THE Gallop Government’s plan to appoint former state development minister Clive Brown as head of a new skills development taskforce has met with a muted response from industry, which is seeking tangible and prompt action.
THE Gallop Government’s plan to appoint former state development minister Clive Brown as head of a new skills development taskforce has met with a muted response from industry, which is seeking tangible and prompt action.
“I’ve been lobbying them at a personal level for the best part of three or four years to get in and reform apprenticeships generally,” said Dale Alcock, director of home building company Alcock/Brown-Neaves.
“They are now just saying ‘let’s get a working group together’,” he told the WA Business News boardroom forum on skills shortages.
Mr Alcock expressed concern that the union movement is hindering much-needed reform of the apprentice system.
“This State Government needs to get some political will,” he said.
“The unions aren’t the be all and end all. The unions have a part to play, they have a voice, but they cannot control the agenda in terms of trade training in this state.”
His comments reflect industry concern that solutions to the skills shortage are well known, and what is needed is a desire to implement change.
For instance, in September 2003, the State Training Board’s Apprenticeship and Traineeship Taskforce, chaired by Alcoa’s human resources manager Kaye Butler, produced a detailed report on strategies to increase the take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships.
In January this year, just before his retirement, Mr Brown announced the formation of a Skills Advisory Board to tackle skills shortages.
Now, Education and Training Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich is planning to establish another taskforce to provide advice on skills shortages.
The Skills Formation Taskforce aims to implement reform strategies through a series of industry working groups, initially in building and construction, mining, oil and gas, automotive, metals and hospitality.
It will seek to improve the attractiveness of apprenticeships and traineeships, increase industry commitment to training, and develop strategies to improve non-completion rates.
Motor Trade Association executive director Peter Fitzpatrick said he found Ms Ravlich “pretty positive” in her approach to training reform.
“The minister will need to be hands-on and really drive change,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“There has been a lot of talk about this, but time is not on our side.
“We’re not happy about what we see as the inertia of the past.”
Mr Alcock said the housing industry working group, announced last month, would have two union representatives “even though unions are not part of housing”.
“But as I’ve said to the minister, I’m happy to chair it as long as whoever is in that working group, if they are obstructive, they should be ditched out of the room and their view goes out with them.”
His comments follow union and government criticism of a training program launched by the Master Builders Association to address skills shortages.
Ms Ravlich recently asked the MBA to delay the TradeStart program, which she described as “a short-term solution to a long-term issue”.
“I am also very concerned at the $859 cost to students and their parents for the six-week course,” Ms Ravlich said.
She said the Gallop Government was committed to providing skilled workers to support WA’s booming economy.
“However, we need to ensure that the integrity of our world-class apprenticeships system is maintained while meeting the needs of industry.”
MBA housing director Gavan Forster believes criticism of the TradeStart scheme, which commenced this week, is misplaced.
He said people completing the course would be encouraged to move on to a formal apprenticeship or traineeship.
However, some people could choose to move straight into a labouring job.
Mr Forster said the reality was that many people working in the building industry had not completed any training.
This view was echoed by Mr Alcock, who said one of the biggest problems with the apprentice system was the high drop-out rate.
He said many people dropping out would actually stay in the industry in a labouring job, where they could earn more money.
“That is why the whole apprenticeship reform issue is so important,” Mr Alcock said.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry director, projects, Tony Giles, told the boardroom forum more research was needed to find the causes of the high attrition rates among apprentices.
“We need to be focused on increasing the retention rates,” Mr Giles said.
He noted that Apprenticeships WA, a group training provider run by the CCI, has about 900 apprentices and achieved a 90 per cent retention rate.
Mr Giles said he believed employers were willing to engage themselves in the apprentice system in the trade area.
“An analysis that I undertook last year clearly showed they are paying either above the award or offering other benefits or incentives.”
