The new year will bring a reinvigorated approach to vocational education and training (VET) and we’re excited to announce that we will have a role in this new system, supporting industry to drive improvements to the Australian skills system.

Today Brendan O’Connor, Minister for Skills and Training announced the establishment of 10 Job and Skills Councils, to provide industry with a stronger, more strategic voice in ensuring Australia’s VET sector delivers stronger outcomes for learners and employers.

With more than 200 letters of support from industry, Skills Impact has been contracted by Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), to establish the Agribusiness Jobs and Skills Council (JSC), to cover a wide range of industry sectors similar to our past coverage as a Skills Service Organisation.

The JSC will cover industries of primary production, plants and animals, textiles, clothing and footwear, forestry, timber and furnishing as well as emerging industries around natural resources security and environmental management.

On behalf of industry, we are in the process of establishing a new organisation Skills Insight, which will be responsible for managing the Agribusiness Job and Skills Council and will be operational in January. The scope of work will be broader than training package projects and we are looking forward to this new program and the opportunities it offers to support the agribusiness, furniture and fibre industries in their involvement in all stages of the skills system.

We wish you all a wonderful festive season and we look forward to working with you in the new year. We will be taking a short break from 22 December to 4 January. When we return in the new year, we will have further details about Skills Insight and arrangements associated with this Jobs and Skills Council.

More About Jobs and Skills Councils

The establishment of Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) is part of the Government’s commitment to delivering a collaborative, tripartite VET sector that brings employers, unions and governments together to find solutions to skills and workforce challenges. They will begin operating in the new year and will replace the current Skills Service Organisation (SSO) and Industry Reference Committee (IRC) structures.

As a national network of industry-owned and industry-led organisations, JSCs will provide strategic leadership in addressing skills and workforce challenges, aligning efforts across industries to improve system responsiveness, build stakeholder confidence and drive high-quality outcomes for the VET sector, learners and business.

JSCs will identify skills and workforce needs for their sectors, map career pathways across education sectors, develop contemporary VET training products, support collaboration between industry and training providers to improve training and assessment practice and act as a source of intelligence on issues affecting their industries.

JSCs will work in close partnership with Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), drawing on JSA’s workforce analysis and projections to undertake planning for their industry sectors, creating a uniform understanding of the skills landscape and how skill gaps can be addressed.

The Future of Food, Beverage & Pharmaceutical in the Australian Skills System

Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) will begin operating in the new year and will have different industry coverage to SSOs. The food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries will now be supported by IBSA, who will be responsible for establishing the Manufacturing Jobs and Skills Council. It follows the requests of several key industry organisations to be a part of manufacturing, in particular to recognise the role of advanced manufacturing in food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, and the need for Government to ensure a balance of industries across all 10 Jobs and Skills Councils.

Over the past seven years, the Skills Impact team has had the privilege of meeting and working with many of the wonderful people who make up Australia’s food, beverage and pharmaceutical industry. Our team will be working with IBSA to ensure a smooth transition for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industry. Thank you for all the time and expertise you have offered to improve the national skills standards and qualifications for your industry over the past seven years.

Over the duration of the SSO program, together we have:

• managed 14 training package projects for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical (FBP) industry
• reviewed and developed 34 qualifications
• reviewed and developed 41 skill sets
• reviewed and developed 542 units
• presented research on industry skills needs and proposed projects via seven industry specific reports, including Skills Forecasts, Updates to Skills Forecasts, Four-Year Work Plans and Industry Skills Reports.

We will continue to hold a role supporting the agribusiness, furniture and fibre industries as part of this new system under a new organisation named ‘Skills Insight’.

Further Information

Factsheets

• Jobs and Skills Councils – Stage One outcomes
• Independent training product assurance – Skills Reform
• Implementation and transition
• Industry engagement architecture

Jobs and Skills Councils on DEWR Industry Engagement Reforms

DEWR page
FAQs
Register of Interest
For more information, visit the DEWR Industry Engagement Reforms homepage.