43rd Meeting of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee
VET Reform update
This was the last meeting of the Committee for 2021 in what was acknowledged as a challenging year. Some of the key achievements by the Committee in 2021 were highlighted and members were thanked for their valuable contributions throughout the year. It was noted there is still significant work ahead in 2022 and the Committee will continue to play a key role in supporting Industry Reference Committees (IRCs) to ensure continuity and stability of the VET system during transition to the new arrangements.
Members also received an update on progress with development of the National Skills Agreement and the National Training Register Enhancement project.
Additional Activities to support a National Recovery Training Program
The Committee noted the interim report provided by Australian Industry Standards (AIS), which summarised its progress to date to identify common competency requirements for job roles related to disaster recovery. The Committee noted the skills audit component of the project has been completed and found an average gap of 50 per cent between the capabilities required for a recovery role in current units of competency.
The Committee noted the skills audit has identified the need for new units of competency to be developed to support recovery skills capabilities. The Committee approved an extension to an existing project on emergency management to also incorporate the findings of this skills audit, specifically the addition of the development of 2 qualifications, 7 skill sets and 5 units.
Training packages: Project/Policy Issues
Mining Skills Organisation Pilot – Digital Transformation Project
The Committee welcomed Mr Nigel Haywood, General Manager, from the Mining Skills Organisation Pilot (MSOP). Mr Haywood provided an update on progress to test an alternate fast-track process for incorporating accredited training into the RII Resources and Infrastructure Industry Training Package. Members noted the MSOP had engaged with the Coal Mining, Drilling and Metalliferous Mining IRCs, who are now considering the proposal.
The Committee noted the fast-track training product development project is aimed at addressing digital skills needs in the mining sector. The fast-track process will involve rapid consultation with IRC networks, broader industry stakeholders and State and Territory Training Authorities (STAs) during December and into January. Quality assurance processes will run parallel to the consultation process to ensure the training products meet the Standards for Training Packages. The project will test the possibility of incorporating accredited training into the national training system though a truncated consultation period.
First Aid Transition
The Committee noted the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) had agreed to extend the transition period for superseded first aid units by 6 months to 14 April 2022 to allow extra time for Skills Service Organisations (SSOs) and IRCs to update all remaining training products to reflect current first aid units. The Committee also agreed to expedite the training package development process allowing updates to be made via a ‘minor change’ process no later than 31 March 2022 to avoid any further delays to implementation and ensure training products that import first aid units (either as elective, core or perquisites) are updated by the new transition deadline.
The Department will communicate this decision as soon as possible to all relevant IRCs, SSOs and affected Registered Training Organisations. The Department will undertake an audit of affected training products in April 2022 to ensure all necessary updates have been made.