COVID-19 has disrupted work for most Australians, with some sectors experiencing new or increased critical skills shortages and skills needs. The industries we work with are critical in producing essential products and services, many of which are under increased demand and which will support the economy to recover.

In response to a recent request by the AISC Emergency Response Sub-Committee, Skills Impact has met with relevant Industry Reference Committees (IRCs), who worked hard to identify areas within the training packages where rapid development of skills standards could help industry respond to COVID-19. While the IRCs were able to identify a list of possible solutions to submit, all-in-all the training packages we work with are in a good position to meet the skills needs of industry, even as they adjust to the challenges of COVID-19.

Of the submitted solutions, one project to develop a skill set in pharmaceutical bioprocessing has been approved, as there is a need for these skills standards to be developed quickly as part of the emergency response to the pandemic. This skill set will describe the foundation skills and knowledge required by workers entering the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, especially those employed to work with bioprocessed products, such as vaccines and antibody testing devices. This project has commenced and is due for completion by 31 August 2020. More information about the project is available here.

While the other projects submitted weren’t approved for the expediated critical response format, they still addressed relevant industry skills needs and opportunities to build on available skills standards. A number of projects were referred to the National Careers Institute, while others were identified as being appropriate for consideration through the regular process and will be submitted as part of future Skills Forecasts if the relevant IRC/s see fit.