Government reforms will put the vocation back into vocational education and training, according to Master Builders Australia. Source: Timberbiz
“The Industry Minster has correctly focussed the Government’s reform of the VET sector to provide relevant training with a job as the outcome,” said Wilhelm Harnisch, CEO of Master Builders Australia.
“The reforms elevate the trades and vocational education as an essential part of Australia’s economic future and of equal value to a tertiary degree.
“Master Builders has long called for a restoration of the apprenticeship brand to encourage recognition by young people and their families that a trade qualification is a pathway to a rewarding career in the building industry.
“Builders want to employ more people to help meet the strong current and future demand and welcome the high priority that will now be placed on connecting employers with appropriately skilled workers and apprentices.
“The building and construction industry has seen significant change in the way buildings are constructed requiring different skill sets for which there are no appropriate accredited training courses.
“The current full trade qualifications need to be complemented by different skill sets to reflect the changing nature of building.”
Mr Wilhelm said that the initiatives announced by Industry Minister Ian McFarlane were in line with Master Builders calls for a new apprenticeship model capable of tackling declining apprenticeship commencements and completions through more demand driven training relevant to the needs of employers, better career advice and pathway programs and apprentice mentoring which has a proven record of reducing apprenticeship cancellations.
“Replacing red tape hotspots with the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network to provide practical support to employers and apprentices will deliver positive outcomes for the industry,” said Mr Wilhelm.
“Reforming Industry Skills Councils to make them more responsive and adaptable to industry needs is long overdue. Training packages need to be relevant and responsive to the changing nature of the building and construction industry,” he said.
“The review of the National Skills Standard Council Board is welcome and needs to actively involve the building and construction industry.”
He said Master Builders looked forward to working closely with the Government to ensure that the new arrangements reflect the industry’s needs.
