Date : 2010-05-14 10:42:49
Australia’s long-term growth prospects and the future nature of our society depend on the skills of our people and the way those skills are used. Our nation risks missing out on the full benefits of future global growth and the dividends from our investment in education unless we urgently commit to a new national approach to workforce development that maximises people’s capabilities, lifts productivity and increases workforce participation.
Australia faces a number of pressing workforce threats and opportunities. Some, like those associated with environmental change and new technology, are global challenges. Others, like demographic change, our economic performance and social inequality are largely national but are just as serious. To position Australia to meet these challenges requires new ways of thinking about skills and knowledge and their application in the workplace and the community. Most immediately, as we look towards economic recovery, employers are already raising concerns about the risk that our economic growth will be constrained once again because
of skill shortages. Looking further ahead, we will need to deepen our skills and lift productivity to enable us to successfully adapt to change and maintain our competitive advantage and a high standard of living, as the emerging economies in our region further
advance and industrialise. With an ageing population, labour shortages are also a risk in the future. We need to significantly increase our current rate of employment participation. Often those who fail to obtain work lack basic employability skills. It is vital that we improve core adult language, literacy and numeracy skills if we are to achieve higher participation rates. Moreover the best
way to improve social inclusion is to ensure that all those who want to work can.
Date : 2010-05-14 10:13:46
In 2008, the Manufacturing Industry Skills Advisory Council SA Inc (MISAC) commissioned research involving almost 300 apprentices in the South Australian Manufacturing Industry.The research was charged with identifying barriers and incentives related to apprenticeship participation, with a focus on current perceptions about training and a goal of identifying program improvements which could increase apprenticeship commencements and completions.
The primary research was conducted by Colmar Brunton Intelligence, culminating in a report submitted to MISAC in March 2009. This current document summarises the findings of that primary research report, in order to facilitate a broader distribution to stakeholders.
Date : 2010-05-14 09:52:54
Businesses across the manufacturing, construction and services sectors are confident though cautious about prospects during 2010. The year is looking to be a 2010 is expected to see improvement in activity in all three sectors though it is likely to be stronger in the services and manufacturing sectors than the construction sector. While improving, growth in manufacturing is coming from a low base following a sharp contraction for most of the past eighteen months. The global economy will see moderate growth in 2010, with those firms exposed to the faster growing emerging economies such as China faring better than Domestically, firm performance will reflect the impact of positive drivers such as improving consumer confidence in incomes growth and employment prospects, rising household wealth and exposure to strong growth in China. Offsetting these positives will be the fading of Government stimulus, rising interest rates and the adverse impacts of the stronger dollar on import-competing and exporting businesses. Wages and prices growth in all sectors look set to remain modest. This is in line with the forecasts for overall activity outlined by the CEOs in this survey.
