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This snapshot is the first of its kind undertaken by the Victorian Skills Commission (VSC) and is based on elements of the VSC's successful Regional Skills Taskforces conducted in the Mallee [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.933] and the Great South Coast regions [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 137.227]. The South East Melbourne Region of metropolitan Melbourne, encompassing the City of Dandenong, City of Frankston, City of Monash, Cardinia Shire, Mornington Peninsula Shire, City of Kingston and City of Casey is growing rapidly. A supply of highly skilled local workers is critical to underpin this growth and the vocational education and training (VET) system has a key role to play. However, the VET system and training delivery is not always aligned with the current and future skills needs of local employers. An employer-informed response can improve this alignment and help address current and emerging skills shortages, thereby ensuring that workers in the South East Melbourne Region are skilled, productive and employable.

The South East Melbourne Region has approximately 83,500 businesses and approximately 500,000 full-time and part-time jobs, which accounts for 18 per cent of all jobs in Victoria. The economic profile of the region reflects strengths in four key sectors: Manufacturing, Construction, Retail Trade, and Community Services and Health (CS&H). The logistics and tourism sectors are also expected to support future growth, particularly due to the geography of the region (proximity to well-connected transport routes, port access and cheap land) and its rich natural environment. The region is also seeing growing demand for locally produced high-value agricultural goods (including high-quality wines and other foods), giving local Food and Fibre businesses the opportunity to expand operations. While the outlook of local industries across the South East Melbourne Region is positive, its economic potential is dependent on the region's capacity to address existing workforce challenges and shortages.

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This report provides an overview of the medical laboratory science workforce in Victoria in 2017. It is based on survey responses from 523 individual medical laboratory scientists (approximately 50 per cent of estimated number of medical laboratory scientists in Victoria), three focus groups involving 13 participants, and surveys from 160 employers and managers of organisations that provide pathology services in Victoria.

The medical laboratory science workforce in Victoria is older and female-dominated. Respondents predominately worked in either the public sector (66 per cent) (State, Commonwealth and jointly funded) or with large multi-sited private laboratories (24 per cent); a small number worked for small specialised laboratories and not-for-profit laboratories. The majority were employed in hospital-based laboratories (81 per cent). The majority of respondents (72 per cent) worked in one of the five core areas of laboratory science: haematology, transfusion science, microbiology, anatomical pathology and clinical biochemistry, or in a multidisciplinary core laboratory. Advanced roles were carried out by 54 per cent with the most common roles being in blood banking, identifying new developments, the clinical scientist role and molecular genetics interpretation. The majority of respondents were permanent employees, worked for one employer and in a laboratory that provided 24 hour/seven day a week services. Formal multi-disciplinary team structures were common and very few respondents were sole practitioners.

Participants in this research reported a low level of job satisfaction with only slightly more than half reporting somewhat or extremely satisfied. Higher levels of dissatisfaction were reported by employees of private large multi-sited pathology laboratories than by those in the public sector. Career advancement opportunities, opportunities to do research, income and work/life balance were all factors in this dissatisfaction. Almost 2/3 of respondents (64 per cent) indicated they intended to stay in the profession for less than 10 years. These figures were also disproportionately higher for private sector employees. Key areas of concern were under staffing, lack of jobs for new graduates and low morale. These have been longstanding concerns having been identified more than 15 years ago. While there has been a steady increase in new graduates, there are few and potentially reducing numbers of jobs available to these graduates, as well as for intermediate and more senior professionals. Advancements in technology have changed the way many medical laboratory scientists roles function, but understanding from those outside of the profession of the limitations of this technology is a concerning problem for the profession.

The main issues facing the profession included a high level of dissatisfaction with income level, career development opportunities, job prospects and career pathways; the need for some form of registration, certification or accreditation to ensure appropriate levels of education and quality are maintained in the workforce, particularly with an increasingly privatised world where saving money appeared to be the main objective; and the impending 'brain drain' that is likely to occur with the retirement of many senior scientists and few people coming up through the ranks to replace them. When these issues are matched to the concerns that new graduates are having difficulty getting jobs, it provides for a somewhat dismal view of the future of the profession.

Key areas of consideration for the medical laboratory science workforce going forward include: (1) Review the impacts of privatisation on the medical laboratory science workforce with particular emphasis on the effect on quality of service, standards and available depth of skills; (2) Review the increased creation of technologist versus scientist positions, and the need to ensure there are knowledgeable, experienced scientists in the workforce for quality service provision and to support, mentor and educate new young scientists; (3) Provide more opportunities for career development and a clear career progression pathway, taking into consideration the need for secure employment; (4) Review the staffing levels in laboratories and the concerns associated with lack of jobs for new graduates; (5) Review the supply and demand for the profession in light of the technological changes that are occurring. Producing an increasing number of new graduates who are unable to find employment is problematic for the graduates and the future of the profession; (6) Encourage the development of a stronger voice for the profession to improve the professional recognition and understanding of the medical scientist role; (7) Consider of the need for some form of registration or certification to protect both the profession and the public, particularly with the diverse educational pathways to employment; and (8) Explore with the profession, additional ways to address the 'impending brain drain', concerns that the profession is 'dying', and low morale given the increasing importance that is being placed on the pathology testing within medical diagnoses.

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The Victorian Government's Back to Work (BTW) combines social and economic objectives. The Fund has invested in innovative approaches to vocational skills development so that work-ready job seekers are well matched to job opportunities. With particular attention to equity outcomes for disadvantaged job seekers, BTW recognises that the personal benefits of vocational training are best realised by developing skills that make direct contributions to improved productivity in contemporary workplaces.

These case studies demonstrate how Victoria's TAFE institutes and dual sector universities deploy their expertise to respond to students' aspirations, industry skill needs, community expectations and government policy goals. The case studies are: Industry needs driving training program design - Back to Work at Box Hill Institute; Energising networks and valuing the evidence - Back to Work at Holmesglen and Chisholm Institute; Paddock to Plate - Paddock to Plate Back to Work at Federation Training; Familiarising participants with IT work and workplaces - Back to Work at Victoria Polytechnic; There is no single pathway to work - Back to Work at Wodonga TAFE.

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This paper was funded through the Community of Practice program, part of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Building Researcher Capacity initiative. Sudanese people have been moving to the main towns of the Latrobe Valley - Moe, Morwell and Traralgon - for the past five years, some as a result of a preference for a regional rather than a metropolitan Melbourne location. Sudanese migrants to the Latrobe Valley often have a limited knowledge of the range of employment possibilities in the area and perhaps less knowledge than local people of the work tasks, responsibilities and cultures associated with particular jobs. Sudanese people are now the largest single group in Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE (GippsTAFE) English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. In addition to ESL and general education programs for adults, GippsTAFE is the largest training organisation in the Gippsland region, providing for industry sectors such as automotive, electrical, building trades, construction, engineering, power, telecommunications, horticulture, health, business, hospitality, fashion, music and information technology. Through its GippsTAFE Employment and Transitional Training (GETT) subsidiary - GETTing Sudanese Workers Into Industry - GippsTAFE also provides a range of case management and employment placement services for Sudanese job seekers. This project seeks the views of a range of stakeholders, including current and past students of vocational programs, vocational training teachers, ESL and general education teachers, and staff of employment support programs. By examining some of the relationships between English language learning, vocational training and cultural knowledge, the project endeavours to identify ways in which GippsTAFE can better meet the vocational training needs of Sudanese Australians in this region. Key messages were that: teachers highlighted speaking and listening as well as reading and writing in English as key areas for skill development; some Sudanese students overestimated their proficiency in reading and writing; employment is a clear aim of Sudanese students, but they have unrealistic views of the Australian labour market; and to convert their training into employment, they require both basic skills and cultural understanding. The author suggests that an integrated approach to learning, in which skills development and language development are combined, could lead to a greater understanding of how Australian workplaces function, and produce realistic expectations for future employment. That said, this report highlights the enormity of the challenge that Sudanese students face in acquiring the skills and English proficiency required for the labour market.

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There has been a recognised problem accessing labour in agriculture which can have dire consequences for the productivity and profitability of Victorian agriculture and can lead to poorer wellbeing in rural communities. Understanding the nature of and influences on agriculture workforce issues may help understand the role, if any, for agriculture in addressing state unemployment issues. Relatedly, such understanding may illuminate opportunities for government, especially the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR), to support agricultural employment. Toward such an aim, this paper explores the existing literature to consider the nature of workforce issues in Australian and Victorian agriculture. It does so by (1) 'setting the scene' about broad workforce issues in agriculture, (2) describing the causes of the workforce problems, (3) considering the role of retention in workforce issues, (4) identifying how the problems are managed, and (5) offering some insights, based on the changes occurring in agriculture, regarding opportunities for supporting employment in agriculture.

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The strategic audit objectives were to review the quality of training delivered to the Community Services and Health Industry, Aged Care Sector, by registered training organisations (RTOs) in Victoria. In addition, the audit was intended to assess compliance with the regulatory requirements under Section 23 of the Victorian Qualifications Authority Act 2000 and the Australian Recognition Framework (ARF). The Office of Training and Tertiary Education (OTTE) identified a sample of 10 RTOs for audit. The sample contained a mix of public and private providers, large and small providers, metropolitan and regional, with the audit conducted by three auditors, a lead auditor with experience in the audit process and two industry experts operating alternately in audits.

The audit made a number of observations: (1) A small number of providers employed staff with impressive qualifications in the relevant area and a high level of professional commitment to the area. Ninety per cent of providers had staff with qualifications to the level being delivered, 70 per cent had qualified assessors and 80 per cent had staff with current and relevant experience (2) RTOs provided varying levels of resources to support the delivery of the training with some examples of excellent provision (3) All providers, except three, had quality management systems in place (4) All RTOs had dedicated aged care staff who held the welfare and development of students as being of paramount importance (5) All RTOS were following the Aged Care Training Package guidelines. The training materials utilised by the RTOs were generally satisfactory with examples of reliance of local materials and well as commercially available resources. However, few providers considered the different training requirements of both community based care and residential based care in providing materials for students (6) Eight providers were able to demonstrate satisfactory implementation of assessment strategies consistent with the Training Package guidelines, and (7) The application of recognition of prior learning (RPL)/recognition of current competencies (RCC) was relatively rare but two providers used RPL/RCC exclusively as the mechanism for the delivery of Certificate III in Community Services (Aged Care Work). Show less

The purpose of the profiles is to provide a robust evidence base of skills and workforce demands to guide education and skills responses in the region. It draws on a wide range of data and information supplemented by insights and experience of key local stakeholders, brought together as a Regional Skills Taskforce and industry roundtables. This profile focuses on the three-year outlook for the Gippsland region, and the education and training opportunities that can assist in developing the required workforce. Whilst the profile acknowledges that many factors contribute to economic development, this work is centred on the skills and training responses (to engage, train and retain the workforce) rather than other levers that are also essential to secure labour and ensure the region's prosperity.

Gippsland covers a vast area from outer eastern Melbourne to the eastern-most point in Victoria. It encompasses the local government areas of Latrobe City and the Shires of Bass Coast, Baw Baw, East Gippsland, South Gippsland and Wellington. The region is home to the Gunaikurnai, Bunurong, Wurundjeri and Taungurung Nations, who have lived, worked and cared for their Country and resources for many thousands of years. Gippsland had a resident population of 300,664 at the time of the 2021 census with recent growth exceeding population projections at 1.6 per cent in 2020-21. After a turbulent period of natural disasters, the pandemic, and rapid and anticipated transitioning of the energy and resources industries, Gippsland is poised for growth. It is well positioned to reap the benefits of the State Electricity Commission and clean energy, a growing population, the return of tourists, infrastructure investment, and increasing consumer demand for food and fibre products.

Historically, Gippsland has been Victoria's fossil-fuel based energy production powerhouse creating a skilled workforce and significant infrastructure. This makes it an ideal location to lead the transition to clean and renewable energy sources. The region has an abundance of natural resources, which underpins the energy and mining industry and nature-based tourism. Demand for service-based industries is across the sectors of food, retail, health care and community services, and utilities. An expansive land base supports a competitive advantage in food and fibre industries, which supply the local manufacturing industry to meet domestic and export demand. The three-year employment projections show significant demand for workers in the region - with more than 7,750-10,500 additional new workers required in the three years between 2022 and 2025. At least 6,000 workers will also be needed to replace retirements.

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Community service learning is the name given to the integration of community service into students' courses. Community service learning can be seen as a subset of work-integrated learning. Most universities include service to the community in their mission statements. The purpose of service learning is to help the community while also helping students to gain professional skills that they might need in the future. Industry requires university graduates to be equipped with technical knowledge and also with graduate capabilities/attributes and/or generic skills such as communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. This paper explores business students' experience of service learning in the community and investigates the attributes that students report they have achieved from their experience. The research argues that service learning can be used to develop the attributes required by university and for industry. The paper describes how the community service learning subject is offered at Australian Catholic University (ACU) in Melbourne, Australia. A content analysis was undertaken of the students' reflective reports in order to determine the skills that the students recorded that they have developed through their experience. The findings provide insight into the perceptions of students regarding their community engagement experience and how this links to the graduate attributes that the university is trying to develop in students. Billett's framework for effective incorporation of work integrated learning has been used to make recommendations regarding the outcome of community service learning at ACU. Overall, the community service was a positive experience for business students, increasing their confidence and their ability to work with others.

Published abstract. Show less

Design education, problem solving and collaboration are critical themes which underpin an environment that supports innovation and growth in industry and education. As the [vocational education and training] VET sector prepares graduates for 21st century jobs, we need to look to new approaches to support educators to be adaptive, resilient and responsive in a fast-paced industry environment, which operates on a global scale. The opportunity to visit California and share in their experiences has reinforced the value of collaboration, shared practice, technology and industry being connected to the classroom as key drivers of an innovative VET sector which is responsive to the changing needs of industry. The fellowship report will challenge the reader to look differently at the systems and supports which are needed for the VET sector to remain at the cutting-edge of education in support of a prosperous and productive industry sector.

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The Victorian Aboriginal Economic Development Group was a mix of 13 high-profile members of the Aboriginal, not-for-profit and business communities that was formed in 2008 to make recommendations on ways to close the economic gap for Aboriginal Victorians. The recommendations in this report give priority to: creating real pathways from school to further education, training or work; preparation for work, finding a job and support in the workplace; growing Indigenous businesses, particularly in tourism; building wealth from the land; and creating leadership skills and support from mentors.

Edited excerpts from the Department website. Show less