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1. JOB ADS DROP ACROSS ALL SKILL LEVEL GROUPS
The National Skills Commission (NSC) has released its July 2022, Internet Vacancy Index (IVI), which shows job ads have fallen by 3.8% (or 11,200 job advertisements) to stand at 288,500.
It is the first recorded monthly fall in 2022. This follows six consecutive monthly increases from January 2022 to June 2022.
The report states, “The decline in job advertisements occurred across all Skill Level groups, with the strongest percentage decreases in:
- Skill Level 5 occupations (commensurate with a Certificate I or secondary education); down by 4.1% (or 1,700 job advertisements)
- Skill Level 3 occupations (commensurate a Certificate IV or Certificate III); down by 4.0% (or 1,700 job advertisements)
- Skill Level 1 occupations (commensurate with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher); down by 4.0% (or 4,200 job advertisements).
Job advertisements fell across 41 of the 48 detailed occupational groups during July 2022. Hospitality Workers recorded the largest fall over the month (down by 3,400 job advertisements or 31.6%).”
2. APPLY NOW – CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL’S SEEKS TECHNICAL SERVICES SME
The Clean Energy Council is looking to recruit a Technical Services Subject Matter Expert (SME). This role is permanent, can be either part or full-time and based in Melbourne. The CEC is open to candidates Australia-wide as the position represents a national role.
The role of Technical SME is to provide support to designers and installers in the field around Australia so that they can complete their work to industry best practice standards. This role would suit a qualified electrician or electrical engineer with CEC Accreditation for PV designer/installation.
The prospective candidate must have:
- Comprehensive knowledge of relevant legislative, standards and frameworks relating to the PV sector and electricity supply sector.
- Experience installing PV Experience designing and/or installing PV and/or energy storage systems.
- Experience communicating highly technical information both verbally and in writing.
- Strong computer skills – Microsoft Office suite of packages, especially Excel.
The Clean Energy Council is the peak body for the renewable energy and energy storage industry in Australia. They represent and work with hundreds of leading businesses operating in solar, wind, energy efficiency, hydro, bioenergy, energy storage, geothermal and marine along with more than 6000 solar installers. We are committed to accelerating the transformation of Australia’s energy system to one that is smarter and cleaner.
Applications, should include a cover letter and CV and will be reviewed progressively, closing on 4 September 2022 11:59pm.
3. BUSINESS AND ACTU CALL FOR IMPROVED FUNDING FOR TAFES, APPRENTICESHIPS
TAFE Directors Australia reports in the TDA Newsletter of 29 August 2022, that key industry groups and the ACTU have issued a joint call for improved funding for TAFE, as well, continued apprentice wage incentives.
The article states, “Ahead of this week’s Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra, key industry groups and the ACTU have issued a joint call for improved funding for TAFE and for continued apprentice wage incentives to help generate skilled workers.
The joint statement was released yesterday by the ACTU, Australian Industry Group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Business Council of Australia.
It says governments should maintain a strong commitment to the provision of high-quality training in VET by robust, innovative and properly supported public TAFEs along with private, non-profit and enterprise training providers.
It says Australia’s apprenticeship system can be world leading but needs to be reinvigorated to meet workforce needs now and into the future, including in digital skills.
See the Jobs and Skills Summit agenda
4. AUSTRALIAN APPRENTICESHIPS SUMMARY STATISTICS REPORT TO DEC 2021
The Australian Apprenticeship and Traineeship Information Service (AATiS) has updated the quarterly Australian Apprenticeships Summary Statistics report for the year to December 2021.
This report highlights the updated annual Australian Apprenticeships Summary and gives an insight into the current climate of Australian Apprenticeships.
The report provides highly sought upon information including being able to compare commencements in apprenticeship and traineeship qualifications classified by each State and Territory – This breakdown isn’t available anywhere else, and only provided by AATIS.
The report uses January 2021 to December 2021 data from NCVER’s Apprentice and Trainee Collection.
As of 31 December 2021, there were 1,079 approved Australian Apprenticeship qualifications in Australia. This is a decrease of 27.9% from 31 December 2020.
There were 1572 new qualifications approved by the States and Territories in the year to December 2021. This was a significant increase from the previous year to December 2020 (509). Qualifications are also removed throughout the year.
Australian Apprenticeship statistics overview
In the 12 months to 31 December 2021, compared with the previous year:
- Commencements increased by 27.5.% to 216,445
- Completions increased by 9.3% to 83,0558
- In-training numbers at 31 December increased by 16.8% to 349,235
Download the report here: AATIS eNewsletter Repoort
5. NEW RESEARCH EXPOSES ELECTRICAL APPRENTICESHIP MENTORING AND SUPPORT CRISIS
The 23 August 2022 edition of Australian Manufacturing, buy AM News reported on the recent findings of a survey of apprentices in the electrical industry, which found Australia is facing a major training crisis in electrical apprenticeships.
The article states, “a new survey of electrical apprentices [reveals] the soaring cost of living and failing mentorship system is pushing people to the brink of quitting.” It included stagnant wages and little apprentices unable to advise as to the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) responsible for supporting them.
“Electrical apprentice completion rates currently sit at just 52 per cent – a figure that is far too low if Australia is to meet its international carbon emissions reduction commitments.
The research exposes deep problems with Australian Apprenticeship Support Networks (AASNs), which spent nearly $330 million of taxpayers’ money in the 2020/21 financial year.
Over the next four years, AASNs are slated to cost the budget almost $920 million.
The survey of 642 electrical apprentices, conducted by Essential Media for the Electrical Trades Union, showed more than 37 per cent considered quitting their apprenticeship.
The top reason apprentices gave for thinking about termination was wages (17 per cent) ahead of work culture (16 per cent) and cost of living (14 per cent).
Low apprentice wages are having a major impact with one-third reporting their pay was not adequate to cover bare necessities such as food, travel and housing.
The majority of apprentices spend between $50 and $99 on petrol each week, with 34 per cent travelling more than 200 kilometres to and from work.
AASNs have the responsibility of providing apprentices with mentoring and support.
But just 11 per cent of apprentices surveyed said they received mentoring from their AASN provider. Half received no support whatsoever.”
6. TRADIES TARGETED IN VET TEACHER RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN
Editor, Sean Carroll writes in the 22 August edition of Electrical Connection that an ongoing shortage of VET teachers continues to limit the availability and take-up of VET subjects in Australian secondary schools.
The article states, “This impacts the number of Certificate II and III qualified students available to take up apprenticeships in the trades, which further impacts the building industry and the wider economy.
In Melbourne’s northern suburbs, the Northern Melbourne VET Cluster (NMVC) – which is a consortium of 56 member schools covering Northcote to Whittlesea, and Essendon to Eltham – has launched a teacher recruitment drive called Trade up to Teaching. The NMVC is encouraging people who are qualified in the traditional trades to become VET in secondary school teachers in either a full- or part-time capacity.
“The NMVC offers more than 40 VET courses and many of our 2023 courses are already oversubscribed, primarily due to a lack of qualified VET teachers,” NMVC coordinator Vicki Bawden says.
“There’s never been a better time for tradespeople to become teachers and pass on their skills to the next generation.”
Interested tradespeople are encouraged to visit this link and complete an Expression of Interest Form. They’ll be put in touch with recruiting staff from one or more of the NMVC’s member schools that are seeking staff.”
7. UPDATE ON GAS TRAINING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
The 17 August 2022 Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) Meeting Communique reported that that Mr Michael Broomhead, Chair of the Gas IRC provided an update on progress of the current review of the UEG Gas Training Package.
The Communiqué stated that the Committee had, “noted growing demand for new workers in the industry and that an increased number of trainers and training providers are needed, particularly with the increased demand in job roles requiring hydrogen related skills. The current review will result in significant updates across the training package.”
AISC Members are to consider review of the UEG Gas Training Package as a high priority project at their October 2022 meeting.
For more information contact Shaun Thomas, Industry Skills Specialist – ESI Generation, Gas Supply on email: shaun.thomas@aistnds.org.au or mobile: 0409 505 196.
8. AISC ENDORSES RELEASE 4 UET TRAINING PACKAGE
The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) at is 17th August 2022 Meeting, approved the case for endorsement for the UET Electricity Supply Industry Transmission, Distribution and Rail Training Package, Release 4.0, submitted by the TDR Industry Reference Committee (TDR-IRC).
The approve of the training products for endorsement included the following:
- 4 new units of competency
- 79 updated units of competency
- 35 deleted units of competency
- Streamlining of 2 Diploma qualifications into the Advanced Diploma qualification
- 3 updated qualifications
- 3 deleted qualifications
- 1 new skill set
- 18 deleted skill sets
- Now it will proceed to Skills Ministers for consideration and endorsement.
See: ESI Transmission, Distribution and Rail Training Package AISC Approval for endorsement
9. AISC ENDORSES RELEASE 4 UEE TRAINING PACKAGE
The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) at is 17th August 2022 Meeting, approved the case for endorsement for the UEE Electrotechnology Training Package, Release 4.0, submitted by the Electrotechnology Industry Reference Committee (e-IRC).
The approve of the case for endorsement included four projects, as per the following:
- Project A: Advanced Diploma of Engineering Technology – Electrical
- 1 updated qualification
- 5 new units of competency
- Project B: Electricity Meters
- 1 updated skill set
- 1 updated unit of competency
- Project C: Hazardous Areas
- 2 updated qualifications
- 11 new units of competency
- 13 updated units of competency
- Project D: Assess and Report on Smoke Control Features
- 1 updated unit of competency
- 1 updated skill se
See: Electrotechnology Training Package AISC Approval for endorsement
10. DOES ASQA’S PLANNED WORK SUPPORT CONFIDENCE IN THE QUALITY AND INTEGRITY OF VET?
Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) issued a media release on 26 August 2022 announcing the publication of its Regulatory Risk Priorities for 2022-23.
The Media Release states, “Chief Executive Officer, Saxon Rice, said “As the national regulator of VET, ASQA’s job has never been more important to ensure quality and integrity of training outcomes that supports Australia’s recovery from the pandemic and the ambitious economic goals of government, particularly in areas of skills shortage.”
“ASQA supports confidence in the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers by ensuring our education, monitoring, compliance and enforcement activities make full use of intelligence and data so that the community can be confident that our regulatory efforts target the right areas based on analysis of risk”, Ms Rice said.
“In doing so ASQA manages risks proportionately and minimises regulatory burden, ensuring compliance and supporting providers to understand and address risks to quality outcomes”, Ms Rice said.
The 2022–23 regulatory priorities are:
- Aged care and disability support training
- Delivery to International students
- Market performance
- Economic factors
Notably AQSQ identifies the following 6 qualifications as higher risk and top priority:
- CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
- SIT40516 Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery
- CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
- BSB60420 Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management
- CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
However, one of the top apprenticeship participation qualifications in the country, the UEE30820 – Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician does not get a mention albeit ASQA have had a series of complaints of RTO poor performance. The focus seems more on protecting international students, whilst important, the local community seems forgotten.
It might be worth noting that poor performing graduates of the Electrician’s qualification and other allied trade qualifications present a very high risk in country, in that they have the potential to fatally harm or impact people, businesses and property. One has to question the rational in decision making of neglecting to protect, as a key priority, the Australian community.
11. ASQA PROVIDER ROUNDTABLE COMMUNIQUÉ (AUGUST 2022)
ASQA Provider Roundtable held its third meeting for 2022 on 3 August ASQA according to the ASQA Communiqué published on its website, 22 August 2022.
The Communiqué stated, “The Roundtable noted that with the commencement of ASQA’s Advisory Council, there will be adjustments to chairing arrangements for the Roundtable. ASQA also noted the importance of communicating the role and purpose of its different engagement forums.
ASQA Strategic Objectives and Risk Priorities
The Roundtable noted ASQA has refined and updated its Strategic from six to five Strategic Deliverables as part of its Corporate Plan 2022-23. …
Provider self-assurance of Standards for RTOs (Standards)
The Roundtable noted that the working model for provider self-assurance of Standards co-designed with the sector would be published shortly.
- Members also noted the planned next steps by ASQA would include:
- Refining regulatory tools and approaches understanding self-assurance
- Piloting a new approach to the Annual Declaration of Compliance
- Working with providers to promote self-assurance practices
- Identifying capability, tools and resources required
The Roundtable noted the inter-connection between the upcoming revision of the Standards and self-assurance, and that when further information from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations became available on the new Standards, it would be an important opportunity to critically examine any intended consequences or impacts.
Members agreed that there is an appetite for the regulated community and peak body groups to test and pilot the revised Standards with ASQA.
Other topics noted by the Roundtable were priorities and opportunities for collaboration, cost recovery and interna audit of ASQA’s risk management framework.
12. HUGE APPRENTICE INTAKE AS SA POWER NETWORKS EXPANDS TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Sean Carroll, Editor at Electrical Connection reports in the 25 August 2022 edition of the huge intake of apprentices by South Australia’s network electricity provider.
The article states, “SA Power Networks has commenced advertising for an intake of 69 new powerline and electrical apprentices in early 2023. It has also announced its intake of trainees, which already covers apprentices and graduates, to include a new category of cadetships.
The apprenticeship program develops the next generation of field crew, the graduate program brings new engineering and digital skills into the business and the cadetship program is aimed at developing the next generation of network program and works managers.
“We have been a major employer of apprentices and are stepping up our program even further in anticipation of significant additional work in coming years,” SA Power Networks head of corporate affairs Paul Roberts says.
He adds that SA Power Networks was entering a period of growth and needed skilled people in what is an exciting time to enter the energy industry: “This is probably the most exciting time in electricity since the expansion of the State’s grid in the 1950s-70s, which led to the State’s rapid industrialisation.
“We are leading the world in the shift to green energy and the electricity distribution network we manage is a key part of the transition,” he says.
With about 340,000 homes with solar and 30,000 with batteries, the network is already the biggest source of energy generation in South Australia – a complete turnaround from the one-way network of just a few years ago. That and the shift to electric cars makes for exciting times in electricity distribution.”
13. TAFE’S MEADOWBANK TRADES HUB OPEN FOR BUSINESS
The August addition of the Building, Construction, Resources and Infrastructure Industry Training Advisory Body (BCRITAB) Newsletter reports that Australia’s largest multi-trades hub is open for business with more than 3,000 carpentry, plumbing, and electrotechnology students learning the latest industry skills at TAFE NSW Meadowbank.
The article states, “Premier Dominic Perrottet, this week, officially opened the new $157 million state-of-the-art facility which will revolutionise trades delivery.
The custom-built hub forms part of the broader Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct and will enable TAFE NSW to train an additional 1,000 apprentices for in-demand jobs each year.
The 12,000 square-metre facility features dedicated plumbing pits and a large-scale, flexible space to accommodate the construction of full-scale buildings for use in carpentry and electrotechnology training.
The Meadowbank precinct will see another breakthrough early next year when the TAFE NSW Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) commences, with a focus on cutting edge training in digital technology.”
14. AUSTRALIAN FRIDGIE TO COMPETE AT CHILLVENTA – WORLDSKILLS
HVAC&R News reports in its 26 August edition that “Australian refrigeration and air conditioning technician Tom Clancy is set to travel to Germany in October to compete in the WorldSkills international competition at the Chillventa exhibition.”
The article states, “The scheduling of the competition came as welcome news for Clancy and the other international competitors, who were due to battle it out in Shanghai until that event was cancelled due to the pandemic. In some ways, it has been an improvement. In Shanghai, the teams would have been limited by extremely strict COVID-19 protocols, while in Germany, they will be free to move around and will compete in front of the public. Also, they will be smack bang in the middle in one of the largest HVAC&R events in the world.
Clancy says he is excited about the experience.
“It’s an honour to be representing Australia at a refrigeration expo over in Germany,” he says. “I think Chillventa itself is five times as big as ARBS, so I’m thrilled to get to go.”
Clancy admits that the past months have been a rollercoaster.
“At one point the competition wasn’t going to go ahead until 2024, and I didn’t really want to compete in 2024. But the countries agreed [to reorganise the event] and said Germany was a great idea.”
15. ENGINEERS’ – SKILLS RECOVERY ROADMAP
Editor, Sandra Rossi from Climate Control News (CCN) reports in the latest 24 August CCN News that Engineers Australia has released its skills recovery roadmap ahead of the Australian Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit.
With Australia experiencing its worst-ever skills shortage, the article states, “Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew said the report is a timely call to action on the dire state of the nation’s skills shortage, and that balancing supply with demand for engineers is a complex and long-term endeavour.
“We know challenges with skilled migration, lack of supply of local engineering graduates and plummeting rates of students taking up STEM subjects are factors,” Madew said.
“Engineers Australia’s ground-breaking research into Women in Engineering and Barriers to employment for migrant engineers are also telling us that under-utilisation of migrant engineers and lack of understanding around what engineers ‘do’ must also be addressed.”
The Strengthening the Engineering Workforce report identifies five factors influencing the profession’s supply of engineers and provides an inventory of tangible initiatives which – if implemented by government and industry – will lessen current and future shortages.
Strengthening the Engineering Workforce highlights the need for government, industry, the tertiary education sector, and professional associations to work together to overcome policy challenges and greenlight action.
“The long-term solution involves collaborative investment in young people and schools, industry-led development of early career graduates, a greater recognition of the value of women and migrant engineers, and community-wide awareness of the engineering profession,” Madew said.”
16. ELECTRICAL SAFETY INCIDENTS JUN-JUL – SHARING THE KNOWLEDGE
The NSW UE ITAB again is fortunate this month to be provided with the latest electrical incident reports from BluScope Steel. As stated previously the NSW UE ITAB has received permission from BlueScope Steel to share the information.
The aim is to help RTOs and industry practitioners have available, real case studies of electrical incidents that occurred in workplaces and which they can showcase in their programs or safety moments to highlight findings and how responses are actioned to occurring events.
The NSW UE ITAB again, sincerely thanks BlueScope Steel for their permission, and advises RTOs and industry practitioners to ensure they recognise attribution to BlueScope for sharing this information and treat the information for educational purposes only.
As we receive the incident reports, we will continue to share them accordingly.
For this News Service we have two Blue Scope Steel reports covering June 2022 and July 2022 (click on the links below).
For more information and BlueScope contact details please refer to the undersigned for more information. Again, a sincere thanks to BlueScope.
17. AEMO MARKET SUSPENSION REPORT – ANATOMY OF A CRISIS
EnergyInsider, a joint publication of the Energy Networks Australia (ENA) and Australian Energy Council (AEC) reported in its 25 August 2022 edition that Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) had published its much-anticipated statutory report on the National Electricity Market (NEM) events in the fortnight between 10 and 24 June 2022.
The article states, “Early in the crisis it was unclear exactly what was occurring, and some misinformed commentary pre-emptively blamed generator bidding behaviour, which was then repeated by mainstream media and politicians, unfairly tarnishing the industry’s image. AEMO’s report shows that the crisis was far more complex, and, if blame can be laid anywhere, it rests in rules written two decades earlier.” …
While the terms “crisis” and “unprecedented” are over-used in industry commentary, the scale of the events portrayed by the report most definitely justify them.
The seeds of the crisis were sown with international events months earlier, at the end of the pandemic and the start of the Ukraine war, spiralling into a perfect storm of bad luck by June. And, just when the industry needed them the most, the market rules failed it.
A price capping regime, conceived for different circumstances, greatly inflamed an already tight situation and forced AEMO to suspend the market. Many of the systems used to manage an extremely complex market became dysfunctional and whilst AEMO did its best to work around them, there were times that, as a result, the power system itself was at much more risk than it needed to be. Through great efforts by AEMO and the industry, no customers were blacked out, but a disaster could easily have ensued. …
Thus, the whole dispatch process was replaced with manual central decision making by AEMO. Thankfully, as the report states, generators worked closely with AEMO through the difficult period, and quite remarkably, maintained reliable supply to customers.
On the “WattClarity” website here and here, market experts have, with real examples, provided excellent explanations of the impossibility of rationing energy under a price cap.”
For more, contact Ben Skinner, Australian Energy Council
18. TRANSGRID REPORT RECOMMENDS FASTER – CHEAPER RENEWABLE ENERGY
Utility News reports in its 25 August 2022 e-news edition that Transgrid has published its Transmission Annual Planning Report 2022 which supports calls for major transmission projects to be delivered faster and cheaper for consumers.
The article states, “Transgrid Chief Executive Officer, Brett Redman, said, “We believe urgent action is needed to accelerate the timeline for when renewables can deliver affordable, low-cost reliable energy to homes and businesses.
“We are leaning into the acceleration of the energy transition to ensure we keep the lights on, drive down wholesale electricity prices and reduce emissions.”
The TAPR aligns with the Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2022 Integrated System Plan (ISP), which recommends that investment in new transmission needs begin “as urgently as possible”.
The earlier than anticipated exit of coal and the growing pipeline of renewables poised to come online suggests the transition could happen even more rapidly than the latest ISP forecasts.
“There is no transition without transmission and that is why priority transmission projects must be progressed as urgently as possible because the energy transition is accelerating,” Mr Redman said.
Transgrid is investigating integrating the HumeLink, EnergyConnect and VNI West projects into a single simultaneous program to deliver them earlier and cheaper, helping put downward pressure on customer bills.
“We must build now to facilitate the connection of new renewable generation and storage so we’re ready for the retirement of coal generation. The costs and risks of not acting are unacceptable for consumers,” Mr Redman said.
The TAPR is the culmination of an annual planning review to identify transmission network developments, key demand growth areas and an assessment of system security.
For the first time, Transgrid’s TAPR is projecting a shortfall of system strength and inertia to meet system requirements to happen in this decade, as coal-fired generation is retired or moves to more flexible operation.
19. TERAWATTS OF SOLAR AND A MILLION NEW JOBS
Sophie Vorrath, Deputy Editor at Renew Economy reports in the latest Renew Economy Daily Update of 25 August 2022 of new report which outlines the huge scale of Australia’s potential net-zero emissions challenge, but also the significant nation-building opportunities.
The article states, “A net-zero emissions Australia by 2050 will require a roughly 40-fold renewable expansion of the current generation capacity of the national grid, including the installation of almost 2 terawatts of solar PV, a new report has found.
The Net Zero Australia project, a research partnership between the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland, Princeton University and Nous Group, explores the opportunities and challenges for Australia in transitioning to net zero emissions.
NZA’s Interim Results report, published on Thursday, outlines the scale of the challenge for Australia as it seeks to meet its climate and renewable energy targets, but also the significant nation-building opportunity that the shift to net zero represents.
The report’s finding are based on modelling of a number of different scenarios that the authors say “reflect the boundaries of the Australian debate” on how to get to net-zero emissions.
Most scenarios place no limit on the rate at which renewables can be built, but only one scenario, dubbed E+RE+, allows only renewables for new build generation. Or as the report puts it another way, gas and oil play a significant role in all modelled scenarios, “except if they are not permitted,” as in E+RE+.
But even according to the report’s slightly less ambitious E+ scenario, which models nearly full electrification of transport and buildings by 2050, no limit on renewables rollout, and a lower cap on underground carbon storage, the scale of the task ahead is daunting. …”
“Clean energy exports are a major opportunity. Global demand for clean energy is currently uncertain, but Australian exports should be competitive. We stand to gain large export revenues and a million new Australian jobs, if exported energy stays around today’s level.”