As industry owned and led organisations, Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) connect industry with government and training organisations to identify and collaborate on practical skills and training solutions. JSCs are well placed to investigate the vocational education and training (VET) workforce with an industry lens and drive industry collaboration to respond to VET workforce issues.
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JSC VET workforce project overview
Taking forward a program of work commencing from July 2024, the Australian Government provided funding of $12 million to JSCs to identify and respond to VET workforce issues within their sectors. The completion date for the projects was mid-2026.
JSC action focused on 3 streams of work:
- Stream 1: Develop a comprehensive understanding of their industries’ VET workforce.
- Stream 2: Deeper investigation into industry VET workforce challenges – diagnose issues, identify responses.
- Stream 3: Industry led actions and activities to develop and promote VET workforce and overcome challenges.
Stream 1
Stream 1 of the project involved JSCs engaging with training and industry stakeholders to undertake studies of the VET sector workforces for industries in their remit to develop an understanding of industry-specific roles.
Undertaking desktop analysis and field work activities, JSCs collected and collated industry specific information to inform a contemporary understanding of the current and emerging VET workforce roles across each industry sector and identify industry specific challenges facing the VET workforce.
JSCs had flexibility to undertake their study in a manner best suited to the circumstances of the sectors they represent.
Stream 2
Under Stream 2, JSCs built upon their VET workforce studies, to undertake deeper investigation into specific industry challenges with a focus on diagnosing issues and identifying responses. While not a compulsory element of project, the approach to Stream 2 has been varied, with some JSCs undertaking deeper investigation concurrently with Stream 1, some opting to dive directly into industry-led actions and others undertaking further engagement and consultation to refine their understanding and planned actions.
Stream 3
In Stream 3 JSCs undertook projects to address identified challenges to support and encourage the VET workforce. Examples of project focus areas include:
- Strengthening collaboration between industry and training providers.
- Mentoring support targeting new and emerging talent.
- Frameworks supporting and promoting industry currency, well-being, workforce lifecycle, workforce pathways and progression.
- VET workforce resources and training to support streamlined delivery and build workforce capability.
More information about the JSCs
For more information about the JSCs and their VET workforce projects, including links to individual JSC webpages, visit the Jobs and Skills CouncilsJobs and Skills Councils page.