A word from our CEO

In 1776 the “father of economics” Adam Smith published his landmark book Wealth of Nations. The key theory to come out of this book is the Division of Labour. As the Harvard Business Review states, this “would be one of the central drivers of economic progress for centuries to come”. Division of labour is the separation of a work process into a number of tasks to be performed by a person or group of people. This theory has given rise to the specialised worker. While I have written on this subject previously, the concept fits well with the federal Governments continual agenda of raising productivity.

 Firstly you may ask, what is productivity? Productivity is the measure of national productivity. At a national level it captures the economy’s ability to harness its physical and human capital resources to generate output and income. The Federal House of Representatives Standing Committee of Economics report; Inquiry into raising the productivity growth in the Australian economy outlined that productivity growth has declined by about 0.4% annually since 2003-04. This is significant given that the division of labour is such a widely accepted practice. Access to a larger workforce through greater workforce participation is an area that can increase productivity.  Currently, there are around 652,500 (ABS, 2012) unemployed Australians with 7.7M classed as not in the workforce. The challenge is encouraging this cohort into the workforce through the necessary incentives and appropriate training.

Workforce participation and education level are closely linked. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) note that an additional year of schooling can increase workforce participation by around 0.5% for men and 4% for females. Furthermore, I have previously outlined the proven link between the level of educational attainment and whole of life earnings. Even a certificate I or II can raise the level of life time earnings. Investing in training and educations pays dividends in many ways. This is the case for the individual when investing in their personal educational betterment and similarly for the government when providing subsidised training places.  Given that the “average production worker” annual tax contribution is $7,428 (Department of Parliamentary Services) the combined lift in workforce participation of men and women of 4.5% would significantly increase the level of taxation income. This increased level of federal income would certainly offset investment in programs such as social inclusion to move the marginalised and disadvantaged into training and employment, not to mention the increase in economic productivity. This theory is further enhanced by the Western Research Institute study Cost Benefit Analysis of Social Inclusion programs at Western College. The report showed that for every $1.00 of Govt funds spent in these programs the return is $8.92.  

When considering the theory of the division of labour in this context of increased education; as labour becomes more knowledge based and communications technology advances, the division of labour accelerates. This gives way to hyper-specialisation, under this concept jobs can be redefined and lower skilled tasks off loaded. Consequently, lower level skilled positions may be further subject to declining wage levels, while higher skilled workers will continue to enjoy wages growth.

To effectively achieve divisions of labour the worker needs to be highly skilled in the task at hand. This comes through on-the-job training, increased competence through repetition and job related and general training. Again, the level of educational attainment is critical in a number of areas; directly linked to not only whole of life earnings and proved in recent columns but also the level of economic output an economy can achieve. Economic output is also directly related to the standard of living enjoyed by a nation. Australia enjoys a relatively high standard of living; further education and training will contribute to ensure this remains the case. You can also achieve the same sort of returns outlined above in your life by investing in your education.

Take time to read our course guide and consider where we may be able to assist you increase your educational attainment and subsequently your level of productivity. Enrol at Western College today. 

Welcome to 2013 our first course guide for the year. I trust you all had a great Christmas break and a wonderful New Year. 2012 was a successful year for Western College and 2013 looks to be equally successful for Western College

Previously, I wrote about earning differentials in the labour market and their causes, one of the major factors was the level of education with higher levels of education leading to greater earnings. Having come through the Global Financial Crisis, while Australia faired very well, it did raise the level of unemployment during that period. It is worthwhile exploring how levels of education impacts on unemployment. This is also a pertinent topic considering the current focus on productivity.

When considering the unemployment rate, persons with no qualification have an unemployment rate of just under 9%. If that person gains even a Certificate I/II level qualification their chances of employment improve. A person with a Certificate III/IV level qualifications unemployment rate halves to just over 4% when compared to a person with no qualification, this is also the case for Diploma level. This improves again to around 3.7% for persons with a Degree and improves again to just over 2% for those with a post graduate Cert/Dip/ These findings further demonstrate the importance of education and self development by the individual, as viewed by the labour market.

When combining these findings with the previous explorations of earning differentials, it is clear that as a person becomes more educated and qualified their risk of prolonged unemployment drops, while their earning capacity rises. Even gaining entry level qualifications improved your chances of gaining employment. Continuous learning in Australia's contemporary economy is the key to progression.

Make 2013 your year of progressions, ensure you have the best chance of increasing your earning and reducing the risk of prolonged unemployment. Take time to read your course guide and consider where we may be able to assist you increase your skills set.

Enrol at Western College today.

 

In Australia, vocational education has become a key part of training in industry. This is in addition to the more traditional tertiary education role.Many companies and organisations have embraced the VET system, aligning their training activities to the attainment of industry and job related qualifications.Formal assessment of competencies against competency standards contained in industry specific training packages is a regular part of the development of staff in a wide variety of business, not-for-profit and government organisations.The 2011 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110) qualification is a mandatory requirement for those wanting to train and assess nationally within the workplace or within a training organisation.
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110) has had various names in the past, such as Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training (BSZ40198), and most recently Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA40104). It has also been referred to as Train Small Groups, Train the Trainer and so on. All these previous qualifications were necessary when people wanted to train both internally and externally.
The qualification has now been changed to Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110) to reflect the changes in the workplace training standards and in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) environment. The main difference is the three VET units from TAA have been absorbed into the design, delivery and assessment units of TAE. The TAE has also reduced the number of units which was considered quite cumbersome, from 14 units to 10 units.
It is most important to understand that the trainer-required qualificationhas remained Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. You may have seen marketing materials or advertising referring to the new qualification as “New Cert IV TAE” or the “Certificate IV in Training and Education”. However these terms are incorrect and misleading.
Jobs associated with this qualification may include:

o Enterprise Trainers and Assessors
o RTO Trainers and Assessors
o HR Managers
o Training Advisors
o Learning Mangers
o Vocational Education Teachers

Obviously everyone has different needs and situations. Both Certificate IV qualifications are seen as each other’s equivalent. There is a current period of transition where RTOs phase out the previous qualification and begin offering the new Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Once the transition phase is complete, RTOs will no longer be able to offer the current qualifications, although the existing Cert IV will continue to be the benchmark standard for training in Australia.
At Western College we believe in delivering to our students the most relevant and up to date qualifications, which is why we have already begun offering the TAE as our Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
For those who already hold the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAA, please consider our bridging course that is available in our current course guide. This course provides the pathway to obtain the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE. While there are no current requirements to upgrade, this would be advantageous to you as it will provide you with the most up to date and current statement of attainment in this field.Our experienced and unsurpassed trainer will provide you with a full and comprehensive outline of the TAE in this course and offer alternate pathways if necessary for you to achieve the full TAE. For those seeking to obtain the qualification please contact us and we can advise you on the best pathway.
Please take the time to read through our course guide and see how we can assist you career to take off so you can enjoy a full and satisfying working life. Call us today.

 

A great community initiative has evolved from various businesses in Dubbo that is encouraging passionate and amateur photographers to enter the first annual Your Community Photography Prize 2012.

This competition comprises of 2 sections, being Open and Student sections, focusing on 4 different categories.
* Your Community
* Colour My World
* Objects and shapes
* Macro Mania

We wish to encourage all of those in the eligible areas, to enter your talent into the competition to win some fabulous prizes!

The winner will be announced at the Western College Open Day on 22 September 2012.

Please review the terms and conditions of the competition and direct all enquiries to Western College on 6884 2899.

 

Have you ever bought a suit for in important event, only to find it doesn’t quite fit right? Sleeves too long, pants a bit snug, shoulders not exactly even…
For special occasions, off-the-rack sometimes just doesn’t cut it.  You need something that’s tailor-made just for you.

It’s the same with education.

And what could be more special an occasion than when you’re looking to update your skills or to help your employees update theirs?
In an ever-changing workplace and industry climate, one size simply doesn’t fit all when it comes to training and education. For too long, giant educational entities have steadfastly refused to shift their approach away from this ‘off-the-rack’ mentality, and have continued to try – futilely – to jam square pegs through round holes regardless of the outcomes.
While those pulling the levers of school curricula are beginning to recognise that in order to maximise learning there must be some recognition of the individual within the system– particularly for those square pegs – the notion of tailored training remains anathema to large centralised institutions offering adult education.

The rolling out of a ‘template’ for training into which every learner must fit ticks a whole raft of bureaucratic boxes, but it does nothing to achieve genuine and practical educational or employment results.  

As a society, we increasingly recognise the value and importance of the individual and of diversity in all aspects of life – except when it comes to adult education and training, where the majority of monopolistic providers still cling to the ‘template’ model on which their continued funding largely relies.Despite the vast diversity of industry and learner demographics we have in Australia, particularly in regional areas such as ours, funding bodies still seem intent on imposing mandates and restrictions on training. They do this under the guise of ‘transparency’ and ‘quality’ – buzz words guaranteed to cloud the issue and silence critics of centralised control.However, in offering neither flexibility nor the opportunity for individualised tailoring, these models ignore rather than embrace diversity – very much to the detriment of the communities and societies they purport to serve.

In the real world – where competition is fierce and those without practical and applicable skills are quickly overlooked – learners and businesses (and therefore their communities) are best served by training and educational opportunities that are tailored specifically to suit THEIR needs – not what they’re told they need.

This is particularly so for ‘marginalised’, or disadvantaged, learners who come from lower socio-economic circumstances, or who have language, physical or other barriers to overcome in their quest for education.
If, as a society, we genuinely want to address the issue of disadvantage, crime, unemployment and anti-social behaviour, education is where we start.  And if that education is to truly make a difference, there must be room within the overall framework, the ‘system’, to make adjustments to not only the kinds of skills training on offer, but the ways in which that training is delivered.

This is what smaller education providers, like Western College, are trying to do.  They are able to shape and construct training to suit the needs of the learner and the business community in which that learner, once skilled and trained, will be aiming to gain employment.

Unlike the institutionalised approach, smaller providers are able to liaise directly with these employers to find out exactly what kinds of skills they’re looking for in potential employees – then match the training specifically to meet those needs, thereby linking the learner with real and genuine employment opportunities.

Education should not be an exercise in bureaucratic box ticking.

It’s like that off the rack suit – it’s never going to fit everyone, but with some individual tailoring, it can be altered to sit well and fit comfortably.

Sometime ago I read with interest the story of two young men who had developed an idea – they just needed someone to back them. Confidently, they approached Atari and said “Hey, we have this amazing thing – just pay our wages, we’ll come and work for you and give it to you. It even uses some of your parts.” They were shown the door.
Not to be deterred, they met with representatives from Hewlett Packard, who confidently said, “We don’t need you, and furthermore, you haven’t even made it through college yet.”
Still undeterred, they started their own company and built it for themselves. The two men were Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and the company they started, Apple, istoday worth $US500 billion (AP, 2012).
Imagine if your staff had the innovative thinking of the two Steves. Or – sit down when you do this – ask yourself if your people have the innovative thinking capacity of the people the two aspiring entrepreneurs met at Atari and Hewlett Packard?The latter is scary. Atari being the “first port of call” for the Steves, made one of the worst business decisions in history, and where is Atari now? They’re around… just.
Competition drives innovation – this is a key economic reality and in today’s global marketplace, competition is a certainty.  However, what does not automatically follow is a company’s ability to innovate. The reason is that it’s not the entity itself that is able to innovate, it’s the ‘human capital’ component – your staff members need to have the capacity to innovate.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) recently completed the research piece Building the capacity to innovate: the role of human capital. The research identified three key factors (stimuli) as instrumental in developing human capital for enterprise innovation. They are: people management; knowledge management; and creativity management. One of the key findings revealed that learning and development, more specifically the development of learning cultures, is not simply the provision of training. Equally important were the external links with training companies. What the research revealed was that a “quick” training fix failed to develop among staff a learning culture that fostered innovative thinking.
There has been much discussion around the concept of “training for training’s sake”. This was the historic approach by many employers to human capital development. However, the training failed to deliver the necessary skills required to thrive in the workplace and be a more productive and innovative employee. The missing link in training has often been the failure to identify exactly what skills the participant needed to learn. When this is accurately identified, employees receive worthwhile training, are motivated by the learning leading to productive outcomes for the company and the establishment of a learning culture begins. The cornerstone in this process is the ability to identify what training is needed by the employee to allow them to thrive in their job role – this has long been an issue for employers.
Considerable research and development has been conducted by JMA Analytics, a national Vocational, Education and Training research company, to solve this very issue. A key analytical tool is now available that is able to measure capability by identifying what skill the employee has, but is not recognised, and what training is required to enable the employee to be a productive innovative contributor. Additionally, the analytical tool also assesses the five critical thinking skills, further increasing the capability of your staff.
Importantly, NCVER research identified that the relationship with the training provider to be key.
As part of our service to employers, Western College can manage the entire process including mentoring of employees through the analysis and training process fostering the learning culture identified in the report. The employer can then get on with the implementation of another key factor in the innovative process – the implementation and management of high performance work practices.
Contact Western College today about capability management. We are more than happy to help foster innovation and a sustainable learning culture in your business to turn every employee into a “Steve”.

During the recent, or some would argue continuing economic downturn, the GFC, businesses jettison non essential services. Unfortunately training and education is seen as one of these. Included in these measures to reduce cost, most companies have cut back on sending people to conferences and seminars and looked hard at cutting other expenses.
What organisations fail to consider is the link between training and development and the way it increases productivity and more importantly your bottom line. Companies that grasp this concept and continue to invest in training and development, despite the economic downturn, find themselves at the eventual upturn of their financial position with a workforce more educated, multi skilled and better able to take advantage of future growth.
Well-trained employees are more capable and willing to assume more control over their jobs. They need less supervision, which frees management for other tasks. This is especially relevant to Gen X and Gen Y. They believe training and development is critical as they value the opportunity to advance and make more money. They also want to make a bigger contribution and have a fear of failing or falling behind in a competitive world. Additionally, well trained employees are more capable of answering the questions of customers, which builds better customer loyalty. Employees who understand the business complain less, are more satisfied, and more motivated. All this leads to better management-employee relationships, increased work productivity, moral, performance and results, leading naturally to business profits.
The trends in the unemployment rate over the past thirty years highlight the need for training and development and the benefits that training and development offer businesses. The unemployment rates are related with the sharp contractions of the economic activity and a notable divergence in labour market outcomes between skilled and unskilled workers. Unemployment rates are considerably less for skilled and educated employees as opposed to unskilled.
In a local context I regularly receive calls from businesses looking for “quality candidates” for vacant positions they have. This is an indicator that many job seekers are not job ready and existing employees looking for a change are not adequately trained. Considering that the Dubbo region is about to experience a mining boom, this is concerning not only for new mining entrants in the region but also existing business competing for skilled workers. This makes it all the more important for businesses to have a coherent training plan for their employees to ensure their staff are up and running at full potential and continuing to be developed. As pointed out earlier in this column and in previous articles, well trained employees gain greater job satisfaction. This being the case, it is reasonable to say that they will also display a greater level of loyalty to their employer resulting in increased staff retention rates.
Staff increased staff retention reduces business costs and increases performance momentum. The old school of thinking is why should I pay for the training to have them leave and another employer gets the benefit. Innovative and successful employers see the value of training and its correlation with high performance levels and retention. Given that the national workforce will experience a dramatic demographic shift in the coming years, training and development is more important than ever considering the beliefs and expectation of Gen Y workers.   
The Federal Government also recognised the importance of a trained work force. The National Workforce Development Fund (WDF) offers funding assistance for industries to up skill existing workers, you just need a staff development plan. It makes great business sense to investigate this further. One unique tool Western College has to assist business develop staff development plans is our employee capability system to identify skill gaps and deliver targeting training solutions. The system is target and can feed directly into businesses staff development plans for roll out under the WDF and assist you increase your bottom line; Which after all, is why you’re in business.

Sometime ago I read with interest the story of two young men who had developed an idea, they just needed someone to back them. Confidently, they approached Atari and said “hey we have this amazing thing, just pay our wages, we’ll come and work for you and give it to you. It even uses someof your parts.” They were shown the door. Not to be deterred they met with Hewlett Packard who confidently said we don’t need you, and added you haven’t even got through college yet. Still undeterred they started their own company and built it themselves. The two men were Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and the company they started, Apple today is worth $US500 billion (AP, 2012). Imagine if your staff had the innovative thinking of the two Steve’s? Or, sit down when you do this. Does your staff have the innovative thinking capacity of the people they met at Atari and Hewlett Packard? The latter is scary; Atari being the “first port of call” for the Steve’s, made one of the worst
business decisions in history, and where is Atari now? They’re around, just. Competition drives innovation, this is a key economic reality and in today’s global market place competition is a certainty; however what does not automatically follow is a company’s ability to innovate. The reason is that it is not the entity itself that is able to innovate, it’s the Human Capital component, your staff need to have
the capacity to innovate. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) recently completed the research piece Building the capacity to innovate: the role of human capital. The research identified three key factors (stimuli) as instrumental in developing human capital for enterprise innovation. They are; people management, knowledge management and creativity management. One of the key findings revealed that; learning and development, more specifically the development of learning cultures – not simply the provision of training. Equally important was the external links with training companies. What the research revealed was that a “quick” training fix failed to develop staff into a learning culture that fostered innovative thinking. There has been much discussion around the concept of “training for trainings sake”. This was the historic approach by many employers to Human Capital development. However, the training failed to deliver the necessary skills required to thrive in the workplace and be a more productive and innovative employee. The missing link in training has often been the failure to identify exactly what skills the participant needed to learn. When this is accurately identified, employees receive worthwhile training, are motivated by the learning leading to productive outcomes for the company and the establishment of a learning culture begins. The cornerstone in this process is the ability to identify what training is needed by the employee to allow them to thrive in their job role; this has long been an issue for employers. Considerable research and development has been conducted by JMA Analytics a national Vocational, Education and Training research company to solve this very issue. A key analytical tool is now available that is able measure capability by identifying what skill the employee has, but is not recognised, and what training is required to enable the employee to be a productive innovative contributor. Additionally, the analytical tool also assesses the five critical thinking skills further
increasing the capability of your staff. Importantly, NCVER research identified that the relationship with the training provider to be key. Western College, as part of our service to employers, can manage the entire process including mentoring of employees through the analysis and training process fostering the learning culture identified in the report. The employer can then get on with the implementation of another key factor in the innovative process, the implementation and management of high performance work practices. Contact Western College today about capability management, we are more than happy to help foster
innovation and a sustainable learning culture in your business to turn every employee into a “Steve”.

Now that the carbon tax has made its way through the lower house and the expected to passing of the senate and into law, there is a heightened frenzy of debate about the impact of the new tax on the domestic economy. Christian Kerr from The Australian reports that research by the Australian Trade Industry Trade Alliance states that nine out of ten manufacturing jobs will feel the full impact of the carbon tax with the likely result being 950,000 domestic jobs coming under threat as employer’s battle increased costs. This is concerning given that employment, while still at low levels is starting to show signs of slowing. Proponents of the tax point to the creation of green jobs as an offset to the proposed job losses and the transition to a low carbon economy. However there is evidence showing that the creation of green jobs is not enough to offset the losses.

Economist Gabriel Calzada examined the effect of green energy mandates in Spain. Gabriel discovered that for every green job created there were 2.2 jobs lost (Forbes, 2011). This being the case there is a significant short fall in jobs due to a migration to a low carbon economy. As few people understand how a carbon tax works, I have briefly outlines the basics of its operation. A carbon tax is simply a pigouvian tax named after the English economist Arthur Pigou. Market pricing often does not capture the negative externalities (pollution) generated in its operation therefore, the social cost is not captured in the products private cost. The application of a pigouvain tax seeks to capture this cost, faced with this cost increase producers have an incentive to reduce production to a socially optimal level. Reduced production levels will also result in a decrease in demand for human capital resulting in job losses.

Structural changes in the economy often results in certain industries being impacted at greater levels than others. This was the case when the then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam significantly reduced the tariff level applied to imports. This impacted the Manufacturing, agricultural and textile industries. These industries are often classified as low skill. Australia has been moving to a higher skilled economy for some time now, and the impost of a Carbon tax is likely to speed this transition up.

The creation of green jobs will require higher skilled workers; those that are displaced due to the move to a low carbon economy will also require retraining into higher skill areas. Jobs data shows that the jobs growth is in high skilled areas, therefore, those who do not continue to develop and educate themselves will find it difficult to gain alternative employment should they be the victim of job displacement. Regardless if a Carbon tax makes it though the parliament or not the fact still remains the Australia is rapidly moving to a high skilled economy and must do so to remain competitive and maintain our living standard. Emerging economies are able to provide labour at a much cheaper rate than Australia causing low skill labour intensive industries move off shore.

Again, this highlights the importance of education and training and its relationship to the level of life earnings an individual can achieve. I would suggest that everyone regularly audit their skill levels to ensure they are up to date. Furthermore, your level of educational attainment needs to keep increasing; this will ensure you remain competitive in the job market. Remember, you never stop learning, if you do you may find you’ll stop earning.

In 1776 the “father of economics” Adam Smith published his landmark book Wealth of Nations. The key theory to come out of this book is the Division of Labour. As the Harvard Business Review states, this “would be one of the central drivers of economic progress for centuries to come”. Division of labour is the separation of a work process into a number of tasks to be performed by a person or group of people. This theory has given rise to the specialised worker. The concept fits well with the current federal Governments agenda of raising productivity.

Firstly you may ask, what is productivity? Productivity is the measure of national productivity. At a national level it captures the economy’s ability to harness its physical and human capital resources to generate output and income. In April last year the House of Representatives House Standing Committee of Economics report; Inquiry into raising the productivity growth in the Australian economy outlines that productivity growth has declined by about 0.4% annually since 2003-04. This is significant given that the division of labour is such a widely accepted practice. 

Access to a larger workforce through greater workforce participation is an area that can increase productivity. Currently, there are around 588,000 unemployed Australians with 6.3M classed as not in the workforce. The challenge is encouraging this cohort into the workforce through the necessary incentives and appropriate training.

Workforce participation and education level are closely linked. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) note that an additional year of schooling can increase workforce participation by around 0.5% for men and 4% for females. Furthermore, I have recently outlined the proven link between the level of educational attainment and whole of life earnings. Even a certificate I or II can raise the level of life time earnings. Investing in training and educations pays dividends in many ways. This is the case for the individual when investing in their personal educational betterment and similarly for the government when providing subsidised training places. Given that the “average production worker” annual tax contribution is $7,428 (Department of Parliamentary Services) the combined lift in workforce participation of men and women of 4.5% would significantly increase the level of taxation income. This increased level of federal income would certainly offset investment in programs such as social inclusion to move the marginalised and disadvantaged into training and employment, not to mention the increase in economic productivity.

When considering the theory of the division of labour in this context of increased education; as labour becomes more knowledge based and communications technology advances, the division of labour accelerates. This gives way to hyper-specialisation, under this concept jobs can be redefined and lower skilled tasks off loaded. Consequently, lower level skilled positions may be further subject to declining wage levels, while higher skilled workers will continue to enjoy wages growth.

To effectively achieve divisions of labour the worker needs to be highly skilled in the task at hand. This comes through on-the-job training, increased competence through repetition and job related and general training. Again, the level of educational attainment is critical in a number of areas; directly linked to not only whole of life earnings and proved in recent columns but also thelevel of economic output an economy can achieve. Economic output is also directly related to the standard of living enjoyed by a nation. Australia enjoys a relatively high standard of living; further education and training will contribute to ensure this remains the case.