The following projects are underway to review and update industry units of competency, skill sets and qualifications, for use by industry and the vocational training and education sector. The Government allocates projects to Industry Reference Committees, based on advice in the annual IRC Skills Forecasts and Proposed Schedules of Work. On behalf of the IRCs, Skills Impact manages the projects.
New Projects Commenced
Forest, Timber and Pulp & Paper Industries
The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) has commissioned the following three new projects:
- Cross Laminated Timber Building Systems Project
- Paper and Pulp Manufacturing Safety Compliance Project
- Prefabricated Building Systems Project
Technical Advisory Committees are being established for each project, to provide technical input to the review and development of units of competency. If you are interested in applying to be a technical expert for any of these projects and are able to volunteer your time, please email details of your expertise to the relevant Project Manager (Please see details on the project webpage).
Broad industry consultation is scheduled to commence in February and March for each of these new projects. Please visit the project webpages by following the links above and register your interest to keep up-to-date on project activities.
Consultation Underway
Draft Qualifications, Skills Sets and Units Available for Feedback
The projects listed below have moved to the ‘consultation’ stage, which means draft qualifications, skill sets and units of competency are now available for review and feedback.
Feedback is being sought on whether the draft documents accurately describe all job functions and that they reflect the current skills standards and practices of industry. To provide your feedback on the draft units, skill sets and qualifications, please visit the project webpages by following the links below.
- Ag Chemical Handling Project
- Ag Machinery – Safety and Technology Project
- Pest Management Project
- Apiculture (Bees) Project
- Food & Beverage Manufacturing – Cross Sector Project
- Food Science & Technology Project
- Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Standards Project (note: an extra webinar for 1 December has been added and the consultation period has been extended to 7 December)
- Wine Operations Project
Consultation to Commence January
Farriery Project
Work to draft the revised farriery qualification, skill sets and units of competency has commenced with Subject Matter Experts. Feedback from industry on the existing documents is also being considered as part of this process. The draft materials will be available for download and comment from the project webpage mid-January. Face-to-face consultation workshops are also planned from mid-January to early February, and If required, one or more webinars will be also be held. The exact location and dates for these workshops is currently being confirmed. Please feel free to ‘register your interest’ on the project webpage to be informed when registrations open. Visit project webpage.
Validation to Commence in December
Racing Project
Thank you to those who provided feedback on the draft qualifications, skill sets and units of competency for the Racing Project that were made available on the Skills Impact website from 19 October – 10 November 2017. Feedback was sought on whether the draft qualifications, skill sets and units reflect the current skills and safety requirements of industry, and whether job functions are accurately described. The feedback will inform the work on the final drafts which will be available for industry validation in December 2017.
Note: this project is an extension of the Equine Safety in Training Project.
Cross Sector Projects
Skills Impact is leading the development of the cross sector projects listed below, in collaboration with the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC), the Australian Department of Education and Training, Industry Reference Committees (IRCs), Skills Service Organisations and other stakeholders.
Automation Skills Project
Thank you to those who provided feedback on the draft Automation Skills Case for Change. Skills Impact has used your input to revise the draft Case for Change which has now been distributed to State/Territory Training Authorities and relevant Industry Reference Committees, to seek their comment and support. An IRC Briefing Paper has been developed to outline the proposed changes to training packages. The Project Reference Group is now working to finalise the Case for Change for submission to the Department of Education and Training. For further information, please visit the project webpage.
Environmental Sustainability Skills Project
Thank you to those who provided feedback on the draft Environmental Sustainability Skills report. Skills Impact has used your input to inform the development of a draft Case for Change and an IRC Briefing Paper. The briefing paper outlines the proposed changes to training packages, while full details are available in the draft Case for Change. The Project Reference Group is now working to finalise the Case for Change for submission to the Department of Education and Training. For further information, please visit the project webpage.
Projects in Final Stages
Endorsed by AISC
The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) has approved the Case for Endorsement for the following projects.
- Forest Harvesting Optimisation Project – The revised units will be released on to training.gov.au by the end of 2017, contained within the FWP Forest and Wood Products Training Package.
- Greyhounds Project (animal welfare and racing integrity) – The revised units of competency, skill sets and qualifications for Greyhounds will be released on training.gov.au in December. (The greyhound qualifications relied upon units that were being updated as part of the Equine Safety in Training Project and contained within the ACM Animal Care and Management Training Package, which has just been endorsed by the AISC).
- Equine Safety in Training Project – The revised units, skill sets and qualifications will be released on to training.gov.au by the end of 2017. This includes all equine related units, skill sets and qualifications from the ACM Animal Care and Management and AHC Agriculture, Horticulture, and Conservation and Land Management Training Packages, but it does not include those from the RGR Racing Training Package. Feedback from industry was that the proposed safety measures being applied to the AHC and ACM units were not appropriate for the Horse Racing Industry. As such, a new Racing Project has been established to satisfactorily incorporate safety into the units, skill sets and qualifications within the RGR Racing Training Package.
Submitted to AISC for Endorsement
The following projects have been submitted to the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) for consideration and endorsement at their next meeting.