National Skills Week kicks off with a focus on 'real skills for real careers'

THE Global Apprenticeship Network Australia (GAN Australia) today announced National Skills Week will kick off 26 August.

During the week, GAN Australia will showcase apprenticeships and the way they can not only help students find their ideal career, but also they can help to address Australia’s skills shortage.  The purpose of the week each year is to celebrate and inform students and the wider public of the diversity and career pathways available through Vocational Education and Training Sector (VET), with announcements of emerging trends and new growth drivers connecting skills training with job outcomes.  

The theme for National Skills Week 2019 is Real Skills for Real Careers.

Gary Workman, GAN Australia’s executive director, said, “This is a great time to celebrate our successes, but it’s also the perfect time to highlight how apprenticeships can help students identify areas where there are jobs.  

"More than 65 percent of our youth go straight into university from secondary school without understanding the employment and career pathway options that are available.  We know that the majority of college graduates will not find jobs in their area of study.  We also know that Australia is suffering with serious skills shortages.

“We are in the process of establishing a national steering committee that will meet on 19 September and we invite any interested businesses to join us.  The steering committee will tackle current issues and promote best practices for two key areas.  The first is to help businesses attract and retain staff in a tough, ever-challenging business environment.  And at the same time, address youth unemployment.  

"The national youth unemployment average is 11 percent, but it can be as high as 28 percent in pockets around Australia.  Apprenticeships can help to solve both of these issues."

GAN brings businesses together to identify skill shortages where the apprenticeship model can help young people fulfill these shortfalls.  The move supports Australian companies in offering apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities, which have been on the decline.  Commencement numbers have been falling for the past four years and completion rates remain stubbornly low at the same time as Australia’s need for targeted, skilled workers continues to grow.

Apprenticeship programmes are vital to fulfilling employers’ needs and lowering youth unemployment in the future, according to GAN:

• They ensure that trainings matches the needswithin a company or industry.
• The programmes keep employers and employees up-to-date with changesin technology, work practices, and market dynamics.
• They link classrooms and workplace training so that young people acquire relevant skills.
• They equip young people with critically important core skills, such as problem solving, teamwork, and communication.
• They offer young people an income and real work experience. 
• They help young people clear the hurdle of having no job experience, a barrier that prevents many other graduates from securing their first job.

 

About Apprenticeship Employee Network (AEN)

The Apprenticeship Employment Network (AEN) is the peak industry body representing not for profit group training companies across Victoria and is part of a national network of group training associations.  This national network employs over 25,000 apprentices and trainees, Australia’s largest employer of apprentices and trainees.

Within Victoria AEN through its members, employs over 6500 apprentices and trainees across all industry sectors, which is supported by a network of 10000+ host employers – small to medium size businesses. AEN provides support and leadership to its members in the areas of advocacy, negotiation and policy setting at both the State and National level. These functions are achieved by working with governments, industry, as well as individual enterprises.

The core activity of the members of AEN is the employment and vocational training of young people to the levels and in the method set out in the Australian Qualification Framework. AEN is unique in that it represents a network of companies which not only spans the state of Victoria but represents an integrated network that has developed in a planned and structured way. The enduring asset achieved as a result of this planned process is a well-developed and cohesive communication network. Since AEN’s inception this communication network has developed so that it can deal with both operational and policy issues, and can do this at all levels of group training operation.

In addition to supporting the needs of its constituent member companies, AEN provides a variety of support to small business and to schools. Over the past few years AEN has played a major role in the development of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Schools and is an active promoter of school based apprenticeships.

About GAN Australia

The GAN is a business-driven alliance with the overarching goal of encouraging and linking business initiatives on skills and employment opportunities for youth - notably through apprenticeships. The GAN is a network where private sector companies, business federations and associations come together to share best practices,to advocate and to commit to action around youth employability and skills development. The initiative is driven by business leaders, who use this global platform to promote apprenticeship and internship programmes worldwide. They reach out in their respective countries and industries to mitigate the youth unemployment and skills mismatch crises. At the same time they strengthen their companies' competitive strategies by investing in their workforces.

 

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