Edition 66, April 2009

Automotive training assigned to Manufacturing Skills Australia

The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, has announced that the Industry Skills Council for the manufacturing industry, Manufacturing Skills Australia, will take on responsibility for training issues in the automotive industry.

Automotive industry training is crucial to the successful future of the automotive sector in Australia and the automotive industry is currently the only major industry sector not represented by an Industry Skills Council.

It is crucial that the automotive industry is equipped to meet future workforce needs and that employees have access to the training they need to up-skill and retrain as the industry goes through a period of readjustment.

Giving responsibility to an established Industry Skills Council with existing staff and governance structures will allow the automotive industry to benefit from these new arrangements immediately.

These new arrangements will see Manufacturing Skills Australia take on responsibility for automotive manufacturing as well as the retail, service and repair sectors.

Bringing all aspects of the industry under the auspices of a single skills council will support the development of a broader network of industry stakeholders in retail, servicing and repair and manufacturing.

As part of the new responsibilities for the automotive industry, Manufacturing Skills Australia will establish a close relationship with the new Automotive Industry Innovation Council, in line with the recommendations in the Bracks Review.

Manufacturing Skills Australia will be able to draw on the expertise of the Automotive Industry Innovation Council to inform its priorities, while providing the Council with broad information about the state of training for the sector.

Industry Skills Councils are funded by the Australian Government to develop and maintain training packages and learning resources, provide integrated industry intelligence and support workforce development.

For more information visit www.mskills.com.au/News.aspx?NewsId=10259&SectorID=0

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