VET briefs

New taskforce to plan workforce needs for resource projects The federal government has announced the formation of the national resource sector employment taskforce, which will examine workforce needs for about 80 major resource projects anticipated over the next decade. The taskforce, to be headed by the Parliamentary Secretary for Western and Northern Australia, Gary Gray, will focus on the skill needs of the projects, existing education and training programs, and current industry initiatives to meet those needs. One of the first projects to be considered is the Gorgon LNG project in WA, which at its peak will create about 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. The government says the 80 projects could see demand for skilled labour in the resources sector increase by up to 70 per cent. The taskforce’s terms of reference will be announced shortly. Ski and surf openings in new TAFE course Illawarra Institute of TAFE in NSW has launched a new snow to surf program which offers domestic and international students an opportunity to work and learn at the snow and by the sea. The course will be delivered at the institute’s Cooma campus in the Snowy Mountains, and the coastal Nowra campus. The program will offer four paid seasonal employment placements in the Snowy Mountains region for the 2010 and 2011 winter ski seasons, running from July to October, and on the NSW South Coast for the peak summer holiday period from December to January. Participants will study towards a two-year combined diploma in hospitality management and certificate III in commercial cookery. VET director wins business women’s award Michelle Weaver, owner and director of Voc Ed Learning Group (VELG), has been awarded the Marie Claire young business women’s award at the 2009 Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Awards held this month. The award recognises outstanding businesswomen born on or after 30 July 1974. VELG has trained more than 10,500 VET practitioners in subjects such as AQTF compliance, assessment validation, competency-based assessment and recognition of prior learning. Weaver will now compete for the national award in her category in Melbourne in November. Manufacturing scholarship open to all Manufacturing Skills Australia, the industry skills council for the manufacturing industry, is seeking nominations for its $10,000 ‘innovation program study award’. It is open to VET students, teachers, trainers and assessors, and to manufacturing industry employers and employees. The winner will spend three to four weeks overseas gathering intelligence on skills and technologies not available in Australia. Application close on 10 December. The study must be completed by December 2010. Go towww.mskills.com.au/DownloadManager/downloads/MSA Innovation program 2009.pdf