- Submission received
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Q1: Are there other design considerations that could further strengthen Jobs and Skills Australia's ability to provide advice to government?
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Response:
The Advisory Body should include educational representatives and youth representatives to provide insights from people currently working or studying earlier in the training pipeline. In my role, I often speak with industry representatives who often lack insight into the career decision making processes of young people. Not explicitly including representatives from youth or education and instead relegating them to the role of independent experts means members will not have the same level of access to those with insights in these areas. Many of the industries I work with struggle to understand how young people become aware of opportunities in their industry, and we see a range of short-term, low-impact programs that are delivered in a way which makes it difficult to measure impact. We know that Vocational Identity tends to crystalise around the age of 12 to 14, which means that interventions or programs that ask people to change their career plans after this age are always going to be limited. Long term approaches that remedy workforce shortages and ensure our workforce meets the demands of the labour market need to begin earlier, and that means including people who work at that stage in the Advisory Group. Shorter term approaches which use financial incentives to attract employees to move should be supported by a holistic, longer term approach, which will, in time, ensure we have enough people to meet our changing workforce demands into the future
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Q2: What principles could be used to guide Jobs and Skills Australia's priorities, and the development of its workplan?
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Response:
No comment
Q3: How could Jobs and Skills Australia seek broader input into the development and refinement of its workplan?
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Response:
Approach educational departments and groups to provide input to inform the workplan and ensure it captures data from earlier in the industry awareness pipeline.
Q4: How could Jobs and Skills Australia engage tripartite partners, experts, and other interested parties in its major studies?
- Are the different needs of industry and learners effectively considered in designing qualifications in the current system? What works well and why?
- Are there issues or challenges with the way qualifications are currently designed? What are they and what could be done to address these?
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Response:
No comment
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Q5: What new information should Jobs and Skills Australia be collecting through its engagement to build a stronger evidence base?
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Response:
Combine quantitative data with qualitive insights from those within the workforce. As a community member working with secondary educators, I often hear comments made which reflect the frustration they feel when told that the unemployment rate is low, when our students are unable to find secure, meaningful work once leaving school. Not all job opportunities are the same, and while there may be a surplus of some jobs these are often not the ones that are available to school leavers, and these young people lack the drive, insight or skills to be able to navigate the pathways they must walk to reach the glut of available jobs. JSA should also be collecting data on student intentions throughout their educational journey and aligning these intentions with the realities of the labour market. Currently, around 10% of Australian students intend on working in the Arts once they leave school, but the reality is that only around 1% of people work in this field, and jobs are in high demand. In one of our recent surveys, we asked students to rank industries by size, and the majority of secondary students believe that the mining industry (2.1% of workforce) is larger than the healthcare industry (15% of workforce). School-based career practitioners, where they exist, are left to analyse vast amounts of ever-changing labour market information to identify these discrepancies themselves, and then communicate this information to students. Improving this would help schools communicate clearly so students are aware of the realities of the labour market and can use this information to refine their career decisions.
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Q6: How can Jobs and Skills Australia expand its engagement with a broader range of skills and industry stakeholders in its work?
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Response:
Engage with those involved in providing career advice and education in our school, through the various Career Industry Associations. Many school based practitioners, including VET Coordinators, can provide insights into the decision making processes of their students, but may be unaware of the formation of JSA, especially if they have not completed any formal training in career development.
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Q7: What types of outreach could Jobs and Skills Australia use to increase visibility and use of its products and advice?
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Response:
From my perspective, those who are working as Career Advisors in schools tend to refer regularly to the same government provided websites for their labour market information - for example, the Job Outlook website was very popular before it was retired. There have recently been a suite of new websites, but uptake on these has not always been as strong. In particular, the notification at the top of the only just released Labour Market Insights website has concerned many practitioners who are used to returning to familiar and trusted sources. I note that the proposal for the Communicate section of the operating model relies heavily on online content, and would suggest that consultation should be undertaken to establish which online platforms are both popular and useful, then identify gaps which could be filled by new websites and services, before developing new online platforms.
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Q8: How could Jobs and Skills Australia present its data and advice to aid stakeholders in informing their needs? What formats could better inform your work?
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Response:
The ABS model with a variety of formats allows us to use data and advice in a variety of ways - so, for example, we may refer to their reports or analysis in our own reports, then use the tabular data to create resources for schools. The new Australian Jobs Report which has just been released did a good job of presenting data in a format which could be used directly with students. In particular, the Occupational Matrix at the back of the report was very insightful, however it would be worth taking steps to educate the reader so they can translate the data into usable insights.
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If you would like to add any further comments before submitting, please add them below.
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Response:
The formation of Jobs and Skills Australia signals a positive step forward in addressing the complex and pernicious workforce shortages we face. Currently, there is little cooperation between bodies which analyse the labour market and those who are preparing young people to enter it. Labour Market Information, while vitally important for accurate career decision making, is under-utilised, and analysis of student intentions confirms the disconnect between the type of careers that young people want, and those that are available. The purpose of education is to prepare young people to enter society as successful, productive members, and it is crucial that the process of addressing workforce issues considers what happens while our youth are preparing to enter the workforce. Career education in Australia is limited, only delivered in Year 9 and 10, and often absent entirely. Work Experience, while vital for building career management competency in students, has all but disappeared post-covid, and most schools only offer cursory access to one-on-one career counselling before the end of Year 12. We need stronger data which informs us about student intentions so that we can develop interventions which work to align student expectations with the realities of the labour market. I am hopeful that JSA will be able to deliver these insights.