- 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:
Sarina Russo Group welcomes this opportunity to make a submission about the future of Jobs and Skills Australia. We welcomed the establishment of this important body, with its remit to provide advice to the government, and information to the public, about matters related to the labour market, workforce needs, education and training, skills, and employment. As the founder of the Sarina Russo Group, our priority has been helping people to get that job for over forty-three years. In our decades of operation we have provided vocational and higher education, supported apprentices and trainees, and operated employment services. Our experience tells us that the jobs and skills ecosystem can be strengthened through an approach that is collaborative, involves diverse voices, and explicitly has regard to the needs of people who are unemployed, alongside people who are in work, employers & industry, and the nation. Accordingly, we were pleased to see that the operating model for Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), set out in the discussion paper that underpins this current consultation, includes a broad yet non-exhaustive list of stakeholders that includes employment peaks and employment services. In relation to the future operation of JSA, we suggest that: • Employment services providers be engaged with the advisory board of Jobs and Skills Australia (in a non-voting capacity), or be engaged with JSA’s leadership through some other structured mechanism. • That any consideration of government involvement in ameliorating skills shortages take into account the role that employment services could play as an employment broker – helping to find people to meet immediate workforce needs, and helping to encourage people into training and education that aligns with emerging and future workforce needs. • AASNs and other services supporting apprentices and trainees be considered a source of information and advice, and be engaged in assisting to identify less-obvious impediments to attraction and retention. • Part of JSA’s work, in relation to workforce planning, should include identifying opportunities for higher education providers and industry to work together to increase opportunities for work-integrated learning. • Data and analysis regarding place-based solutions, whether in relation to structural adjustment, localised skills shortage, or other need, should take into account existing or readily-scaleable services that can be leveraged in a given place, including, among others, services that could be provided by employment services, local allied and mental health providers, and the community sector. • Higher education and vocational education providers are often deeply engaged with local communities and should be involved in any consideration of data and analysis regarding place-based solutions. • The experience and expertise of employment services in assisting people from traditionally disadvantaged cohorts, along with the day-to-day experience of assisting people who are under-employed (and particularly those who are in some work but are still receiving income support), should be drawn upon by JSA in providing insights into the drivers of under-employment, and the impediments to people obtaining more, or better quality, employment. • Employability Skills Training and Career Transition Assistance are complementary programs already delivered through employment services. The settings for JSA’s economy-wide role in workforce planning and career advice should be formed with existing complementary programs (and providers with expertise in delivering them) in mind. Similarly, policy settings could be designed to allow for such programs to be rapidly revised and/or scaled in a manner that is responsive to changing workforce needs as identified by JSA. • Higher education providers, especially those with a model of providing both higher education and vocational education and training, should be engaged in discussions about the skills and education requirements of current and emerging labour market needs. We thank you again for the opportunity to make this submission. SRG is proud of the work we have done to assist generations of Australians. We believe our expertise and experience means that we can provide useful input into the nation’s Jobs and Skills ecosystem. We look forward to continuing to work with government, JSA, and the broad range of stakeholders that are engaged with labour market issues. We wish you well with the work arising from this consultation. If you require any further information please don’t hesitate to contact SRJA CEO Dianne Fletcher on 0434062638.
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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 response provided.
Q3: How could Jobs and Skills Australia seek broader input into the development and refinement of its workplan?
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Response:
No response provided.
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 response provided.
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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:
No response provided.
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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:
No response provided.
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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:
No response provided.
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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:
No response provided.
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If you would like to add any further comments before submitting, please add them below.
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Response:
Our experience tells us that the jobs and skills ecosystem can be strengthened through an approach that is collaborative, involves diverse voices, and explicitly has regard to the needs of people who are unemployed, alongside people who are in work, employers & industry, and the nation. Accordingly, we were pleased to see that the operating model for Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), set out in the discussion paper that underpins this current consultation, includes a broad yet non-exhaustive list of stakeholders that includes employment peaks and employment services.