Flexible Traineeship Initiative

Objectives:

• establish links for the forest, wood, paper and timber products industry with Australian Apprenticeship Centres
• build the critical mass of training demand through AACs, enterprises and RTOs
• overcome impediments of young people finding access to our industry
• address the gap between the job and the person
• support enterprises plan a job so that it is viewed as a skill development opportunity for trainee/apprentice
• continue to build on the industry investment of the NAFI/A3P ‘Reach for the Skies’ DVD and related material
• develop and trial an implementation kit for enterprises to link job needs with trainees and apprentices
• increase the take up of flexibility offered by our training packages.

Outcomes:

• partnerships and working relationships with AACs, RTOs and enterprises
• promotion through Timber Communities Australia to schools and communities of traineeships and attractive career paths in our industry
• enterprise knowledge of flexible skill development pathways
• a kit to support employer decisions in flexible trainee and apprenticeship approaches, such as part-time and school based options
• improved enterprise uptake of trainees/apprentices.

Project Update

The second part of the flexible traineeship project will focus on the Forest Growing and Management Sector. Hancock Victoria Plantations (HVP), East Gippsland TAFE (RTO), MEGT (AAC) will be involved in the second phase of the project. The project will focus on using units of competency from the FPI05 training package along with units from the Horticultural Training package.

It will be based at the Gelliondale Nursery in Yarram Victoria and will primarily focus of the nursery and growing of seedling and trees. The trees will be planted to replace the areas affected by the February bush fires.

HVP lost a approximately 17,000 hectares of pine plantation and this project is aimed at replacing those trees. The trainees will start in February 2010. 

This project is funded under the Australian Government’s Industry Training Strategies Program: Industry Pathfinder, administered by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.