Introduction
Technical and Further Education, or TAFE (as it has come to be known) has provided a solid theoretical and practical grounding for traditional apprenticeships, forming the basis for formalised training within our foundry industry. Lets look at what I call the three evolutionary steps of training. Firstly, how has training developed and where have we been? Secondly, where is training now? Thirdly, where do we see training developing and heading in the future?
This turned out apprentices with a more rounded skill base, as employers of the day, generally took on any work that came their way. Training took a similar approach, with colleges using a variety of strategies including those resources borrowed from other fields in the engineering industry. There was, as it seemed, little standardisation of training throughout the country. The demand for tradespeople with high quality hand skills was high, so training generally focused on this aspect. The theoretical component was broadly divided into Trade Drawing, Trade Theory and Science. The five year apprenticeship, where apprentices did night study was replaced by a four year system with employers releasing apprentices for the day time study. This was seen as a major change to the delivery of traditional training, leading to mixed reactions among employer groups. Some groups supported the idea, while others did not. In Queensland it produced a split between delivery strategies as regional apprentices could not travel oneday-a week to college. Courses for these students had to be delivered through correspondence, which was slow and cumbersome. The block release system was later introduced to provide apprentice training over an eight week period. This meant that all training delivery for the year could be completed in one session or block. However, if you have had dealings with the training of apprentices you will know how hard it is to keep apprentices focused daily, let alone for eight weeks!! Employers didnt like losing their apprentices for such a long period, particularly in peak periods and a fair percentage of apprentices were from small workshops. Changes had to be made and the introduction of two four week blocks came about. Somewhere in all this, the Technical Colleges became TAFE Institutes. With the industrial upheaval of the eighties, training began to take a different approach. Moves were afoot to develop the TAFE Metal & Engineering National Curriculum, where for the first time, attempts were made to standardise training throughout the country. TAFE Institutes began to unite in developing curriculum that met the needs of industry. Both student and teaching resources were developed to provide a standardised quality outcome process. This development also brought sweeping changes to the delivery system. In Queensland the CN100 course (that included Moulders and Patternmakers) saw apprentices having to complete a total of 24 modules over the four year apprenticeship period. For the first time, the course was set out in a three tiered approach with compulsory, specialisation and elective modules being offered. This style of delivery caused upheaval between many in the teaching fraternity, as some were disgusted at being told how to go about teaching. Never the less the system was implemented and was used for almost ten years in training apprentices, prior to the introduction of the National Training Packages. In the eighties, the government of the day revised its Industrial Relations Policy and introduced the accords where all parties had to bargain productivity off-sets in order to receive pay increases. How can we ever forget those times of industrial upheaval and unrest. As the process evolved and individual enterprises began to specialise, one thing became clear. There was a massive skill shortage looming. The Federal Government recognised Australia needed to stay competitive in the export market, there would be a demand for skilled workers.
Qualified tradespeople were in short supply. Unfortunately many existing workers did not have formalised qualifications necessary to receive higher increments of pay. The notion of National Training Packages where employees were to be paid for skills they used onthe-job in their daily activities, gained momentum. These industry designed training packages, were to be the first attempts to consolidate non-qualified employees into recognition for their current skill status. Formalised groups consisting of representatives from State and Federal Governments, Industry groups, National Training Authorities, Unions and other interested parties met to devise a method that could provide recognition for employees current skill levels and also provide guidance in the assessment process. The Metals, Engineering and Related Services package was released in 1996 after much debate. Our foundry industry was to say the least, only briefly represented. Despite the experts trying to convince us how we could use the training packages, as the stood at the time, to qualify tradespeople in the foundry, we were still largely unconverted or convinced. Although the next version of the training package, MEM30398 was upgraded and released in 2001, I still firmly believe that it is a tool of assessment only, not a training package as the name would imply.
Faced with the prospect of TAFE closure and what was seen in the Federal sector as a shift to full on-the-job delivery, the South Australian Government of the day commissioned the South Australian Centre for Manufacture to produce training resources for the approaching on-the-job delivery system. This undertaking was truly a mammoth task for those concerned and the work carried out by a small band of dedicated professionals was commendable. Although the work began in the modular system of delivery, sadly the work was terminated before resources for the competency standards could be addressed. However, it was a very significant and worthwhile project needed to fill the gaping void in resources at the time. The conversion from modules to competency standard units was now a major stumbling block. TAFE Institutes had downsized and in some cases dropped foundry training all together. With the remaining staff reduced to a bare minimum, production of new resources to address the outcomes of the competency standards was impossible. In Queensland we faced the massive task of conversion, after the Department of Employment and Training (DET), the Department now controlling TAFE in Queensland, declared it would no longer fund training subjects not converted to competency units. So the long and arduous task began to convert and deliver vocational training in competency standard units. A further requirement of the training package, necessitates all apprentices must have workplace assessment to ensure the theoretical component of the competency standard units have been transferred to on-the-job practical experience. It is time consuming and a costly exercise, coupled with the fact that no matter how the theoretical component of training is delivered (either on or off-the-job) assessment must be carried out on-the-job. In 2000 Yeronga Institute of TAFE (Brisbane) employed the first full-time workplace assessor in the foundry industry, specifically to carry out workplace assessment and associated functions.
Identifying many problems faced by Queensland manufacturing, the State Government commissioned a study into both the educational and the vocational training systems in an effort to place young people into the work force. The Queensland Government has made it perfectly clear that their goal is to see all young people out of the social security system into full time employment. The policy of the Queensland Government is being focused around the earning or learning strategy. All young Queenslanders are to be in full time schooling, at TAFE, University, in full time employment, or a combination of any of these strategies by 2006. What this policy has developed is a seamless and more flexible approach to education and training in preparation for entry into the workforce. Initiatives such as school based apprenticeships and traineeships are rapidly being accepted by employers, as they too can see the benefits of letting young people into the workforce while still attending school. At Yeronga Institute of TAFE we have our first patternmaking school based apprentice, with another two more apprenticeships in the foundry industry being negotiated with employers before the end of the year (2004).
A recent training session at a Tasmanian foundry saw trainees and new start employees sharing training together. The company management saw this as an ideal opportunity for employees to share knowledge and information while the employees saw the benefits of learning underpinning knowledge associated with day to day foundry operations.
Photograph No.2 Together with traditional apprentice training, our Yeronga Institute of TAFE has developed a series of workplace delivery strategies tailored to individual foundry organisations needs. Some organisations are using a combination of on and off-the-job delivery strategies for apprentices/trainees and shop-floor employees. The delivery is developed to produce flexible solutions to vocational education and training needs.
Because distance is becoming a major factor contributing to the cost of delivery, webbased programs are also being considered. In the future, courses will be set up online where students can access learning and training resource material. As I see it its not too much of a change from our old Technical Correspondence School many of our regional students were trained on in years past. Industry groups such as the Australian Industry Group are proposing Technology Cadetships, which are supported by National Training Authority. These cadetships are seen as the middle level skills overlapping the constraints of Post Trade and Advance Trade Skills, Technician Skills and Para Professional Skills. (AIG Initiative).This type of approach has been long overdue and will now form the next step in specialisation pathways in the National Training Package.
Photograph No.3 Students could have a try at a variety of tasks including using hand tools in moulding and patternmaking, mixing and pouring plastic key rings, or carving a propeller blade.
Judging by the number of questions that were being asked by children, teachers and parents, together with the crowds that were at times four and five deep, the concept was a total success. Run in conjunction with this event was the Careers Expo, where organisers hoped a total of twenty-seven thousand people would attend over the three day period of the event. In fact a figure of twenty-five thousand was achieved on the first day, with a total of forty-seven thousand people passed through the venue over the three days. Our industry couldnt buy exposure like that and Im still getting enquiries from people who attended the event.
Conclusion
Although for some years we have seen the stalling of vocational training and sadly for our industry, the removal of foundry training courses from some TAFE Institutes, I firmly believe we are only now seeing strong developments and links to the National Training Package, which whether we like it or not, are here to stay. Employers have always seen the benefits of vocational training, but are now becoming involved in development of training to suit their individual needs. The Queensland Government has launched its manufacturing Initiative strategy to assist in the up skilling of the workforce, encourage school leavers to enter manufacturing industries and to address skill shortages. It is encouraging to hear rhetoric from John Howard acknowledging skill shortages within the trades and a need for more apprentices and at the time of writing this, he is promising a further twenty-four Technical Colleges. I can only hope this move does not fragment our foundry training further, but will be a positive step for our industry. Yeronga Institute of TAFE is committed to the ongoing training of foundry apprentices, trainees and employees. The Institutes staff, is being provided with a challenge to develop and deliver stimulating solutions to a cutting edge technology market. We are seeing the largest growth in foundry apprentice numbers since the opening of the Institute in 1967. While most students were Queensland students, there are a growing number of interstate students undertaking training. It is gratifying to see not only the growth but the number of inquiries and diversification of training required by employers. I truly believe that we are continuing in the right direction to fill skill shortages and gaps in skill areas. The road has not been easy, nor will it become any easier, however if we persevere we will build a stronger foundry industry producing a world quality product that will continue to grow our economy and industrial know-how.
References
Australian Industry Group 2004 Photograph No.2 Photograph No.3 TAFE 1990 W. Alexander, A Street, 1965 Great Britain (photograph No.1) Cadetship Initiative On-the-job students in Tasmania School children at the Try-a-trade Metal & Engineering National Curriculum Metals in the service of man Pelican books: