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Training and apprenticeships

News

Moorey Meats benefits from apprenticeship connections
Strathfield business Moorey Meats was able to recruit a first year apprentice butcher within two weeks, thanks to the streamlined service provided by the Western Sydney Industry Apprenticeships Project.
457 workers now entitled to market salary rates
Government regulations introduced on 14 September 2009 require all standard business sponsors of subclass 457 visa holders to pay their overseas workers market salary rates.  
I need to retrench a 457 worker. What’s next?
Can they take legal action against me for retrenching them?
Retrenching a 457 worker – what you need to know
Has your company been hit hard by the economic downturn? Are you looking at laying off workers on 457 visas? If so you need to be aware of your obligations as an employer.
Generous incentives to maintain trade skills in your business
Unsure whether you can take on or keep your apprentice?  Generous additional incentives are available to employers to employ and train trade apprentices.
Discover your industry's skills and employment trends
Industry environmental scans provide detailed intelligence on the current and emerging national skilling and employment needs in 11 major industries.  
Discover your region’s skills and employment trends
How are skill and employment requirements in your region changing? Environmental scans can help you to plan to meet emerging business needs in your local area.
Can I employ someone from overseas?
Perhaps you have been approached by someone who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident and would like to work for you. What are the questions you should be asking?
Building employment opportunities in a new community
Employing a trainee has made the world of difference to the Ropes Crossing Skilling and Employment Centre, an initiative of property developer, Delfin Lend Lease.
Save on recruitment and gain a motivated adult trainee
The Pathway to Employment Program provides NSW Business Chamber members on the Mid North Coast of NSW with access to a pool of motivated job seekers to meet skills shortage and staffing needs.  
Uni students seek work with regional businesses
Businesses in rural or regional areas can attract newly qualified staff by employing a university student on a short-term placement before they graduate.
Free migration advice to help employers address skill shortages
If your business is experiencing difficulty filling a skilled job vacancy, sponsoring someone from overseas through skilled migration could be the answer.
Free assistance to recruit apprentices and upskill your staff in Western Sydney
Does your business need an independent one stop shop to connect you with jobseekers ready to take on an apprenticeship or traineeship?
Extra incentives for apprenticeships in skills shortage
The National Skills Needs List identifies trade occupations in national skill shortage that attract extra financial incentives for trade apprentices and their employers.
more news . . .

Articles

Red tape, bureacracy and lack of flexibility
A ground breaking study, 'Matching Workplace Skills to Business Needs' has found that red tape and a lack of customisation in training packages is creating a major bottleneck for Australian businesses wanting to train staff.
more Articles . . .

Business tips

Productive skills of people with disabilities  
People are living longer; and as we get older we acquire some form of disability. These disabilities increase as the years pass, yet most are invisible - only five percent of people with a disability use a wheelchair.  Twenty percent of the Australian population, about four million people, has one or more disabilities. 
Expatriate employment issues – a warning for employers  
Human Resource professionals in many industries are faced with a daunting workplace when you consider skilled labour shortages, according to some reports.
Are you winning or losing the talent war?  
Finding and retaining good staff is becoming harder and harder. Organisations are increasingly looking to develop cultures that are decent to work in, so that they may edge forward in the talent war – in attracting and retaining employees. Positively influencing staff is one way to develop an environment and culture where people want to do well and want to stay.
The benefits of an ageing workforce  
While most business owners or managers are aware that Australia's population is ageing and this may have an impact on the available pool of labour and skills that will be available to small businesses over the next decade, many have not had the opportunity or the time to identify strategies or succession plans to address the issue.
Business Learning Networks - Expertise, experience and new found enthusiasm!  
Despite recent figures indicating birth rates in Australia are now increasing the fact remains more Australians are leaving the workforce than entering it. In response, the Government announced in the last budget the creation of the Mature Age Employment and Workplace Strategy (MAEWS). NSW Business Chamber is pleased to be working with the Government by establishing Business Learning Networks, in the Ballina-Tweed and Canterbury-Bankstown regions.
Staff development - how to help your people learn  
'People are our greatest asset' is a familiar statement made by businesses. Logically, therefore you would expect businesses to invest heavily in time and resources in the ongoing learning and development of their people. However this is not always the case.
Staff training - how to develop staff skills and expertise  
Well-trained employees at all levels of your organisation are integral to achieving your business objectives and raising your business performance. Your staff need up-to-date skills and best practice methods to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. This skill and knowledge building process is an important and valuable ongoing investment in your business. It results in more highly developed skills and higher productivity.
Employees - high investment, high skill, high productivity  
If you invest wisely in your staff's skills as an ongoing developmental process you will not only automatically place a higher value on them but you will also be more strongly motivated to make better use of your employees. Most of us value what we have to pay for. And the more we spend the higher we value it. This value system is easily transferable to the workplace. As an employer you need to value the existing skills of your employees, and those skills they are developing. This is described as the high investment, high skill, high productivity cycle.
Apprenticeships – a much needed solution to the skills crisis  
Australia is undeniably facing a critical skills shortage. Worse still, the current skills shortage in the traditional trades areas is predicted to deteriorate further. If you think it's hard to find a tradesperson now, it may well be impossible soon.
more Business tips . . .

Case studies

TakeABreak.com.au – adopting flexible employment
NSW Business Chamber member, TakeABreak.com.au, makes it easy to find and book holiday accommodation online. The company has been growing strongly over the last four years, fuelled in part by the flexible employment options built into human resource policies.
Sydney Water - building capability
Identifying that universities are not the only place you can find talented young people, Sydney Water has developed a number of entry pathways, including an apprenticeships program, to attract new skills to the business.
Welders bond in the bush
BUSINESSES IN THE bush face unique challenges. As a major employer in the Walla Walla district, approximately 40 kilometres north of Albury, Modern Engineering is a typical example of a rural business dealing with skills shortages.
Glazier trades up to new skills
DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE WORK practices and achieving recognition for the glazing trade are the keys to solving the skills crisis for Australia’s leading glass product and glass replacement provider, O’Brien.
Growing your business through traineeships
Trying to secure business loans from banks can be a hardship for many small enterprises, yet 30 years ago a bunch of banana growers formed what is today one of the largest regional credit unions in Australia.
more Case studies . . .

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