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Implementation of the Industry Training Review
In 2001, the government announced a number of new policy initiatives for industry training as a result of the Industry Training Review. These initiatives are intended to improve outcomes and strengthen the existing industry training system. In summary the changes are:
- requirements for ITOs to provide leadership to their industries on skill and training matters
- collective employee representation in the governance of ITOs
- provision to enable employers to have their training managed by an alternative ITO in certain limited circumstances
- provision for training levies
- the mandate for the TEC to facilitate and encourage co-operative arrangements and mergers among ITOs
- the mandate for the TEC to facilitate the expansion of industry training to cover a greater portion of the workforce
- the Small Business Fund for initiatives to facilitate access to industry training for small and medium-sized businesses
- the Technology Fund to encourage ITOs to develop technology-based solutions for training delivery.
Considerable progress has been made with the implementation of these initiatives as follows:
- Guidelines have been developed to assist ITOs to implement the Strategic Leadership Role. ITOs are committing to implementing this role in their charters and will include plans, objectives and key performance indicators in their 2005 profiles.
- The TEC has developed and promulgated operational policies for both the collective representation of employees in the governance of ITOs and the criteria for assessing applications from employers for their training to be managed by an alternative ITO.
- A levy provision has been included in the Industry Training Amendment Act 2002.
- A joint ventures and mergers fund has been established to assist ITOs to undertake co-operative arrangements and mergers where appropriate.
- The TEC has identified gaps in ITO coverage and is in a position to discuss with ITOs and industry groups how these gaps might be filled.
- Various projects have been funded from the Small Business Fund which have identified and explored barriers to small business engagement with industry training.
- Various projects were funded from the Technology Fund which raised awareness among ITOs of the issues relating to e-learning, particularly in a work-based environment, and improved access to industry training for particular trainees.
Increased coverage of Industry Training
At 31 December 2002 there were:
- 24,576 employers participating in Industry Training, an increase of 12 percent from 2001. Data collected from Industry Training applications shows that around 85 percent of the workforce are covered by ITOs.
- 83,456 trainees registered with ITOs, an increase of 26 percent from 2001. During 2002, 9,761 National Certificates were completed by trainees.
- 4,344 Modern Apprentices participating in 27 industries in which Modern Apprenticeships were available. The three largest industries by participation rates were Building and Construction (16 percent), Engineering (15 percent) and Motor (14 percent).
However, as noted earlier in the cross-strategy indicators section, women were under-represented in industry training and particularly in Modern Apprenticeships. In 2003, the ITOs with the largest number of women industry trainees were Community Support Services (2,671), Hospitality Standards (1,989) and Sport, Fitness and Recreation (1,574). Thirty-one percent of all women trainees were within these three ITOs, compared with 11 percent of all trainees. Within Modern Apprenticeships, 13 of the 28 participating industries had either none or only one woman participant in 2003.
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