Continuing the Conversation

In the changing world of work, forecasting “future skills” is vital to ensure people are trained appropriately now, and for the future. Australian Industry Standards (AIS) on behalf of the Industry Reference Committees (IRCs) it supports produce annual Skills Forecasts to report on industry outlook, new and emerging skills and associated training needs for each sector they represent.

Facilitated by SBS journalist Ricardo Goncalves, AIS will host an event in Melbourne this week with representatives from all 11 IRCs it supports. The event will co-launch the 2019 draft IRC Skills Forecasts and a special eBook titled - Future Skilling Our Workforce – a national conversation. The launch will be followed by a round of discussions about skills and workforce policy impacting the 11 industries.

The eBook is the culmination of a round of national Industry Skills Forums and Industry Leaders’ Dinners held by AIS in late 2018. It outlines a series of key messages that arose from these consultations with industry and highlights the importance of a continuing conversation at the leadership level about cross-industry workforce development issues.

Other messages addressed in the eBook include: the demand for more effective pathways between the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and University sectors; the role that digital transformation might play in flexible working arrangements for women juggling family responsibilities; and that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to the delivery of education and training in a country that is so geographically and culturally diverse.

This event in Melbourne provides a rare opportunity for representatives of all 11 IRCs to be present in one room to harness their collective experience and insights. The industries covered by these IRCs include: aviation, transport and logistics, maritime, energy, water and utilities, public safety, police, fire, Defence and corrections. With such a diverse portion of Australia’s workforce represented, the conversation will provide a platform for this group of leaders to talk about the role of industry moving forward in a world of change – whether it be policy change, digital change impacting job roles or other demographic change in the workforce.

The eBook can be accessed at www.futureskilling.org.au/ebook.  

The 2019 IRC Skills Forecasts were submitted to the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) on Tuesday, 30 April 2019. To view the 2019 draft IRC Skills Forecasts visit the AIS website.