Queensland - Fitzroy And Central West
REGIONAL EDUCATION, SKILLS AND JOBS
PLAN
QUEENSLAND
– FITZROY AND CENTRAL WEST
2012 – 2014
JULY 2013
This plan was first published in July 2012. This is the July 2013 edition.
Details in this report are correct at time of drafting.
This report can be found at the Regional Education, Skills and Jobs webpage (www.deewr.gov.au/resj) or the
My Region website (www.myregion.gov.au).
For more information about this plan, please contact:
The Office of Regional Education, Skills and Jobs
GPO Box 9880
Canberra ACT 2601
Email: oresj@deewr.gov.au
ISBN:
978-0-642-78643-2 [PDF]
978-0-642-78644-9 [DOCX]
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and where otherwise noted all material presented in this document is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/).
The details of the relevant licence conditions (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/legalcode) are available on the Creative Commons website (accessible using the links provided) as is the full legal code for the
CC BY 3.0 AU licence.
The document must be attributed as the Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan 2012-14 – Fitzroy and Central
West.
Disclaimer about data used in this plan
Data used in the development of this plan comes from a variety of sources and was correct at time of drafting. This document should not be used as a data source as data referred to may have been updated or reformulated since the publication of the plan. Refer to primary sources for confirmation of data.
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CONTENTS
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 3 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
REGIONAL EDUCATION, SKILLS AND JOBS PLANS
The Australian Government announced the Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plans initiative in the
2011–12 Budget, as part of the Building Australia’s Future Workforce package. The initiative addresses four key areas of the Australian Government’s productivity and social inclusion agendas: early childhood education and care; Year 12 attainment; participation in vocational and higher education; and local job opportunities.
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) has deployed 34 Regional
Education, Skills and Jobs (RESJ) Coordinators to work with local stakeholders to develop Regional
Education, Skills and Jobs Plans for the 46 Regional Development Australia (RDA) areas that cover nonmetropolitan Australia.
The plans present locally identified opportunities and challenges and outline local strategies to improve education, skills and jobs outcomes in regional Australia.
For more information, including the contact details of your local RESJ Coordinator, please refer to the
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs webpage at www.deewr.gov.au/resj.
Strategies
Each plan reflects community priorities and includes goals and local strategies to achieve the community’s objectives, based on four key themes: early childhood education and care; school education; tertiary education and training; and jobs, skills and workforce development.
The plans build on the range of services and programs already offered by DEEWR and the strategies draw on the programs of other government agencies and the opportunities arising from major local projects.
Community engagement
The plans were developed by RESJ Coordinators with close community engagement and include views from young people, parents, employers, educators, service providers, peak bodies, community leaders, government organisations and agencies, and other interested individuals and organisations. The plans draw strongly upon existing strategic plans in each region, including the local RDA regional plan.
DEEWR acknowledges the traditional owners of the Fitzroy and Central West RDA region and their elders past and present recognising their continuing connection to country. This plan strives to build and harness mutually respectful relationships and reflect community priorities in education, skills and jobs development for the region.
Implementation
The RESJ Coordinator, on behalf of DEEWR, will oversee the implementation of the strategies and promote and coordinate linkages between the government agencies, providers and stakeholders involved in this plan’s implementation.
Progress towards achieving the goals within each plan will be closely monitored, while stakeholders will be kept informed through participation in plan strategies.
This edition incorporates strategies that respond to changes in local circumstances identified through continuing community input or changing government priorities in regional Australia as well as access to new data. The plans continue to be living and responsive documents that will be revisited throughout their implementation to June 2014.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Fitzroy and Central West RDA region of Queensland stretches from the coastal Central Queensland towns of Gladstone, Yeppoon and Rockhampton through to the Northern Territory border. The region is a major agricultural, resources and industrial hub for Queensland, encompassing 12 Local Government
Areas (LGA): Rockhampton Regional Council, Gladstone Regional Council, Banana Shire Council, Boulia
Shire Council, Central Highlands Regional Council, Barcaldine Regional Council, Blackall-Tambo Regional
Council, Barcoo Shire Council, Winton Shire Council, Diamantina Shire Council, Woorabinda Aboriginal
Shire Council and Longreach Regional Council.
Based on a comprehensive environmental scan and community consultation, the key education, skills and jobs challenges for the region include:
workforce development to meet the labour needs of the resources boom that has led to increased population and economic activity
workforce planning for the early childhood education and care sector
improving the delivery of training to regional and rural areas
meeting the Closing the Gap targets for Indigenous Australians, in particular improving access to education and the labour market in the region.
The goals of this Regional Education, Skills and Jobs (RESJ) Plan are to:
develop a workforce development strategy for the region by working in partnership with the
Australian, Queensland and local governments and communities
improve the coordination of services within communities to promote social inclusion of marginalised Australians, including (but not limited to) Indigenous Australians, people with disability and young people
improve opportunities for young people to engage in education, training and employment
create opportunities for improved service delivery of vocational education and training in the region.
As part of the Australian Government’s Better Futures, Local Solutions initiative being delivered by the
Department of Human Services, the region has a Government Action Leader (GAL) who is based in the
Rockhampton LGA. The GAL works with local communities to ensure service delivery is meeting local needs, identifying service gaps and developing and implementing solutions that will build employment and training opportunities in the Rockhampton area.
The southern edge of the Fitzroy and Central West region, including Agnes Water, Miriam Vale and 1770, overlaps the Bundaberg-Hervey Bay priority employment area with a Local Employment Coordinator
(LEC) appointed to work with stakeholders to identify labour market goals that are specific to the needs of the area. The Fitzroy and Central West Regional Development Australia (RDA) committee has developed a broad plan for the region, including education, skills and employment opportunities. The
Fitzroy and Central West RESJ Plan complements the existing goals and strategies in the RDA Plan, particularly in relation to sourcing job seekers for employment opportunities in Gladstone.
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Some outcomes achieved by the RESJ Coordinator working with stakeholders include:
Negotiating and designing the Woorabinda Employment Training and Placement project, a major
Indigenous Employment Project that provides 50 Indigenous Australians from the Aboriginal
Community of Woorabinda the opportunity to receive culturally appropriate mentoring, training and placement into employment in the fields of rural industries, health and social assistance, construction and customer service. Thirty-four Indigenous Australians have commenced the program which included life skills training. Ten of these participants are in work experience placements at Olive and Sons Sawmill.
Developing a Bundaberg Workforce Skilling Strategy that has resulted in 95 job seekers being placed into employment. This has also been an innovative response to assist 19 job seekers in
Bundaberg to be placed in sustainable employment in the Gladstone region. The Strategy assists businesses to meet their employment needs, providing support and linkages to Job Services
Australia (JSA) providers.
Delivering an Education Showcase where 34 students and disengaged youth received information about further education and local support services to encourage students to continue to further education, or re-engage with their school education. Nineteen participants were engaged with School 2 Jobs Alliance to receive support in accessing further education or employment and seven Indigenous attendees were connected with the local Learn Earn Legend coordinator which encourages young Indigenous Australians to stay at school and engage with training and employment. The showcase was delivered in partnership with the School 2 Jobs
Alliance, School Business Community Partnership Brokers, GAL, Central Queensland Institute of
TAFE (CQ TAFE), local schools and registered training organisations.
Delivering an Early Childhood Education and Child Care Roundtable in Rockhampton attended by
45 local stakeholders, including child care providers, representatives from Registered Training
Organisations, CQ TAFE, Central Queensland University Australia (CQUniversity) and
JSA providers. Attendees were presented with information on the local labour market; government incentives to encourage skills and workforce development in the child care sector; and the National Workforce Development Fund.
Facilitating two Jobs and Information Workshops for Queensland Workers in Longreach and
Rockhampton which provided nearly 30 redundant Queensland Government employees with an overview of the recruitment industry and local labour market, services and benefits available from the Department of Human Services and professional recruitment advice from the local JSA provider.
Working with the Better Futures, Local Solutions Local Advisory Group in the Rockhampton LGA to develop and source funding for three local projects: o Driving to Engage - engaged 20 young people to learn life skills and gain assistance to get their drivers’ licence o Early Intervention Playgroup - utilised music therapy to build stronger relationships between a dozen young parents and their children with long-term educational benefits o Feeding for Leading Breakfast Club Program - students and families of Glenmore State
High School and Glenmore State School (Year 7) attend a breakfast club with cultural activities and supportive mentoring to improve engagement with school education.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REGION
This section sets out the characteristics of the region identified through a comprehensive environmental scan and local consultations. The information detailed in this section is not exhaustive of the characteristics of the region, but provides an overview and insight to some of the challenges facing the region.
To guide the RESJ Coordinator’s identification of issues and engagement with the community, various data sets have supported the development of this plan. Data used in the development of this plan was sourced from DEEWR, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other relevant sources. Data referred to may have been reformulated and was correct at time of drafting. Different data sets are refreshed at different intervals, for example, unemployment rates are updated monthly for national and state/territory figures and quarterly for regions.
Population
The Fitzroy and Central West region stretches from the Capricorn Coast and Gladstone to the border with the Northern Territory, covering 28.7 per cent of Queensland’s total area. According to the
2011 Census, the population of this region was 229,056 (5.1% of the state’s population). According to the
Queensland Office of Economic and Statistical Research, the population is projected to reach
358,753 people by 2031. Most of the population is concentrated in the major centres of Rockhampton and Gladstone. At the time of the 2011 Census, 11,494 persons in the region identified themselves as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent (4.95% of the state’s total) and 10 per cent of people stated they were born overseas.
The region’s population growth rate was 0.8 per cent between 2010 and 2011. The fastest growing LGAs were Woorabinda Shire, Gladstone and the Boulia Shire. Overall growth for Queensland during the same period was 1.1 per cent. Population projections predict a growth rate of 2.0 per cent for the Fitzroy and
Central West region from 2011 onwards, compared to a Queensland-wide growth rate of 1.8 per cent.
Much of the population growth is expected to occur in the Gladstone region to support the construction and operation of Coal Seam Gas export plants.
According to the Queensland Office of Economic and Statistical Research, the median ages throughout the region range from 22.2 years in Woorabinda to 43.4 years in Winton. Most areas have a median age in the mid-thirties.
Early childhood education and care
The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) measures young children’s development across five domains: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, school-based language and cognitive skills, and general knowledge. 2009 AEDI data indicated at a national level that
23.6 per cent of children were vulnerable on one or more domain and 11.8 per cent were vulnerable on two or more domains. The AEDI found in the Fitzroy and Central West RDA region, the communities of
Barcaldine and Blackall-Tambo had the lowest proportions of vulnerable children for the region, less than the national rates on both measures. However, the AEDI communities of Diamantina and Banana had the highest proportions of vulnerable children—more than the national averages on both measures.
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The Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) operates in Mount Morgan. HIPPY supports parents and children in the year before formal education with pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills. Further support into the first year of formal schooling extends this support to focus on children’s learning and development.
The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care which took effect in January
2012 provides new benchmarks in the quality of education and care services. These new benchmarks are being phased in gradually to allow providers of child care to adjust to the changes. However, this will mean that some child care staff will need to be up-skilled to meet the new benchmarks and that some centres may need to recruit additional staff to meet the new standards.
School education
According to the Queensland Office of Economic and Statistical Research, the Fitzroy and Central West region is generally well serviced by schools, with 65.5 per cent of students attending government schools and 34.5 per cent attending non-government schools. There is some anecdotal evidence that students in the Central West may have to travel to Rockhampton if they wish to pursue some science, technology, engineering or mathematics subjects. While most students currently finish Year 12, the School to Jobs
Alliance suggests that there are opportunities to increase the number of students who attain the
Queensland Certificate of Education and to provide better pathways to further education or employment.
The Smarter Schools National Partnership Agreement on Low Socio-economic Status School Communities aims to transform the way schooling takes place in participating schools and addresses the complex challenges facing students in disadvantaged communities. This is a joint initiative between the Australian
Government, the Queensland Department of Education, the Catholic Education Office and the
Association of Independent Schools of Queensland.
Participating schools in Fitzroy and Central West are Allenstown State School, Berserker Street State
School, Monto State High School, Mount Morgan Central State School, Rosedale State School, St.
Therese’s Catholic Primary School, Wadja Wadja High School and Woorabinda State School.
The Australian Government is providing $243.9 million for a new Smarter Schools National Partnership
on Improving Literacy and Numeracy (ILNNP) to support participating schools during the 2013 school year. The ILNNP aims to improve the outcomes of students, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, who are falling behind in literacy and numeracy. It will sustain the momentum of the initial Literacy Numeracy National Partnership (which concluded in December 2012) and support states and territories to expand the implementation of proven effective literacy and numeracy strategies in schools where under-performance persists.
Participating schools are being finalised with state/territory and non-government education authorities.
The new ILNNP will also support the ongoing expansion of the Teach Learn Share Evidence Base, which is becoming a valuable online repository, providing a national platform for educators to share their effective approaches to literacy and numeracy teaching and learning.
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Tertiary education and training
The Fitzroy and Central West region has a higher proportion of students who attain certificate-level qualifications than Queensland as a whole. However, analysis of higher education outcomes and community feedback suggests that there is room for improvement in the proportion of people who attain higher level qualifications such as diplomas, bachelor degrees and postgraduate qualifications. It is also notable that, according to the 2011 Census, the coastal areas of Rockhampton and Gladstone and the Central Highlands town of Emerald had the highest proportion of higher education qualifications, suggesting that vocational education and training and university education delivery have the potential to expand further west as the National Broadband Network (NBN) rolls out in those areas. This figure may also indicate the growing emphasis on higher education to meet the skills needs of the still-growing resources sector.
Central Queensland University Australia (CQUniversity) is the major local tertiary education provider in the region, with campuses in Rockhampton, Gladstone and Emerald. CQUniversity offers a wide range of courses and subjects, and is experienced in the delivery of distance education and e-learning. The Central
Queensland Institute of TAFE is the major vocational education provider in the area, with campuses in
Rockhampton, Gladstone, Yeppoon, Barcaldine, Longreach and Emerald. A proposal to merge the two organisations to create a dual-sector university in Central Queensland has recently been approved by the
Queensland Government. The Australian Agricultural College Corporation has two campuses in the region, located at Emerald and Longreach. There are also a number of smaller Registered Training
Organisations delivering User Choice training for apprentices and trainees and general training services to industry and the general public.
Jobs, skills and workforce development
Original Australian Bureau of Statistics Monthly Labour Force data, averaged over three months, indicates that the unemployment rate for the Mackay-Fitzroy-Central West Region increased by
0.6 percentage points over the year to 4.9 per cent as at December 2012. Despite the increase, this rate was still lower than the unemployment rate for Queensland, which had also increased by 0.6 percentage points over the same period to 5.8 per cent.
In spite of the rise in unemployment, economic activity in Central Queensland is still strong due to the effects of the resources boom. However, pockets of the region have unemployment rates higher than the Labour Force Region average. For example, according figures from the Small Area Labour Market, the unemployment rate for Mount Morgan was 17.8 per cent and 9.2 per cent for Boulia, as at September
2012. The participation rate increased by 0.5 percentage points over the year to December 2012 to 70.6 per cent, compared to the Queensland participation rate of 66.3 per cent.
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The generally positive figures reflect a surge in activity largely associated with the resources sector, particularly investment in Gladstone associated with export of coal seam gas and, to some extent, coal.
This is resulting in an increase in the Fly-In, Fly-Out (FIFO) workforce into Gladstone from outside the region, typically Brisbane, and in the Drive-In, Drive-Out (DIDO) workforce from within the region.
Emerald has similarly experienced a surge in FIFO labour associated with coal production. New projects being developed in the Galilee basin near Alpha also have significant potential workforce demands beyond the capacity of the local labour supply. Recent global shifts in commodity prices have seen some less profitable mines close (e.g. Norwich Park near Dysart, and Gregory near Emerald) which may alleviate some pressures in the short term.
Data from DEEWR’s Labour Market Information Portal suggests that Job Services Australia (JSA) providers in regional Queensland tend to have a greater proportion of job seekers who have been unemployed for more than 36 months, compared to Brisbane (or metropolitan areas). The Capricornia and Gladstone Employment Service areas have over 23 per cent of JSA registrants who have been unemployed for more than 36 months and the Mount Isa Employment Services Area (which crosses over the Central West part of the region) has over 33 per cent of JSA recipients who have been unemployed for more than 36 months. In comparison, the proportion in Brisbane is just under 18 per cent. This suggests an unemployed cohort that is generally more disadvantaged, requiring more support to gain skills and employment. The high demand for labour presents significant opportunities to transition many unemployed people into sustainable jobs.
DEEWR data on skills shortages for Queensland in 2011-2012 indicate that there are skills shortages in the following areas:
child care professionals (managers, child care workers, early childhood education teachers)
domestic construction trades workers (painters, plumbers, tilers, glaziers)
earth science professionals (geologists, mining engineers)
health workers (personal care attendants, nurses, allied health professionals, dental technicians)
hospitality trades (chefs, butchers, bakers, pastry cooks)
trades and occupations associated with the resource industry and civil construction (chemical engineers, construction managers, metal tradespersons, electricians, machinery operators, truck drivers).
Central Queensland has traditionally been associated with cattle grazing and meat processing. Two large meat processing plants are located in Rockhampton and one in Biloela. There is a small plant processing lamb and pork in Mount Morgan and a kangaroo meat processing plant in Longreach. 2011 Census data shows that the employment profile for Fitzroy and Central West has changed substantially over the years, and is quite divergent throughout the region.
The top five employing industries in the Central Highlands are (in order of employment size):
mining
agriculture, forestry and fishing
construction
retail trade
education and training.
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The top five employing industries in Gladstone/Biloela are (in order of employment size):
manufacturing
construction
retail trade
transport, postal and warehousing
health care and social assistance
The top five employing industries in Rockhampton are (in order of employment size):
health care and social assistance
retail trade
education and training
construction
manufacturing
Following the Queensland Government’s decision in July 2012 to cease funding for labour market programs, a number of strategies in this plan have been amended to remove reliance on partnering or leveraging those former programs.
Other characteristics
The Fitzroy and Central West region is very large, with some very remote areas close to the Northern
Territory border. This means that the further west you travel, the more challenging it is for government and service providers to deliver cost-effective goods and services to communities. Moreover, parts of the
Fitzroy and Central West region were severely affected by the extreme weather events of late 2010 and early 2011 and many industries are still to return to full production. For example, the cotton crop in
Theodore was completely destroyed by flooding, tourism operators had their busiest season ruined and some coal mines are still experiencing excess water in pits. Much of the economic activity around the region has focused on repairing or rebuilding assets damaged in the flood (e.g. roads and bridges) which has created employment opportunities in civil construction. Another extreme weather event in early
2013 which included high winds and flooding has exacerbated the existing challenges and will necessitate further attention to the repair or rebuild of public and private infrastructure.
While the resources boom has created economic growth and opportunities within the Fitzroy and
Central West region, there are concerns about the effect on infrastructure, social cohesion and the availability and cost of accommodation. The resources boom has created increased demand, placing upward pressure on rents and house prices, with consequent detrimental effects on the ability of lowpaid workers to remain within regional areas, creating local skills shortages outside of the resources sector.
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Currently, coal mining and coal seam gas exploration are active industries around the towns of Moura,
Blackwater and Emerald, with output from the Bowen and Surat basins being shipped to the Port of
Gladstone for processing and export. Expansion of the coal seam gas industry in the Surat Basin has led to large construction projects in the Gladstone area, with subsequent effects on the local labour market, including skills shortages and the need for urgent workforce development to staff the large temporary accommodation facilities being built to house FIFO, DIDO and local workers on Curtis Island. Further coal mining has been approved for the Galilee Basin. Towns such as Alpha, Jericho, Barcaldine and Longreach will see large construction projects such as a railway line to Abbot Point and temporary accommodation facilities, as well as a transient population of workers.
The Capricorn Coast and Discovery Coast areas have traditionally been tourist destinations, although the recent natural disasters and the high Australian dollar have seen a decline in tourist numbers. This creates opportunities for trained hospitality staff to move into jobs supporting the temporary accommodation facilities.
The Capricorn Coast’s premiere tourist attraction, Great Keppel Island Resort, has been closed for some time, but a revitalisation project is underway, and will lead to extensive construction projects including building undersea electrical and water pipelines to the island, and a new eco-friendly resort, golf course and marina. If this project goes ahead as planned, there will be initial employment opportunities during the construction phase as well as ongoing employment in tourism, hospitality and maintenance of the facilities. Additional employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians may become available with the Great Keppel Island revitalisation, particularly for the traditional owners, the Woppaburra people.
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ISSUES, GOALS AND STRATEGIES
This section sets out the issues and goals identified through local consultation. It also details the specific strategies that will help achieve the community’s objectives. The issues and strategies will be reviewed and may be modified throughout the implementation of the plan to June 2014 to ensure they respond to emerging issues and opportunities or changing community or government priorities in the Fitzroy and
Central West RDA region.
The programs and stakeholders listed in the following tables are indicative only. Both may vary over time and any listing does not guarantee either the availability of program funding or stakeholder involvement.
The four key themes of the Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plans initiative are:
Early childhood education and care
School education
Tertiary education and training
Jobs, skills and workforce development
The numbering of each issue is for ease of reference only and does not indicate its priority within the region. They are generally sequenced according to the life cycle of the four key themes listed above.
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Issue 1 Availability of suitably qualified staff to work in early childhood
education and child care services within the region.
Goals: Support workforce planning activities in the early childhood education and care sector to comply with the requirements of the National Quality Framework for
Early Childhood Education and Care.
Improve Australian Early Development Index results in the region.
Theme(s): Early childhood education and care; School education; Tertiary education and training; Jobs, skills and workforce development.
Strategies
Work with child care providers, Industry Skills
Council and other stakeholders to develop workforce planning mechanisms for the early childhood education and care sector in the region to address current and projected skills shortages in the sector. Workforce planning will include the creation of articulated learning pathways to up skill existing staff and encourage new entrants to the sector.
Further explore potential gaps in child care servicing across the region and develop local solutions to improve access to child care places.
Work with existing child care stakeholders to support enhancements to comply with the National
Quality Framework, including professional development and up skilling of staff and exploring options for infrastructure funding to improve facilities.
Conduct an early childhood education and care industry roundtable event in Emerald to build relationships between local early childhood providers and other related stakeholders, such as
Jobs Services Australia (JSA) providers, Disability
Employment Services (DES) providers and training organisations with a view to attracting more educators into the sector and up skilling existing workers.
Partner with the Health and Community Services
Workforce Council to deliver information about
Australian Government training incentives to child care providers by presenting at their industry event in Rockhampton.
Follow-up last year’s successful Rockhampton Early
Childhood Education and Care industry roundtable event by working with local stakeholders to develop strategies for child care operators to access the
National Workforce Development Fund to address local skills shortages.
Promotion of the Home Interaction Program for
Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) program to local communities.
Stakeholders
Australian
Apprenticeship
Centres
Central Queensland
Institute of TAFE
Child care providers
Community Services and Health Industry
Skills Council
CQUniversity
DES providers
Health and
Community Services
Workforce Council
JSA providers
Parents and their children
Queensland
Department of
Education, Training and Employment
Registered training organisations
Training Queensland
Programs
Australian
Apprenticeships
Child care benefit
Child care rebate
DES
Early Childhood
Teacher Scholarships
HIPPY
Inclusion and
Professional Support
Program
JSA
National Workforce
Development Fund
Queensland
Kindergarten Funding
Scheme
Recognition of Prior
Learning Assessment
Grants
User Choice funds
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Issue 2 While workforce demand is high, many disadvantaged people are not able to take advantage of the training and employment
opportunities available.
Goal: Increase social inclusion of marginalised Australians (with particular focus on participation in the labour force, education and up skilling) including Indigenous
Australians; people with disability; young people; people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; sole parents and the long-term unemployed.
Theme(s): Early childhood education and care; School education; Tertiary education and training; Jobs, skills and workforce development.
Strategies
Facilitate and attend regular meetings with providers and government representatives to coordinate service delivery and promote Australian
Government funded programs, to create better pathways from secondary education to vocational or higher education for young people.
Develop and support targeted, place-based solutions for highly disadvantaged areas including: o a DEEWR Indigenous Employment Project (IEP) at Woorabinda targeting hospitality, health and social assistance and rural sectors and vocational training for 50 participants
Build community capacity by creating better links between programs and establishing and maintaining community networks through attendance at interagency and Job Services
Australia (JSA) and Disability Employment Services
(DES) provider meetings as necessary to provide labour market advice and coordination of effort.
Encourage Job Services Australia (JSA) and Disability
Employment Services (DES) providers to engage more effectively with skills training and employers through the provision of labour market advice and promotion of Australian Government skilling initiatives.
Work with the Department of Human Services’
Government Action Leader (GAL), Queensland
Department of Education, Training and
Employment (DETE) and other stakeholders to promote the Better Futures, Local Solutions initiative in Rockhampton Local Government Area
(LGA) and maximise outcomes in education, skills and jobs.
Partner with the GAL to deliver an employer forum in Rockhampton LGA to advise on government initiatives, to be held in mid 2013.
Partner with CQUniversity and Community
Solutions to deliver a Disability Options Day in early
2013 to promote further education for people with disabilities.
Provide labour market information and facilitate
Stakeholders
Australian
Apprenticeships
Centres
Child care providers
CQUniversity
Department of
Human Services including Centrelink
DES providers
DETE (Qld)
Government Action
Leader
IEP panel members
Indigenous organisations and communities
JSA providers
Parental and
Community
Engagement (PaCE) providers
Registered training organisations
Rockhampton Area
Schools and Industry
Network
School Business
Community
Partnership Broker
Secondary schools
Tower Holdings
Trade Training
Centres
Workplace English,
Language and Literacy
(WELL) Brokers
Youth Connections providers
Programs
Australian
Apprenticeships
Better Futures, Local
Solutions
DES
Doorways 2
Construction
Home Interaction
Program for Parents and Youngsters
IEP
Indigenous Youth
Mobility Program
JSA
Learning Earning
Active Places
Local Connections to
Work
PaCE
School Business
Community
Partnership Brokers
Skills for Education and Employment formerly known as the Language, Literacy and Numeracy
Program
User Choice
WELL
Youth Connections
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 15 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Strategies meetings with local employment service providers, registered training organisations and peak bodies seeking to deliver services to job seekers in the region.
Assist with the development of an employment program and business development plan for the
Woppaburra Traditional Owners to take advantage of upcoming opportunities due to the Great Keppel
Island Revitalisation.
Stakeholders Programs
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Goal: Increase the percentage of Year 12 school leavers who successfully transition into employment or further education.
Theme(s): School education; Tertiary education and training; Jobs, skills and workforce development.
Strategies
Effectively track outcomes of Year 12 school leavers by meeting regularly with Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment’s (DETE)
School to Jobs Alliance staff.
Facilitate and attend meetings between Job
Services Australia (JSA) and Disability Employment
Services (DES) providers and School to Jobs Alliance staff to coordinate efforts to improve outcomes for
Year 12 school leavers.
Strengthen relationships between schools and industry by visiting Trade Training Centres (TTCs) and providing labour market and industry advice and connections.
Support and promote the opportunities that arise from the proposed merger of the Central
Queensland Institute of TAFE and CQUniversity to become a dual-sector university for communities and employers.
Meet regularly with School Business Community
Partnership Brokers to assist with labour market information and strategic planning.
Contribute to National Urban and Regional Service
Delivery Strategy for Indigenous Australians by attending regular meetings and facilitating better coordination of services.
Stakeholders
Australian
Apprenticeships
Centres
Central Queensland
Institute of TAFE
CQUniversity
DES providers
DETE (Qld)
Group training organisations
JSA providers
School Business
Community
Partnership Brokers
Secondary schools
Students
TTCs
Youth Connections providers
Rockhampton
Regional Council
Programs
Australian Schoolbased
Apprenticeships
DES
Indigenous Youth
Mobility Program
JSA
School Business
Community
Partnership Brokers
School to Jobs
Alliance
Youth Connections
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 17 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Goal: Improve the delivery of vocational education and training and higher education to rural and remote areas within the region.
Theme(s): Tertiary education and training; Jobs, skills and workforce development.
Strategies
Engage education providers to maximise opportunities from the National Broadband
Network (NBN) rollout to better service the Central
West through improvements to videoconferencing and streaming technology.
Explore potential efficiencies in service delivery models through access to a larger number of education venues attached to the proposed dualsector university and assist CQUniversity in its community engagement program through attendance at meetings with university staff and stakeholders.
Collaborate with the Primary Industries Education
Foundation to promote the delivery of agricultural education in schools in rural and regional areas and promote the primezone.com.au website for educational resources.
Stakeholders
Central Queensland
Institute of TAFE
CQUniversity
Department of
Broadband,
Communications and the Digital Economy
NBNCo
Primary Industries
Education Foundation
Programs
Primezone educational resources
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 18 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Issue 3 Workforce development to meet the requirements of heightened economic activity in regional areas due to the
resources boom.
Goal: Develop strategies to meet emerging skill and labour shortages and maximise the productive use of human capital in the region.
Theme(s): Tertiary education and training; Jobs, skills and workforce development.
Strategies
Develop a comprehensive workforce development plan in collaboration with the Queensland
Government, Regional Development Australia, industry representatives and the community.
Promote localised whole-of-government responses to skills shortages by developing innovative local projects that use a variety of funding sources and in-kind contributions to meet the needs of employers, training organisations and job seekers.
These projects will be identified through consultation with the Strategic Relationship
Manager, Indigenous Coordination Centre (ICC), communities and providers.
Attend local industry forums and work with regional development organisations to educate employers and industry about the benefits of providing training to both existing and new employees.
Attend quarterly meetings of the local education and training network to promote vocational education and training reform to industry and communities.
Partner with Capricorn Enterprise, Fitzroy River and
Coastal Catchments Inc, Regional Development
Australia, Agrifood Skills Australia, the Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council and local employers to develop a National Workforce
Development Fund application to address skills shortages in the agricultural sector.
Provide advice and guidance to Job Services
Australia and Disability Employment Services providers, employers and registered training organisations on Australian Government funding opportunities to train new entrants to the labour market in positions left vacant by demand in the resource sector (e.g. retail, hospitality, aged care and social assistance). Advice will be provided through presentations and forums involving the
Central Queensland Institute of TAFE and other stakeholders in early to mid 2013.
Liaise with the RESJ Coordinator and Local
Employment Coordinators (LEC) in Bundaberg-
Hervey Bay and Southern Wide Bay Burnett to identify opportunities for job seekers from those regions to meet labour demand in Gladstone and
Stakeholders
Australian
Apprenticeship
Centres
Australian
Government Skills
Connect
Capricorn Enterprise
Central Queensland
TAFE
CQUniversity
Department of
Education, Training and Employment
(Qld)
Department of
Industry, Innovation,
Climate Change,
Science, Research and
Tertiary Education
Disability Employment
Services (DES) providers
Employers and employer groups
Fitzroy and Central
West RDA Committee
Gladstone Area
Promotion and
Development Ltd
Group training organisations
ICC
Industry skills councils
Jobs Services Australia
(JSA) providers
LECs - Bundaberg-
Hervey Bay and
Southern Wide Bay
Burnett
RESJ Coordinator,
Wide Bay Burnett
Registered training organisations
Programs
Australian
Apprenticeships
Access Program
Australian
Apprenticeships
Incentives Program
Australian
Government Skills
Connect whole of workforce proposals o National
Workforce
Development
Fund o Workplace
English Language and Literacy
Program o Accelerated
Australian
Apprenticeships initiative o Australian
Apprenticeships
Mentoring
Program o Investing in
Experience –
Skills Recognition
DES and Training
Disabled Australian
Apprentice Wage
Support Program
Education Investment
Fund
JSA
Local Connections to
Work
Local Solutions Fund
Support for Adult
Australian
Apprentices
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 19 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Strategies fill short-term skills gaps. This includes: o developing a training project to target the longterm unemployed and disadvantaged youth participating in Local Connections to Work for entry into hospitality opportunities on Curtis
Island and other opportunities left vacant by people moving into the resources sector.
Stakeholders
Skills Queensland
Training Queensland
Fitzroy River and
Coastal Catchments
Inc.
Programs
User Choice
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 20 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
APPENDICES
Appendix A — Stakeholders
Below is a list of organisations consulted during the development of this RESJ Plan, listed by sector.
Sector
Local government
State government
Australian Government
Education
Vocational Education and
Training
Higher education
Youth
Job Services Australia and
Disability Employment
Services providers
Industry
Indigenous organisations
Regional development
Stakeholder
Gladstone Regional Council; Rockhampton Regional Council; Banana Shire
Council; Woorabinda Aboriginal Council.
Training Queensland; Department of Education, Training and Employment;
School to Jobs Alliance; Youth Justice Queensland; Department of State
Development, Infrastructure and Planning.
Department of Human Services; Department of Families, Housing, Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs (Rockhampton Indigenous Coordination
Centre); Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy;
Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport;
Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and
Tertiary Education.
North Rockhampton State High School; Rockhampton State High School;
St Brendan’s College Yeppoon; Rockhampton Area Schools and Industry
Network.
Jobs Queensland; Capricornia Training Company; Busy at Work; Mackay
Regional Apprentice Employment Ltd; Central Queensland Institute of TAFE;
Smartskill; Smart City Vocational College.
CQUniversity.
Rockhampton Police-Citizens Youth Club; Capricornia Training Company;
Gladstone Regional Council; Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland
(YouthInvest); Australian Red Cross.
Neato Employment Services; Salvation Army Employment Plus; Job Futures
(Community Solutions); Career Employment Australia; Australian Red Cross.
JBS Australia; Stanwell Corporation Ltd; Gladstone Ports Corporation; BHP
Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance; IGA Supermarkets, Gladstone; Construction Skills
Queensland; Service Skills Australia; Queensland Tourism Industry Council;
Energy Skills Queensland; Manufacturing Skills Australia; JM Kelly Group;
Woolworths; Health and Community Services Workforce Council; Community
Services and Health Industry Skills Council; Goodstart Early Learning Centres;
Primary Industries Education Foundation.
Central Queensland Indigenous Development Ltd; Fitzroy Basin Elders
Committee; Woppaburra Land Trust; Buderoo Ltd; Darumbal Community Youth
Services.
Regional Development Australia Fitzroy and Central West; Capricorn Enterprise;
Central Highlands Development Corporation; Remote Area Planning and
Development Board; Fitzroy River and Coastal Catchments Inc; Better Futures,
Local Solutions Local Advisory Group; Gladstone Area Promotion and
Development Ltd.
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 21 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Appendix B — Existing related plans and strategies
This section includes some of the related strategic plans in the region which have:
influenced the direction of this RESJ Plan
have complementary goals and strategies and/or
have significance in the region in relation to education, skills and jobs.
It provides an overview of how each strategy or plan has had an impact on this RESJ Plan and how it may be utilised to maximise outcomes.
Plan or strategy
Regional Development Australia
Fitzroy and Central West Regional
Roadmap
Better Futures, Local Solutions
(Department of Human Services)
Helping Young Parents
Supporting Jobless
Families
Local Connections to
Work
Place-based Income
Management
(Rockhampton Local Government
Area)
Communities for Children
Learning Earning Active Places
Impact on RESJ Plan
Provides direction on community aspirations and economic and social development for the Fitzroy and the Central West region.
Priorities for the Rockhampton
Local Government Area are included in the RESJ Plan. RESJ
Coordinator to work closely with
Government Action Leader to complement each other’s role, ensure stakeholders are clear about the roles and to support the engagement of Job Services
Australia (JSA) and Disability
Employment Services (DES) providers.
Has the potential to improve
Australian Early Development
Index outcomes for the region.
Targets Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people with the aim of improving educational outcomes, promoting employment and economic participation, supporting healthy lifestyle choices and providing safe and affordable housing.
How it can be used/linked/expanded
Goals and strategies of this RESJ
Plan are consistent with the information included in the
Regional Roadmap to assist the
Regional Development Australia committee to deliver outcomes for the region.
Place-based Income Management and Helping Young Parents measures assist in the delivery of better services and outcomes for children in the areas of early childhood education and child care. Compulsory participation and increased support for jobless families and people with disabilities with a capacity to work more than eight hours per week will raise the participation rate, increase social inclusion and provide opportunities for job seekers to access training in skills shortage areas.
This initiative can be linked to the
Helping Young Parents measure. It will lead to better access to educational opportunities and more likelihood of successful education outcomes, leading to increased workforce participation.
The Learning Earning Active Places strategy links directly to the strategies in the RESJ Plan to increase social inclusion and mitigate skills shortages.
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 22 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Plan or strategy
School to Jobs Alliance
Dual-sector university
Impact on RESJ Plan
Provides tracking of Year 12 school leavers, a workplace readiness course and job placement assistance.
CQUniversity and Central
Queensland Institute of TAFE have proposed a merger, recently approved by the Queensland
Government, affecting delivery of vocational and higher education throughout Central Queensland.
How it can be used/linked/expanded
JSA providers have been included in this strategy, which is directly linked to the goal in the RESJ Plan of increasing the uptake of either further training or employment for young people.
The dual-sector university model has the potential to create efficiencies in the delivery of vocational education and training and higher education throughout
Central Queensland. Better articulation of courses would also provide a ‘soft entry’ to university for Australians who have traditionally not considered higher education (e.g. Indigenous
Australians, people from low socioeconomic status backgrounds). This initiative would support social inclusion and may also mitigate skills shortages in the medium to long term.
The urban and regional strategy will provide a good basis for the coordination work undertaken by the RESJ Coordinator.
National urban and regional service delivery strategy for
Indigenous Australians
The Rockhampton Indigenous
Coordination Centre is leading this strategy, the purpose of which is to provide better integrated government services to Indigenous
Australians to achieve Closing the
Gap targets.
Priority Employment Area initiative The southern edge of the Fitzroy and Central West region, including
Agnes Water, Miriam Vale and
1770, is part of the Bundaberg-
Hervey Bay Priority Employment
Area.
The Priority Employment Area initiative identified 20 areas of
Australia as the most vulnerable during times of economic downturn based on a variety of factors including labour markets, socioeconomic indicators and industry characteristics. In each area a Local Employment
Coordinator has been appointed to work with local stakeholders to identify local labour market goals that are specific to the needs of the community.
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 23 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Plan or strategy
National Resource Sector
Workforce strategy -
Gladstone Workforce Skilling strategy
Regional development
Impact on RESJ Plan
The Gladstone Workforce Skilling strategy is a local workforce development, training and employment project supporting women, migrants, Indigenous and long-term unemployed people to receive training and employment in jobs associated with the new coal seam gas and the liquefied natural gas industries in Gladstone.
Regional Development Australia
Fitzroy and Central West;
Capricorn Enterprise; Central
Highlands Development
Corporation; Remote Area
Planning and Development Board;
Fitzroy River and Coastal
Catchments Inc; Better Futures,
Local Solutions Local Advisory
Group; Gladstone Area Promotion and Development Ltd.
How it can be used/linked/expanded
This Gladstone strategy will help to address local economic development and business needs by creating stronger linkages between business leaders, suppliers, contractors, service providers, all levels of government and the local community in line with the RESJ Plan.
Regional development
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 24 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
Abbreviation
LEC
LGA
NBN
RDA
PaCE
RESJ
TTC
HIPPY
ICC
IEP
ILLNP
JSA
AEDI
CQ TAFE
CQUniversity
DEEWR
DES
DETE
DIDO
FIFO
GAL
WELL
ABBREVIATIONS
Full Term
Australian Early Development Index
Central Queensland Institute of TAFE
Central Queensland University Australia
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Disability Employment Services
Department of Education, Training and Employment (Qld)
Drive-In-Drive-Out
Fly-In Fly-Out
Government Action Leader (Department of Human Services)
Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters
Indigenous Coordination Centre
Indigenous Employment Program
National Partnership on Improving Literacy and Numeracy
Job Services Australia
Local Employment Coordinator
Local Government Area
National Broadband Network
Regional Development Australia
Parental and Community Engagement
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs
Trade Training Centre
Workplace English Language and Literacy
Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan – Fitzroy and Central West 25 www.deewr.gov.au/resj
