46th Meeting of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee
VET Reform update
The Committee received an overview of the Government’s election commitments for the skills sector that included the establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia, commitments to TAFE, New Energy Apprenticeships, and the New Energy Skills Program.
Training packages: Project/Policy Issues
Update on Electrotechnology Training Product Development Projects
The Committee welcomed Mr Larry Moore, Chair, Electrotechnology IRC, and Mr Paul Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Industry Standard, who provided an update on the electrotechnology training product development projects. Members noted the Electrotechnology IRC is making good progress with all training product development work and expects all projects to be completed for approval by the AISC before the end of the year.
Transition update: Approach for managing unfinished training package projects
In the context of Skills Ministers’ decision in late 2021 regarding the wind-down of the current Training Product Development Programme and transition to the new industry engagement arrangements, the AISC considered arrangements for the termination of projects that cannot be completed in 2022. In considering its approach, the Committee was mindful that Skills Ministers have agreed that the handover of training packages, as well as incomplete projects, must commence in the final quarter of 2022 to support a smooth and efficient transition.
With that in mind, the AISC agreed to apply the following criteria in determining if a project is in scope for termination:
1. the validation draft (Milestone 3 of the project) is not available by 1 September 2022
2. if the Case for Endorsement is due at the final AISC meeting in November and has not been submitted to the Secretariat by 21 October 2022.
Members agreed the Committee will review the list of projects in scope for termination at its October 2022 meeting and will formally notify IRCs and SSOs of their decision.
Certificate IV in School Aged Education and Care: Six-month delay to deletion
The AISC considered an update on progress to implement the replacement course for Certificate IV in School Aged Education and Care following agreement in 2021 it be deleted from the register as it was no longer fit for purpose. Deletion had been delayed until 30 June 2022 to allow time for the replacement Certificate III to be implemented and to avoid any gap in training.
The AISC was very pleased to note the work being undertaken by the National Outside School Hours Services Alliance (NOSHSA) to develop a accredited course to pilot as a more suitable alternative to the Certificate IV. This includes completing the accreditation process with ASQA.
The decision to delete the Certificate IV qualification was supported by Skills Ministers with deletion to be delayed until 30 June 2022 so there would be sufficient time to fully implement a replacement accredited course and ensure there is no gap in training.
The Committee noted that engagement with interested registered training organisations is underway, but that further work with states and territories is still required to support consideration of issues around subsidy eligibility and traineeship recognition, which is unlikely to be fully concluded prior to 30 June 2022.
Given these circumstances, and acknowledging the ongoing work being progressed by NOSHSA to settle funding and implementation arrangements, the AISC agreed deletion should be delayed for 6 months to 31 December 2022.
Cases for Endorsement
The Committee considered the following new Cases for Endorsement for referral to Skills Ministers.
|
IRC |
Details of submission |
AISC Decision |
|---|---|---|
|
Animal Care and Management IRC ACM Animal Care and Management Training Package V6.0 – Trainers of Assistance Dogs and Companion Animal Incident Management |
The Case for Endorsement updates:
|
Approved the training products for endorsement
|
|
Agriculture and Production Horticulture IRC AHC Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management Training Package V.8.0 – Water Allocation and Entitlement Skills |
The Case for Endorsement includes:
|
Approved the training products for endorsement
|
|
Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical IRC FBP Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Training Package V8.0 – Australian Native Bush Foods (Indigenous Food Skill Set) |
The Case for Endorsement includes:
|
Approved the training products for endorsement
|
|
Maritime IRC MAR Maritime – Release 9
|
The Case for Endorsement includes the following projects: Project A: Marina Operations
Project B: Vessel Traffic Services
|
Approved the training products for endorsement
|
|
Public Safety IRC POL Police Training Package Release 6.0 – Police Surveillance |
The Case for Endorsement updates:
|
Approved the training products for endorsement
|
|
Transport and Logistics IRC and Rail IRC TLI Transport and Logistics – Release 12
|
The Case for Endorsement includes three projects: Project A: Customs Brokering
Project B: Rail Traffic Pilot
Project C: Electric Heavy Vehicle
|
Approved the training products for endorsement
|
Next meeting: The next AISC meeting will be held on Wednesday 17 August 2022.
Download the Communique as a PDF here