Developing skills in Australia

Paulette Dunn-smith, Contributor

For the past two weeks, we have been looking at the role that public sector training agencies play in improving workforce productivity. Specifically, we looked at the National Training Agency of Brazil and the Workforce Development Agency of Singapore as models in aiding in the transformation of their economies and contributing significantly to improving workforce productivity. This week, we take one final look at a country with a successful record as a public-sector agency with responsibility for training, and its role in improving workforce productivity: the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in Australia. Next week, we will draw some conclusions and examine the common factors across these entities which have enabled them to overcome the adversities of the global recession and to maintain or increase their workforce productivity levels.

Australia is an island continent with a population of 22 million. It has a sound, stable, competitive economy with a strong governance structure. The country has had approximately 20 consecutive years of economic growth, ranking Australia among the top developed countries in terms of sustained rates of growth. However, its long and extensive period of economic growth has stretched its infrastructure capacity to the limit. In recognition of the potential threats to its sustained growth, the government committed in 2008 to introducing a new national approach to planning, funding, and implementing the nation's future infrastructure needs. The new approach would require thousands of additional skilled workers, and the existing workforce needed to be up-skilled and upgraded.

Involved in this strategic move was the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). This is the leading government agency providing national leadership in education and workplace training overseeing the transition to work and conditions and values in the workplace. So important was this initiative that the government appointed a minister of skills and jobs to oversee the process.

Boosting economic potential

Among the objectives of the DEEWR is the development of the economic potential and capability in people that Australia will need to build future economic prosperity and international competitiveness. This is being accomplished through skills development and the growth of employment. The department also seeks to actively engage with clients and stakeholders to ensure that their services, advice, and resources respond to the needs of these groups. The DEEWR looks for efficiencies and innovative, targeted and effective solutions in developing the national economic potential of the Australian people.

Working in tandem with the DEEWR is Skills Australia, an independent statutory body comprising workforce training education and development experts who provide advice to the minister on current, emerging, and future workforce-skills needs and workforce-development needs.

Among other things, they work with industry stakeholders to obtain information, they analyse the needs of employers across industry sectors and provide government with recommendations to reform the education and training sector.

The government relies heavily on signals from industry sector groups and bodies to develop and implement workforce improvement plans. These industry-led responses are key components of the government's participation and productivity agendas which have increased the workforce capacity of industry sectors that are now growing strongly.

One of the initiatives is a Productivity Places Programme (PPP) whose primary objective is the provision of targeted training to support the development of skills in Australia to meet existing and future industry demands. Under the Skilling Australia for the Future initiative, the PPP aims to provide access to up to 711,000 qualifications over a five-year period, for existing workers wanting to gain or upgrade their skills, and for job seekers wishing to enter the workforce.

The Australian government's investment through the PPP in areas of existing and future skills needs is increasing the qualifications of Australians and playing an important role in preparing the workforce for the future. By the end of 2010, over 366,000 persons had started training under this programme.

Notable initiative

Another notable initiative was the establishment in November 2009 of a national resources sector employment task force to help secure more than 70,000 additional skilled workers needed for major projects planned for roll-out over a five-year period. After a two-year in-depth study, specific industry sectors have been targeted - construction, renewable energy and the infrastructure sectors - as efforts are made in the workforce development projects to up-skill existing workers, and train and place job seekers into new positions created by the strong growth of these industry sectors.

The task force's final report to Government Resourcing the Future was published in the middle of last year, and recommendations were made for seven key areas of workforce development for the resources sector to (1) promote workforce planning and sharing of information, (2) increase the number of trade professionals, (3) graduate more engineers and geoscientists from the tertiary sector, (4) meet temporary skills shortages with temporary migration, (5) strengthen workforce participation, (6) forge stronger ties between industry and education, and (7) address the need for affordable housing and community infrastructure.

All the recommendations of the task force have been accepted by the government. On March 15, the minister for skills and jobs, Senator Jill Evans, in a press release, noted that "funding is being targeted at practical, industry-based solutions designed to deliver skilled workers".

The Australian workforce is set to continue on its productivity growth path.

Next week, we look at commonalities across the three countries studied to seek ways of addressing workforce productivity of Jamaica.

Paulette Dunn-Smith is the executive director of Dunn, Pierre, Barnett and Associates Ltd. and chairman, Caribbean Career and Professional Development Institute. She can be contacted at pdunn@dpbglobal.co, or www.dpbglobal.com.