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Training & Careers

Helping project managers to improve performance

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

PERFORMANCE MANAGERS have a number of challenges. Besides the lack of goal alignment and clarity, they have to measure performance while supporting their own career growth.

This is where the Project Management Institute (PMI) comes in. It’s a global organisation that looks after and develops performance managers right around the world. PMI has more than 740,000 members who are represented across 300-plus chapters. That’s world-wide.

David Trott, who heads up PMI in Australia and New Zealand, is focused on developing project management professionals across the Asia-Pacific region.  

He works with industries, the higher education sector, industry organisations and with all three levels of government.

Mr Trott and his team cover 14,500 members across Australia and New Zealand.

His job also requires him to work with tech companies. These include Telstra, Ericsson and the global arms of IBM and Microsoft.

Reaching out to professional associations

“One of the key aims for me is looking at outreach into other professional associations,” Mr Trott told Talking Business.

“We want to explore what’s available to them, whether it’s a short course, whether it’s some online learning right through the certification, and being able to provide those pathways.

“With universities and the higher education sector, we’re really keen on helping them with existing content and new courses and finding those pathways, so that they are not only receiving an Australian qualification – as students at the end of their studies – but there’s also that pathway into the global certifications that PMI can offer.

“And that’s really attractive for both the VET (vocational and educational training) sector and the universities in terms of being able to uplift their students in terms of ‘Australian quals’ – but also what’s available to them globally.”

Mr Trott said it was a terrific area because it gave insights into future students and where their interests lay as project managers.

This meant the whole exercise was around collaboration with the tech companies and with the higher education sector.

PMI offers ‘prompt engineering’ help with AI

One of the key offerings of PMI, and it’s on their website is ‘prompt engineering’. That is, teaching people how to ask the right questions with their particular artificial intelligence (AI) tools of choice.

He said the tech sector had always been a big player with PMI since it was established in the US in 1969. It’s no different today as PMI helps its members to assimilate AI.

“The tech sector has always been part of that growth trajectory in that time,” Mr Trott said.

“It’s fantastic in terms of those collaboration opportunities and in terms of where are they headed, particularly around the areas of new technology and AI. And how can we support them.

“Also, what can we look at in terms of platform agnostic or a tool agnostic perspective.”

Mr Trott said this was critical because everything is always changing so quickly with technology.

“Things change all the time,” he said. “We know that Chat GPT is exceptionally strong as a product at the moment but there are new products coming online consistently and products will change year on year and new players will come into the market.

“That really comes hand-in-hand with what skills do project managers need now and what will they need next as we head into the future.” 

www.pmi.org

www.leongettler.com

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-43-interview-with-davud-trott-from-pmi

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CEDA flags shortages of 100,000-plus aged care workers

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

A REPORT from the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has found that Australia is facing a shortage of at least 110,000 direct aged-care workers within the next decade unless urgent action is taken to boost the workforce.

Direct-care workers include personal-care assistants, nurses and allied-health staff. The problem is that by 2031, nearly 20%  of the population is expected to be aged over 65, up from around 16% now, so demand for care will only keep growing

Altura Learning, which has been operating for 20 years, is working to address this need by training qualified direct care workers and it’s doing so by video.

Royal Commission outlined challenges

Altura Learning CEO Paul Goudie said the Royal Commission into aged care in 2019 highlighted a number of gaps in the aged care sector – and one of the key takeaways was person-centred care and how front line workers could be empowered to do their jobs much better.  

“For us, it’s a great opportunity to use that as a base line and build and actually move from compliance to workforce development,” Mr Goudie told Talking Business.

“It’s a very large workforce, it’s very diverse – a lot of English as a second language – so it’s very important time for businesses like Altura to support customers, to build that capability at a foundational level to meet the recommendations from the new strengthening standards.

“We want to help that personal care worker build a much more effective relationship with the residential aged care individual,” he said.

“They come into the sector with a Cert III so they have that foundational level of knowledge that allows them to be successfully employed. We look to use that as a baseline in which we can build and scaffold skills around more complex clinical issues, but it might be around things like wound management, using hot and cold packs, how to move people safely.”

Factoring in to stay longer at home

The other key part of that is the government is anticipating more people will choose to age in their own home rather than in a facility.

“That level of in-home care is attracting a new worker to the sector where they are going into people’s homes and having to work and meet obligations around compliance – but also help people just age well in-home,” Mr Goudie said.

“Imagine at three o’clock (in the morning) and you are a new registered nurse and a patient wakes up with dementia, has probably been in bed for a long time and may be at risk of deep vein thrombosis, dehydrated, (with) English as a second language.

“I think you’ll see many residential aged carers being the front line support for these increasingly clinically complex issues that we’re facing as a population.”

Workers can actually interact with Altura’s training videos.

“We call it showing, not telling,” Mr Goudie said. “It works very well in terms of the applied nature.

“From my perspective, video is a very powerful medium to communicate the correct process and a quick way to support and help people,” he said.

“We try to anticipate what possible scenarios a registered nurse or a personal care worker might encounter in a home and we build that into our videos so that they can anticipate what challenges they might face in providing that care.” 

www.alturalearning.com

www.leongettler.com

 

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-36-interview-with-paul-goudie-from-altura-l

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AI already has huge influence on job applications

By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) has changed the way people work. It even comes down to job applications.

According to the latest Workplace and Employment Trends report from recruitment firm people2people, nearly half the Gen Z job seekers are using AI for their CVs and cover letters,

Sometimes even exaggerating their skills.

Suhini Wijayasinghe, head of HR solutions at people2people, said AI was being used less by older generations – like Gen Y, Gen X and Boomers: job seekers.

“What it really boils down to is what experience have you had articulating what your experience is without AI,” Ms Wijayasinghe told Talking Business. 

“So it’s not just about cover letters or CVs. Holistically, you’ll find a lot of millennial, Gen X and baby boomers have gone through the process of being able to talk about what they do and the experience they have, from a very authentic perspective with their own words.

“Whereas I think we’re falling into the trap of not having that experience and using AI.”

Businesses ‘left behind’ by AI

Ms Wijayasinghe said one of the big issues now was of businesses being “left behind” when it comes to flexibility.

She said RTO (return to office) mandates were damaging morale.

“Whichever way you want to proceed with flexibility and returning to work and how that looks for your business, it’s going to be different for every business,” Ms Wijayasinghe said.

“We have opened Pandora’s Box during the COVID period.

“If you’re going to harness and leverage what the current circumstances are, I think having a blanket policy of ‘We’re all going to return to the office and we’re not going to explore and have a conversation about what this might look like and how we can do it differently’, you’re just going to cause a lot of friction and resistance in your workforce.”

Return-to-office policies return productivity

Ms Wijayasinghe said many large businesses that had adopted RTO polices were now rescinding them. This included big four banks and major players in big industries.

“It’s not working and they’re seeing that there’s a significant drop in productivity compared to when they had flexible offerings in the first place,” she said.

“If you want to look at it from a risk mitigation perspective and a cost efficiency perspective, you need to think about how you harness your human talent and part of that is human psychology,

“You can’t go back to the way things were. People know this strategy can work and people actually thrive in it,” she said.

“You just need to be innovative in how you manage people virtually and it is possible.”

Ms Wijayasinghe said the people2people report showed that flexibility is now a non-negotiable for job candidates although much of that depends on the industry.

“It is becoming very quickly a non0-negotiable,” she said.

“It is something being bought up in interviews, day in, day out.

“People are basing their decision to accept an offer of employment sometimes on that flexibility piece.” 

www.people2people.com.au

www.leongettler.com

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-35-interview-with-suhini-wijayasinghe-from

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CPAs say international student caps would bring negative consequences for accounting

CPA AUSTRALIA has warned proposals from both major parties to cap the number of international students who can study in Australia would have negative consequences for the accounting profession. 

“Any proposals to cap the number of international students coming to Australia must be carefully considered and debated,” CPA Australia’s business investment and international lead, Gavan Ord said. “Wrong steps can have significant short and long-term implications for Australia. 

“Australia is already experiencing a shortage of qualified accountants and many other occupations amid soaring demand, and tertiary education is a critical pipeline to train new accountants.  

“Any measures that cut the number of genuine international students who wish to study accounting in Australian universities would exacerbate this shortage,” Mr Ord said. “It would have a negative knock-on effect to Australian business and the economy.

“Australia is at risk of being left behind if we do not attract the next generation of accountants, auditors and other critical occupations.”

CPA Australia is the leading professional accounting body and one of the largest in the world, with more than 174,000 members in over 100 countries and regions. Mr Ord said his organisation’s core services include education, training, technical support and advocacy.

“We engage with governments, regulators and industries to advocate policies that stimulate sustainable economic growth and have positive business and public outcomes.”

www.cpaaustralia.com.au

 

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Builders respond to long-awaited apprenticeship incentive system review

MASTER BUILDERS Australia has welcomed the release of the long-awaited Review into the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System, a cornerstone in Australia’s recovery from the ongoing housing crisis.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the review recognised the challenges faced by employers to attract and retain apprentices, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The building and construction industry is made up of over 445,000 businesses, 98 percent of which are small in size.

“Labour shortages are currently the biggest handbrake on fixing the housing crisis,” Ms Wawn said.

“Master Builders has worked closely with Dr Iain Ross AO and Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM, who led the review, and we sincerely thank them for listening to the concerns of employers and the broader building and construction industry.” 

SMEs make up 95 percent of all businesses that hire an apprentice but only take on 60 percent of first year apprentices.

“Employing an apprentice comes at a cost,” Ms Wawn said. “Not just their wage, but the hours spent teaching them, covering their training costs, and managing the associated administration, and helping them navigate the workforce which all adds up.

“A robust incentive system must provide assurance and minimise risk. It should mean that the employer does not shoulder the entire cost burden for the 50 percent of apprentices who do not complete their studies.

“A better incentive system should free an employer to focus on training and teaching: this is especially important in the first and second years.”

Master Builders has outlined recommendations in the review that are relevant to industry employers:

  • Align incentives to the government’s economic priorities and social equity objectives. Direct payments to SMEs.
  • Reward employers that are doing the right thing and address the behaviour of those who are not providing an appropriate working environment for their apprentices.
  • Support the use of Group Training Organisations to assist SMEs in taking on new apprentices.
  • Utilise the Australian Government’s procurement policies to increase engagement of first and second year apprentices and reduce ‘apprentice poaching’ from SMEs.
  • Review the apprentice data systems to make them easier for apprentices, employers and other users to use and navigate.

“Master Builders will work through the recommendations in the review and urges the Federal Government to prioritise the consultation and implementation of non-contentious recommendations as we do not have time to waste,” Ms Wawn said.

Builders applaud apprenticeship incentive boost

From July 1, 2025, eligible apprentices in the residential construction sector will receive $10,000 in incentive payments, on top of their wages under a new Key Apprentices Program.

The new payment will be staged at 6, 12, 24, 36 months and upon completion, which is something Master Builders has long called for. 

Apprentices in the building and construction industry currently receive a $5,000 payment, which is front-loaded. This payment will remain available for apprentices who are not eligible for the Key Apprentices Program and has been extended until the end of 2025.

“Australia’s building and construction industry faces the enormous task of building enough homes, commercial premises and infrastructure to meet increasing demand and a growing population,” Ms Wawn said.

“Coupled with government funding of fee free vocational education and training, there is no better time to pick up the tools and become a tradie.

“The revised staggering of payments is something Master Builders Australia has long called for, so there is a financial incentive for apprentices to complete their training.

“Around 50 percent of all apprentices do not complete their training – the new staged payments approach will hopefully see the rate of completions increase. 

“Builders would like to see this payment expanded to other areas of the building and construction industry that are also facing chronic shortages and crying out for more apprentices. Without roads, rail, sewerage and water we can’t build more homes for Aussies,” Ms Wawn said.

“We are disappointed that the high costs associated with hiring and training and apprentices has not been recognised as yet … 98 percent of businesses in building and construction are small and they are doing it tough.

“Master Builders continues to call for a robust incentive system that supports employers and minimises the risk with taking on an apprentice who may or may not complete their training.”

Last year, Master Builders released its blueprint for increasing the attraction and retention of apprentices in the industry, which can be read here.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

 

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Builders want to pause and examine results before legislation of ‘fee free’ TAFE

MASTER BUILDERS Australia is urging the Federal Government to wait for more data before considering legislating the Fee Free TAFE Bill 2024.

In reaction to the government’s inquiry into the Free TAFE Bill 2024, the nation’s peak building and construction industry association has cautioned against legislating the policy in the absence of data and its unintended consequences.

“Free TAFE initiatives unfairly distort the market towards TAFE-delivered courses over industry-led providers,” Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said.

“We have not seen the free TAFE policy bring more people into building and construction apprenticeships; rather, it has simply reshuffled the deck.

“The proposed Bill is anti-competitive and creates a market distortion and should not be committed to legislation. If the government does seek to pass the Bill, it must be amended to include not-for-profit industry-run RTOs,” Ms Wawn said. 

Ms Wawn said Australia’s building and construction industry faces the enormous task of building enough homes, commercial premises and infrastructure to meet increasing demand and a growing population.

Labour shortages are the biggest source of pressure to deliver these goals, she said.

While Master Builders Australia is supportive in principle of fee-free vocational education courses – “and the Albanese Government’s skills and training agenda in general,” Ms Wawn said – the legislation of free TAFE is unnecessary and will have unintended impacts on highly successful not-for-profit, private registered training organisations (RTOs).

Ms Wawn said as yet, there was no adequate data to show that the Free TAFE initiative has worked, “as it is still too early in the piece”.

“This Federal Election, we are looking at all parties for practical and evidence-based solutions to labour shortages in the industry which is crucial to addressing the housing crisis,” Ms Wawn said. 

Master Builders released its blueprint for increasing the attraction and retention of apprentices in the industry, which can be read here.

More information is available in the Master Builders submission:  MBA Submission_Free TAFE.pdf  

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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Career planning for 2025 – AimBig's Luck is on your side

FOR MANY Australians, the early days of 2025 represent a time to reassess goals and take steps toward fulfilling work – and making work more fulfilling.

But for those facing barriers such as long-term unemployment, health challenges, or limited skills, the journey to meaningful employment can feel daunting.

The numbers tell a striking story: only 56% of people with disability aged 15–64 are employed, compared with 82% of those without disability, and 93% of unemployed people with disability report difficulties finding a suitable job. 

Additionally, nearly one in four long-term unemployed individuals face hurdles such as health issues, caregiving responsibilities, or age discrimination, while many Workforce Australia participants grapple with financial hardship or a lack of recent work experience.

Despite these challenges, organisations like AimBig Employment are offering hope by providing free, personalised support to help jobseekers overcome obstacles and thrive in the workplace.

Helping workers to thrive in workplace

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to find meaningful work,” AimBig Employment CEO Greg Luck said. “The journey may look different for each person, but with the right guidance and support, it’s possible to build a fulfilling career.”

Whether navigating disability, mental health challenges, or other personal barriers, AimBig Employment works with a diverse range of jobseekers to help them identify strengths, develop skills, and connect with opportunities.

Mr Luck has provided a range of practical steps jobseekers can take in 2025, guided by expert advice from the AimBig team:

Start with small steps and build momentum

The job search can feel overwhelming, especially after a period away from work or with limited experience. AimBig advises breaking down the process into small, manageable actions that build confidence and keep things moving forward.

“Even small actions—like updating your resume, practising interview skills, or setting weekly goals—create a sense of momentum,” AimBig job coach Ross Rosenblum said. “Each step adds up, and small wins can create a positive shift in mindset that keeps jobseekers going.”

Recognise your strengths and progress

Jobseekers often struggle with self-doubt, particularly if they’ve faced barriers or rejections in the past. AimBig coaches work with individuals to identify and build on their unique skills, turning these into strengths in the job market.

“We encourage our clients to focus on their personal strengths and progress, without comparing themselves to others,” Mr Rosenblum said. “Every person has something valuable to offer, and our role is to help them recognise that.”

Focus on what you can do today

Rather than dwelling on factors outside their control, jobseekers are encouraged to set their sights on achievable actions within their reach.

“When people focus on what they can do now, it puts them in a proactive mindset,” Greg Luck said.

AimBig’s free services include guidance on practical actions, such as connecting jobseekers with upskilling courses, identifying accessible career paths, and developing key skills for the workplace. Each step taken helps reinforce the sense of ownership jobseekers feel over their own progress.

Start with a strong support system

Having the right support system is essential, especially when beginning a job search journey, Mr Luck said.

He said AimBig Employment offered free, end-to-end assistance, guiding individuals through every stage—from resume writing and interview coaching to helping secure workplace adjustments or connecting clients with tailored training opportunities. If AimBig’s services don’t fit a client’s specific needs, they help connect jobseekers to other resources and organisations, he said.

“Our goal is to be that guiding hand, pointing people in the right direction and making sure they feel supported every step of the way,” Mr Luck said.

Building employer relationships to open doors

Alongside its work with jobseekers, AimBig partners with employers to foster inclusive hiring practices and create more accessible workplaces. Through consultations and support, they educate employers on the benefits of hiring diverse candidates, from increased team diversity to gaining employees with unique skills and perspectives.

“Our partnerships with employers are vital in helping them see the real value people from all backgrounds bring to their workforce,” Mr Luck said. “This collaboration makes the workplace more inclusive and leads to sustainable job opportunities for our clients.”

By partnering with organisations across various sectors, AimBig is helping to create a more inclusive job market where all jobseekers, including those facing barriers, have access to meaningful, long-term roles.

As Australians step into 2025, organisations like AimBig Employment are there to support, guide, and empower them, according to Mr Luck. With a focus on individual strengths, practical steps, and genuine employer partnerships, AimBig is opening doors and helping people thrive in the workforce.

www.aimbigemployment.com.au

 

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