Queensland’s training, careers and recruitment landscape endured a peculiar cycle of dealing with skills shortages to dealing with job shortages and redundancies as the global economic crisis reached Queensland shores in late 2008. But challenging times are when good people are needed most and Business Acumen presents some of the highlights of 2008.
FEBRUARY 2008
Queensland’s growth and resources boom saw engineering at the forefront of major state projects.
In 2008, there was an increase in university enrolment figures for engineering courses, according to Engineers Australia Queensland Division. This was expected to come in handy as Queensland prepares to complete major infrastructure projects in the next decade such as Brisbane’s North South Bypass Tunnel, the Airport Link, Northern Busway, the South Bank Education and Training Project and the Gold Coast Rapid Transit project.
www.qld.engineeringaustralia.org.au
Study Cairns received a $50,000 State Government grant to develop and implement a major marketing strategy to attract more students from Japan, China and Korea. During the past 10 years, Study Cairns has put Cairns on the map as a quality provider of international education. The sector brought in more than $50million in 2006 as well as 12,000 international students from more than 30 countries.
www.studycairns.com.au
The Bremer Institute of TAFE worked towards strengthening its ties with local business through the networking event Power Play early in 2008. The event was a major success for developing strategic relationships with local partners such as Education City, Energex, Sound Images and The Queensland Times.
The TAFE lists business partnerships as a priority to ensure courses are relevant and provide employment-based outcomes for students.
A key partnership that led to positive employment was with East Coast Apprentices and Thiess in developing the Thiess Apprenticeships Training Scheme. The scheme was the first of its kind, allowing employees to train on the job and graduate in up to a third of the time normal apprenticeships take.
www.tafe.qld.gov.au
MARCH 2008
Central Queensland Institute of TAFE continued with an innovative training solution in 2008 called Learn@Work to help fill the gap for skilled and qualified staff in the mining and infrastructure industries.
Learn@Work, which is in its sixth year in 2009, is a creative training model that delivers on-site, job-specific training that is relevant to the workplace and builds on the existing expertise of staff.
The training is delivered on-site using the technology, machinery, policies and procedures of the workplace so that skills learnt can be applied to the job.
Learn@Work specialists deliver training in welding, plumbing, hydraulics and frontline management across Central Queensland.
www.tafe.qld.gov.au
Griffith University introduced a new Bachelor of Commerce (Professional) in Accounting or Financial Planning in response to industry demand for more qualified professionals and job-ready graduates.
The three-day Ernst & Young Bachelor of Commerce Professional Development Program was the first of many initiatives built into the degree to ensure students were job ready upon graduation.
It ran from January 30 to February 1, 2008, at Griffith’s Logan campus.
www.griffith.edu.au
APRIL 2008
Construction Skills Queensland’s first Women in Construction Week in March 2008 was voted an outstanding success.
Organised by Construction Skills Queensland in partnership with the Office for Women, the week aimed to attract more women to the construction industry to address Queensland’s skills shortages.
Women in Construction Week took the construction industry into six training venues around South East Queensland to give school students and the community the chance to learn about the industry and the opportunities it offers.
www.beconstructive.com.au
A new purpose-built training centre in the Gold Coast Marine Precinct at Coomera boosted the prospects of Queensland’s $1.4billion boat-building industry.
TAFE Marine Gold Coast set out to expand the industry’s skills base by training 600 apprentices in 2008, rising to 1000 by 2010.
www.tafe.qld.gov.au
The University of Queensland’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law’s (BEL) Employment Services Unit was well utilised in 2008 by businesses seeking quality young recruits. Through the service, an increasing number of domestic and international graduates have also successfully linked up with quality employers. Sounds like a win-win all round. E-mail: employmentservices@bel.uq.edu.au
MAY 2008
Griffith University’s new International Master of Business Administration (IMBA) saw students team up with a Queensland organisation to complete a semester of work integrated learning (WIL).
This allows students to integrate their studies with the business environment and apply theories to practice within an organisation’s management stream, under the guidance of industry and academic mentors. MBA director Ashley Lye said this approach created highly employable graduates while exposing organisations to new and different ideas.
www.griffith.edu.au
An industry-based training partnership between CSR Sugar and the Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE saw TAFE recognised as one of Australia’s premier providers for Trade Skills Excellence in Engineering. High quality delivery of engineering training, both mechanical and fabrication, at the CSR Sugar Mill in the Burdekin and Herbert region has seen the TAFE institute receive a Two Gold Star level of recognition ‘Advancing Towards Excellence’.
www.tafe.qld.gov.au
More than 400 of the state’s leading training achievers were nominated for the 2008 Queensland Training Awards. Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said he was impressed by the high calibre of nominations received from individuals, employers and training organizations across all 11 award categories.
www.qta.qld.gov.au
JUNE 2008
The award-winning National College of Business (NCB) launched its new Gold Coast premises at Robina on April 29, 2008. The vibrant college had been operating since November 2002 in Surfers Paradise and grew to open a second campus in Spring Hill, Brisbane, in March 2006.
The NCB holds regular events such as inspiring business breakfasts and offers numerous short courses in its Eagle training program and business support through its popular year-long Business Mastery program.
www.collegeofbusiness.com.au
There was a strong push towards age-friendly work practices with the launch of a free guide for employers – the Experience Pays Employer Guide to Recruiting, Retraining and Retaining Mature-Age Employees. State Member for Mansfield, Phil Reeves launched the guide at Mt Gravatt Coach and Travel, where 95 percent of its operators are over 45 years old. A free copy of the guide is available on the website.
www.experiencepays.com.au
Construction Skills Queensland chief executive officer Rod Camm made the case for upskilling Australians at the Australia 2020 Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on April 19 and 20, 2008.
He said more employers needed to plan for the medium and long term and by 2020, they needed to be taking responsibility for their own skills development programs.
“Industry and government partnerships are the key element, particularly with schools, training providers and universities,” Mr Camm said.
www.beconstructive.com.au
JULY 2008
Brisbane non-profit youth organization, The stepUP Foundation, expanded into New Zealand in March 2007 and launched in the UK in November last year.
The organisation, which educates and excites teenagers about the possibilities for their future through inspiring two-day events, has been heavily supported by small to medium businesses.
Some of these include Real Estate Results Network, 10X, the National College of Business, XL Results Foundation and the Australian Acting Academy.
The stepUP Foundation has further worldwide expansion plans in the future.
www.stepupfoundation.com
The Bremer Institute of TAFE opened its newest facility, Evolve Hair and Beauty salon, at Education City Springfield in 2008. The salon has 16 cutting stations, with the capacity for 45 students, as well as practical and theory rooms.
Taking external bookings, the students offer a full service salon and are taught by five hairdressing and four beauty teachers. Students are studying hairdressing and beauty from basic Certificate to Diploma level qualifications.
www.tafe.qld.gov.au
Fraser Coast tourism operators and the Bligh Government joined forces to ensure the region’s tourism growth isn’t restrained by skill shortages, forming the Fraser Coast Tourism Skills Formation Strategy. Education and Training Minister Rod Welford, visited the region for the Bligh Government’s seventh Community Cabinet. While there, he said the Fraser Coast Tourism Skills Formation Strategy would give industry greater responsibility for attracting, recruiting, skilling and retaining its workers.
AUGUST 2008
The Queensland Government’s Small Business Solutions held its first Big One Day Seminar for small business owners at Brisbane Technology Park on September 1, 2008. It featured top speakers like Channel 7 business journalist David Koch and Beechworth Baker Tom O’Toole.
The seminar was the first initiative of its kind in South East Queensland, providing a wealth of knowledge from successful business owners as well as providers in finance, telecommunications, marketing and more.
www.smallbusinesssolutions.qld.gov.au
Diversiti, Chandler Macleod’s specialist IT recruitment business discovered a dramatic shortfall in information and communications technology (ICT) talent despite greater demand. Diversiti’s 2008 Hiring Influence Report, released in July 2008, found a consistent decrease in the uptake of IT degrees and careers.
www.diversiti.com.au
Business programs proved increasingly popular at the University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) Springfield campus with the university recording a 48 percent increase in undergraduate applications at the beginning of semester two.
USQ Springfield director Doug Fraser said the sharp increase in applications within the Faculty of Business was owing to the relevance of programs offered at the campus.
Mr Fraser said, “This year we introduced two new undergraduate business programs to our campus, the Bachelor of Accounting and Sustainable Business (BASB) and Law.
“The BASB is a landmark program aimed at producing the next generation of accountants, qualified to guide business through the process of becoming sustainable. It focuses accountants on the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental accountability to meet the public’s expectations of corporate responsibility.”
www.usq.edu.au
SEPTEMBER 2008
SkillsTech Australia’s new Acacia Ridge Training Centre opened as a new foundry complex that teaches the latest techniques in metal forming. Two years in planning, the $7.5million SkillsTech Australia foundry and patternmaking facility heralds a new, high tech era in the Australian metal casting industry.
www.deta.qld.gov.au
www.skillstech.tafe.qld.gov.au
Queensland TAFE students have the chance to click start their careers by linking up with potential employers via an innovative new model, e2e.NET. The e2e.NET helps graduates move from education to employment by matching skilled students and recent graduates with potential employers, in an easy-to-use online network.
www.tafe.qld.gov.au
An instant-feedback remote learning system devised by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and University of Queensland (UQ) students for Brisbane training company The Improve Group has enabled the company to expand its programs internationally.
Three students from the disciplines of engineering, business and IT got together for the six-month project to answer a request from The Improve Group to create an interactive remote learning program to be used in the competitive manufacturing sector.
www.qut.edu.au www.uq.edu.au
Brisbane-based Aviation Australia delivered helicopter aircraft maintenance engineer training for 80 technicians from Saudi Arabia. The first 21 students started training in Queensland and Trade Minister John Mickel said they were engaged in a 36-month full diploma program, of which 33 months will be conducted at the Aviation Australia campus at Brisbane Airport.
A number of world airlines based in both the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region including Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines, Gulf Air and Cathay Pacific Airways have elected to send their aircraft maintenance engineer trainees to study with Aviation Australia. Aviation Australia was founded in 2001 by the Queensland Government with the cooperation of major airlines, aerospace companies and universities.
www.aviationaustralia.net.au
Bond University became the highest rated university in Queensland in the independent in 2009 Good Universities Guide, earning the maximum five-star ratings across 10 key performance indicators. Bond University’s five-star showing in this year’s guide saw it rated the top performing university in Queensland, and second only to the University of New South Wales nationally. The private, not-for-profit university was also the only university in Australia to achieve five stars across all of the educational experience and graduate outcomes categories.
www.bond.edu.au
OCTOBER 2008
Out of 48 finalists, 11 of Queensland’s top employers, apprentices, trainees, vocational students and training providers were honoured at September’s Queensland Training Awards at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
They included Surrender Dorothy Hairdressing, Stowe Australia, Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE, First Impressions Resources, My Other Mum, Glendyne Education and Training Centre, Rachel Niemann, Matthew Graham, Jeni Wycha, Rohan Greer and Bernard Pope.
UQ Business School became the only Queensland business school to be included in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Which MBA? Asian regional ranking released in September. The EIU’s Which MBA? 2009 is an internationally-renowned third-party ranking of the top 100 full-time master of business administration (MBA) programs in the world.
www.uq.edu.au
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008
The Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE helped ensure workers on the Gateway Upgrade Project in Brisbane had relevant up-to-date skills. The Institute’s Civil Construction team worked with project contractor, the Leighton Abigroup Joint Venture, to tailor training to the 70-plus trainees on the job. Instruction in concreting, bridge building and pipe-laying were being delivered at various sites across the 20km project corridor.
www.tafe.qld.gov.au
Federal Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, announced that the Australian Technical College North Brisbane will expand its services and cater for up to 470 students in 2009.
The College will expand opportunities for students to enter the trades by offering a full apprenticeship pathway commencing in Years 11 and 12. Students will also gain the Queensland Certificate of Education. It will offer Certificate III courses in automotive, building and construction, electrotechnology, commercial cookery and metals and engineering.
www.australiantechnicalcolleges.gov.au
Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast CEO Colin Graham said recruiting people with skills you don’t have and who are prepared to pitch in and get things done was the key to success for start-up businesses.
Speaking at the University of the Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre’s Enterprise Tuesday event, Mr Graham gave a presentation on Recruiting Your Dream Team to more than 50 business people from the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.
www.innovation-centre.com.au ♦
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