What qualifications are eligible under Round Three?

Section 3.2 of the Program Guidelines provides information on eligible training qualifications.  A list of AQF Certificate III or above qualifications in traditional trade occupations experiencing national skills shortage can be found on the resources page.

What qualification should I include in my application if my school/TTC does not offer Certificate III qualifications?

While Certificate III or above qualifications in traditional trade occupations experiencing skills shortages are the highest priorities for Trade Training Centres, other qualifications are also eligible, in particular, programs that provide guaranteed pathways to or which may lead to partial credit for a Certificate III qualification.  For further details, refer to the Program Guidelines Section 3.2.

What are Occupations in Local Demand?

In addition to the range of eligible traditional trade qualifications, schools may request approval from DEEWR to deliver qualifications that articulate to Occupations in Local Demand (OLD).  Approval of any OLD occupations/qualifications is designed to ensure the Program can respond to new skills shortages that require similar capital investment and equipment requirements to traditional trade qualifications.  Schools seeking a decision on this matter must email the Trade Training Centres Taskforce at tradetraining@deewr.gov.au and request an Application for Approval for Eligibility of Occupations in Local Demand (‘OLD form’) form.  OLD requests for Round Three close on 15 February 2010.  Further information on the OLD qualifications can be found in Section 3.2.2 of the Guidelines.

How can a school determine which skills are in demand in their state and/or local region?

There are several websites which can help schools identify skills shortages in their state and/or local region.

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) undertakes skill shortage research on a six monthly basis through its National Office and State Offices, especially for trades and professional occupations.  The findings of the research are based on a Survey of Employers Who Have Recently Advertised (SERA), a telephone-based survey, and include analysis of industry demand, employment and vacancy trends, migration and training commencements and completions.
Results for all states and territories are listed at the skills in demand website.

DEEWR also undertakes surveys of employers regarding their recruitment experiences and occupations proving difficult to fill at a regional and industry level.  These results are combined with general labour market information and disseminated through presentations at regional workshops or through reports.

These presentations and reports can be downloaded from the regional reports website. Other labour market information at the regional, state/territory and national level can also be found at on the Labour Market Information Portal website.

In addition to the above, there are a number of websites to help schools develop connections at the local level.  These websites can also provide useful information about the labour market, for example, schools can:

• discuss the demand for particular trades with their local Australian Apprenticeship Centre – to find your school’s nearest Australian Apprenticeships Centre simply type your postcode into the Australian Apprenticeships Centre Search or call 13 38 73; 
  
• find out if there is a local Group Training Organisation that might be interested in working in partnership to establish a Trade Training Centre as a shared facility by visiting Group Training Australia;
  
• contact their local employment service providers to discuss which jobs are difficult to fill and the training requirements for these jobs in the local area (schools can find their local Job Network Members and Job Placement Organisations on Australian Jobsearch); or
  
• visit the National Training Information Service for further information on training providers in your local area
   
  

Schools can also seek support about labour market trends and industry skills needs from the Trade Training Centres in Schools support units in each State and Territory. 
The DEEWR Australian Jobs 2009 publication which is distributed to all secondary schools and colleges also provides useful regional information.