Queensland

PACKAGES   

1.     Training Packages

2.     Australian Apprenticeships in Rural and Related Industries

1.  Training Packages

Each industry has now collected details of all the skills and knowledge required by its workers from the basic level to the very advanced.  This has been done by industry teams through consultations with workers in each industry sector over many years. Also, this information is continually updated.

These ‘full collections of skills and knowledge’ are called Training Packages.

Within each Training Package sets of skills and knowledge are grouped together at various levels of difficulty. Upon achievement of one of these groupings, the worker, usually an Australian Apprentice, is judged to be ‘competent’ by both the employer and training organization and is awarded a ‘qualification’ which is accepted Australia wide.   

This is how tradespersons such as carpenters become ‘qualified in their trade’. The same process of qualification is now available to workers in rural and related industries.

There are four Training Packages for the Rural and Related Industries and Australian Apprenticeships may be undertaken by people working in the following industries: -

Rural Production (Agriculture) (only traineeships)
Alpaca, Agricultural Machinery Operations, Beef Cattle, Beekeeping, Cotton, Cropping, Dairy,  Deer, Emergency Disease Response, Goat, Grain, Horse Breeding, Irrigation, Macropod and Wild Game Harvesting, Mushroom, Nutrient Management, Olive, Organic, Pig, Poultry, Production Horticulture (including Fruit, Vegetables and Nuts), Rural Business, Shearing, Sheep, Sugar and Wool Handling and Classing.

Amenity Horticulture (apprenticeships and traineeships)
Arboriculture, Floriculture, Landscape, Retail and Wholesale Nursery, Parks and Gardens and Turf.

Animal Care and Management (only traineeships)
Veterinary Nursing, Animal Control and Regulation, Animal Technology, Captive Animals and Companion Animal  Services.

Conservation and Land Management (only traineeships)
Conservation Earthworks, Natural Area Restoration, Vertebrate Pest Management, Weed Management, Land, Parks and Wildlife and Indigenous Land Management.

Details of the qualifications in these industries may be found at www.natinfo.com.au
(Select 'search', select QLD, select an Industry title (as shown above) then click the 'submit' button. Click on the relevant job title to obtain the Job Description and the summary of training required).

2.  Australian Apprenticeships in Rural and Related Industries –  information for employers

What are Australian Apprenticeships?

Australian Apprenticeships (a name given to both ‘apprenticeships’ and ‘traineeships’) are now the major way of employing and training new and existing employees, young and mature age, in our rural and related industries. 

An Australian Apprenticeship is a contracted period of employment and training that combines practical work with an employer together with theory from a training organisation. This provides the employee with knowledge and skills that are specifically required to do the job.  The standards for each skill have been set by industry people and are kept under constant review. 

Upon completion, the employee gains a national qualification which is recognized throughout Australia.

Australian Apprenticeships are available to anyone from 15 years of age and over.  This includes family members where they have no equity in the business.  There are no specified minimum educational requirements for participation, however, basic literacy and numeracy skills to year 10 standards are recommended.  Approximately 1600 Australian Apprentices are employed each year in Queensland in rural and related industries.

Usually, employees commence as Australian Apprentices at the basic entry level which is Level II (one year full time or two years part time) and then they may progress to a higher level qualification at Level III (two years full time).  Level III is generally viewed as the ‘trade level’.  Some employers now encourage employees on to Level IV (supervisory) then to the Diploma level (management) and even higher. This system provides a practical career pathway to the top for those who want to take it.

What are the Benefits for Employers? 

·        You may receive financial incentives from the Australian Government;

·        You pay the new employee a training wage;

·        You make all the hiring decisions;

·        You get to choose the training provider;

·        You get to negotiate a customized training program to suit the needs of your property;

·        You may get free training for the new employee from the State Government;

·        You get free assistance with the paperwork from a special government funded agency;

·        You can employ direct or through a Group Training Company; and

·        You set your employees up for a career and not just a job.

Australian Apprenticeships for Your New Employees

If you need new staff or if you are finding it hard to source a skilled employee you could employ an inexperienced person as an Australian Apprentice.  Productivity is achieved more quickly as they learn the latest and most relevant skills in a short time frame because of the ‘apprenticeship’ system of employment which is supported with external training.

Also, those employees who have worked for you either full-time for less than three months, or part-time or casual for less than twelve months, prior to entering a training contract, are not deemed as ‘existing workers’ by the government for the purposes of public funding of their training. Hence, for most ‘new’ employees, external training is funded by the government and financial incentives apply.

Australian Apprenticeships for Your Existing Employees

An ‘existing worker’ is an employee who has been employed for longer than three months full time or twelve months part time or casual by the current employer.

Government funding of training and payment of incentives to employers of existing workers may apply under certain conditions.  Australian Apprenticeship Centres are equipped to help employers determine their eligibility on a case by case basis.

Existing workers who are converted to Australian Apprenticeships do not require changes to their current employment conditions and they may have a number of their current skills recognized and credited by the training organisation which should reduce the time required for the gaining of the qualification. Skilling Solutions Queensland can assist your staff to fast track gaining a qualification by undertaking a free skills audit and,in some cases, a financial grant. Call them on 1300 654 687.

Australian Apprenticeships for Your ‘School Based’ Employees

A ‘school-based’ employee could also be an option for your business. This is also very popular throughout Queensland.  Young people generally aged 15 years and over and who are still attending school are eligible to undertake a part time apprenticeship or traineeship while still finishing their senior schooling. 

Typically, an apprentice or trainee would work for you one day per week or the equivalent time during the school vacation period and complete the theoretical training off site. However, work periods are negotiable with each school and special cases may be accepted for a student to work for an employer two and even three days per week.  The majority of schools in Queensland now offer flexible timetables for students wishing to undertake this form of employment and training and are very happy to talk to all employers about sourcing suitable applicants. Also, many farming families take this option for their own children who are either living at home or who are at boarding school. 

Hence, young people can study for their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE), acquire government approved and accredited training qualifications in an apprenticeship or traineeship and be paid while doing so.  When they finish, they will have their QCE or equivalent, and be well on the way towards a qualification in their chosen career.

Government Financial Incentives

Eligible employers may receive financial incentives from the Australian Government that can be used in any way they choose including to offset the Australian Apprentices’ wage costs or other costs associated with the employee.  If approved, the absolute minimum amount of incentives employers are likely to receive is $1,250 (Certificate level II). 

Also, those employers who hold a current and valid Exceptional Circumstances Drought Area Certificate issued by Centrelink (Ph 132 316) and who commence and complete eligible Australian Apprentices at Certificate Level II may receive a further incentive of $3000.  There are other incentives for employing Australian Apprentices who are - school based ($1500), disadvantaged mature age ($1500), and higher-level at Certificate levels III and IV ($4000). 

All Agricultural and non-metropolitan based Horticultural Australian Apprentices at Certificate levels   II, III and IV  should now have access to the Tool Kit for Trades Initiative, worth up to $800, and be eligible for a $1,000 Apprenticeship Training (Fee) Voucher that will reimburse them, or their employers, for the cost of course fees up to $500 per year in the first two years of training. 

The recent inclusion of Shearers and Tree Surgeons (Arborists, Tree Doctors) on the National Skills Needs List (NSNL) now provides access to a range of Australian Government incentives, which are in addition to the normal commencement and completion incentives. In addition, the State Government may pay the training costs of new workers going into Australian Apprenticeships and has other financial incentives for employers employing and retaining indigenous high school students.

(Correct as of 3 November 2008)

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