and the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic; (2) The demands for skills, labour and work are likely to grow beyond the current predictions and expectations of the National Skills Commission and other analysis bodies. This points to a lack of analytic data available specifically for this field, including on new and emerging industry sectors and skills, which is expanding as the industry continues to be elevated as a national priority, especially in relation to addressing climate and in recognition of the critical importance of biodiversity and biosecurity to all Australian land and water activities.

The Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping and Conservation and Land Management IRC have identified priorities which they recommend for future consideration, including: the finalisation of the Unit Sector Approach for reviewing the AHC Training Package, and further consideration of the Rural Operations qualifications, including the potential for greater recognition of ecosystem management as a key part of rural activities; evaluation of the Unit Sector Approach for the review of the AHC Training Package; working with other agribusiness, food and fibre industries on research and planning projects to identify and address skills gaps relating to traceability, provenance and blockchain; identifying digital skills needs using the Digital Workforce Capability and vocational education and training (VET) framework currently in development (along with other digital capability frameworks); and working with the Arts and Personal Services Cluster (specifically relating to Tourism and Hospitality) to ensure that food handling, biosecurity, provenance, traceability and other relevant skills are incorporated into their qualifications with the guidance of experts from the Agribusiness, Food and Fibre Industry Cluster.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

Rural regions in Australia have been, and continue to be, distinguished by very different population and labour market characteristics than those of more urbanised areas. Since the 1980s, rural regions have been exposed to a range of economic events and policies which has impacted on the structure and composition of the population and the labour force. These changes include trade liberalisation and globalisation, deregulation, declining numbers of agricultural establishments, advances in technology, increases in productivity and changes in the levels of public and private provision of goods and services. In addition, in recent years, serious shortages of labour, particularly skilled labour, has emerged as a major issue facing rural regions.

However, there has been little economic research into rural labour markets relative to other labour markets, particularly since the 1980s. While there has been significant public discussion and political debate in recent years on the apparent changes experienced by rural regions, evidence regarding the nature, causes and impacts of these changes has often been anecdotal. For example, there is the popular notion of the 'tree change' which refers to the idea that people are leaving metropolitan areas and moving to rural areas. Concurrently, there is also the significant discussion on the 'rural downturn', which refers to the belief that rural regions are declining in term of population and employment growth. Further, the agricultural sector has continued to be cited as the likely cause for downturns in rural population and employment growth rates in rural areas. However, again, there is a lack of economic research to substantiate these claims.

The aim of this thesis is to redress the lack of economic research and to provide a comprehensive analysis of rural labour markets and population in Australia since the 1980s. Analysis focuses on the changing structure and composition of rural labour markets and the impact of population shifts on rural localities. Evidence is provided on the extent to which two decades of significant structural, technological and regulatory change have impacted on rural labour markets in Australia. This then provides a sound basis for the policy discussion in this thesis on population and labour market changes in rural Australia and the causes and implications of these changes.

Published abstract. Show less

This document follows the Agribusiness, Food and Fibre Industries Skills Report [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 149.307], which was produced collaboratively with the assistance of 12 Industry Reference Committees. The Agribusiness, Food and Fibre Industries Skills Report documented the skills and issues that are common across those industries. This document is an attempt to identify how those common issues relate specifically to the Agriculture and Production Horticulture industries.

Key findings include: (1) The Agriculture and Production Horticulture industries are going through significant transformation and facing challenges from multiple sources, including natural disasters, global markets, changing consumer taste, technological development and the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic; (2) With such a smorgasbord of issues impacting on agriculture, it is difficult to identify the priorities relating to workforce planning and skills needs. Currently it is clear that the industry needs access to labour, the recovery from natural disasters, stabilisation of markets and access to new and recently closed markets before workforce planning and skills needs can be addressed.

The Agriculture and Production Horticulture Industry Reference Committee has identified priorities which they recommend for future consideration, including: the finalisation of the Unit Sector Approach for reviewing the AHC Training Package, and further consideration of the Rural Operations qualifications, including the potential for broader skills requirements as a key part of rural activities; working with other industry clusters, identify qualifications that need to incorporate new and updated units from the current AHC Training Package project to identify a quick way to ensure adequate consultation can take place to update qualifications to ensure access to the most recent training standards and to assist registered training organisation (RTO) delivery of units; identifying any assistance that can be provided across all industries utilising AHC training products to enhance appropriate implementation, enrolments and viability of training delivery; evaluation of the Unit Sector Approach for the review of the AHC Training Package; working with other agribusiness, food and fibre industries on research and planning projects to identify and address skills gaps relating to traceability, provenance and blockchain; and identifying digital skills needs using the Agricultural Digital Workforce Framework, and the Digital Workforce Capability and vocational education and training (VET) framework currently in development (along with other digital capability frameworks).

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This research is about how one community college preserved and strengthened their technology internships during [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID with commitment and creativity. Although the college, employers, and students faced technical, logistical, and supervisory challenges in maintaining technology internships through the pandemic, the college was committed to ensuring their resilience because they were required for graduation. As a result, many interns had opportunities to gain new skills related to navigating virtual work arrangements. In addition, employers drew on interns to fill staffing shortages and internships continued to serve as a key bridge to technology employment during the pandemic.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

Energy and utilities are an essential part of our daily lives and business operations. From lighting, cooling and heating to the gadgets, computers and appliances we use in homes, offices, or factories, energy and utilities industries play a vital role.

The energy and utilities industries that Australian Industry Standards (AIS) supports - Electrotechnology; Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) Generation; ESI Transmission, Distribution and Rail; Gas; and Water make significant contributions to Australia's economic prosperity. Together, they employ over 465,000 people, generating an annual revenue of over $165 billion in 2021-22.

We have identified five megatrends which have and will continue to impact the energy and utility industries. Strategic planning and workforce development are among the keys to meeting the challenges and opportunities presented by these megatrends. The significance of training and skills development have never been more important. A future ready and agile workforce with transferable skills will enable greater workforce mobility and increased efficiency across multiple industries.

The five megatrends include: (1) Double disruptors - digital transformation together with the current pandemic has caused a double disruption to industry, leading business and economic activities to shift rapidly to the online world; (2) Renewables, sustainability, and low emissions technologies - The decarbonisation of the energy and utilities industries has begun in earnest in Australia. Under Australia's Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan, numerous digital solutions are being developed to support the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050; (3) Data analytics - The adoption of digitalisation and data analytics technologies in the energy and utilities industries is transforming day-to-day operations and creating numerous opportunities; (4) Labour shortages - an industry-wide labour shortage is adversely affecting Australia's economic recovery; (5) Digital transformation - the acceleration of digitalisation has impacted the skills needs of the workforce, requiring many to upskill or reskill to keep pace with the digital demand.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website. Show less

For some time, special education has been plagued by shortages of qualified teaching staff and by high turnover rates for these staff. While several factors - external, employment and personal - are largely responsible for this situation, the research demonstrates that the initial professional experiences of early career teachers are closely associated with their longevity in the field. This paper reviews the literature on mentoring support for beginning teachers, mentoring models and the use of information technologies in mentoring support. The paper concludes with recommendations for methods of support for Australian early career special education teachers.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

To remain competitive in technological growth and innovation, Europe must recruit and retain women for the fastest-growing tech roles of the foreseeable future.

European leaders looking to build competitive advantage and growth by addressing their technology gap should consider one fact: women occupy only 22 per cent of all tech roles across European companies. That's a stunning statistic at a time when technology underpins so much of the innovation and growth in the world today. Addressing this shortfall is about much more than doing the right thing; it's an economic necessity. While the spate of tech layoffs in the face of economic uncertainties ahead has caused companies to rethink their talent strategies, only 7 per cent of the layoffs have been in Europe, according to the State of European tech report for 2022, and the underlying economic fundamentals that rely on tech talent remain in place.

In fact, McKinsey analysis shows a tech talent gap of 1.4 million to 3.9 million people by 2027 for EU-27 countries. If Europe could double the share of women in the tech workforce to about 45 per cent, or an estimated 3.9 million additional women by 2027 - something we believe is possible - it could close this talent gap and benefit from a GDP increase of as much as €260 billion to €600 billion. To better understand why Europe struggles to find and retain tech-talented women, and to determine how best to address the issue, we undertook a detailed analysis of the entire development funnel in Europe, from primary school all the way to entering the workforce.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

Recognising the important role that the vocational education and training (VET) sector has in skilling the Western Australian workforce for the economy, the State Training Board commissioned this project to inform planning for the VET sector beyond the current economic boom. Using economic modelling, a range of economic and labour forecasts for Western Australia to 2016 were provided based on different outlooks for the resources industry. The modelling has found that the Western Australian economy is unlikely to experience a boom-bust scenario in the short to medium term. It is more likely to experience a gradual softening from the current strong growth in demand for its commodities and products suggesting that industry will continue to face skills shortages, particularly in those sectors unable to pay higher wages to attract and retain workers. This project report consists of three main parts: Part one provides a range of economic and labour forecasts for Western Australia; Part two provides an overview of the current training system, identifies capacity for change in the current VET system and the extent to which emerging industries supported by Government policy and funding may be affected by the modelling results; Part three summarises the main conclusions and recommendations for a VET response to the longer term training needs of the State. Conclusions include: (1) the current focus on apprenticeships and traineeships in the mining and construction industries is warranted; (2) focus on community and service occupations should not be neglected; (3) strategies engaging students in training need to be developed to ensure skill levels in the workforce are maintained to avoid a skills shortage down the track; (4) strategies need to be developed to encourage non-traditional cohorts to take up VET training; (5) labour force planning for emerging industries needs to be considered separately from the results of the model and in line with direct skills and occupations required; (6) strategies need to be considered to ensure the training system caters for those people in the community who miss out on the postive effects of a strong business cycle. The main recommendation arising from the project is for a white paper be developed incorporating these issues and to look more broadly at developing and coordinating a response by the Department of Education and Training to training in the context of the current skills shortages. Show less

STEM education and skills are front of mind for the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) as they are critical to Australia reaching its technology-powered, human-driven potential. ATSE's expert Fellowship has identified five key areas for exploration where the current and possible future lack of skilled workers will hold Australia back from reaching its aspirations. These areas are: (1) Mathematics in regional, rural and remote schools; (2) Digital skills: from coding to skills for the entire workforce; (3) Capacity development for a technology-driven agricultural transformation; (4) Addressing the engineering shortages; and (5) Promoting entrepreneurial skills in Australia.

Across July and August 2022, ATSE held a series of national roundtables to explore key issues in each of these domains, and potential short and medium-term solutions to solve our skills shortages. The sessions were led by ATSE Fellows and were attended by over 120 individuals across industry, academia, and government. Findings highlight that collaborative national action between government, industry, education, unions, peak bodies, and individuals will be required to drive rapid and sustainable action. The overarching recommendations from the series of five roundtables are provided in this report, along with topic-specific recommendations.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

At its 329th Session (March 2017), the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) endorsed the proposal for including a sectoral meeting on the recruitment and retention of seafarers and the promotion of opportunities for women seafarers in the programme of sectoral meetings for 2018-19. The purpose of the Meeting would be to discuss the issues raised in resolution 11 concerning the recruitment and retention of seafarers, and the resolution 2 regarding the promotion of opportunities for women seafarers, as adopted by the 94th (Maritime) Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 2006.

The resolution concerning recruitment and retention of seafarers - adopted at the 94th (Maritime) Session (2006) of the ILC - noted that there was a projected shortage of suitable qualified seafarers and that it was fundamental to the sustainable operation of the maritime sector that it be able to continue to attract new entrants and establish proper career paths for officers. The resolution acknowledged the industrial change occurring in 'traditional' maritime countries which was leading to a substantial loss of their maritime skills base. It considered the need to improve the conditions of work and opportunities for seafarers, and that the recruitment and retention of seafarers in a global labour market was a complex issue, involving a social, political and economic dimension and - where appropriate - the provision of suitable policies by government and industry.

This report was prepared for discussion at the Sectoral Meeting on the Recruitment and Retention of Seafarers and the Promotion of Opportunities for Women Seafarers (Geneva, 25 February - 1 March 2019). Chapter 1 provides a general overview of the maritime sector in order to place the issues of recruitment and retention in context. Chapter 2 focuses on the factors that impact the recruitment of seafarers. Chapter 3 describes the challenges linked to the retention of seafarers. Chapter 4 addresses the factors that impact the participation of women seafarers in the sector.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less