Client:

  • Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
projectcover-neca-acci-dissem

Read Report

Timeframe:

March 2014 through to December 2015

Project Overview:

In 2014, BGA, in partnership with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), and the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA), examined the challenges and barriers for electrical apprentices, and the potential productivity gains that could be achieved by electrical contractors having a better understanding of their apprentice’s performance and requirements. The Apprentice Productivity Project identified a number of key areas that needed to be addressed, and the opportunities and strategies required to facilitate change, to increase the number of apprentices, the quality of their training, performance and productivity, and to ultimately strengthen the electrical communications industry.

The development of a Dissemination Plan was seen as a critical step in the process. The core objective of the Dissemination Plan was to outline the strategies needed to promote the knowledge gained through the Apprentice Productivity Project, and to provide tools to assist businesses to improve the productivity and overall experience of their apprentices.

Project Outcomes:

The final Dissemination Plan provided NECA with an important roadmap to communicate with key target audiences, both internal and external, and included:

  • outcomes of the Apprentice Productivity Project
  • how to take forward the strategies underpinning the Apprentice Productivity Project
  • approaches that can be supported through a number of avenues that make up NECA’s operations including the delivery of strategies and tools directly to business through a variety of platforms
  • articulating how the outcomes of the Apprentice Productivity Project will assist businesses to improve the productivity of their apprentices under the current regulatory environment

Critical outcomes from the project include:

  • improving apprentice completion rates
  • modernising apprenticeships through a flexible system that recognise individual needs
  • ensuring national consistency that addresses the future demand for electricians and produces a more productive workforce
  • increasing the pool of qualified tradespersons
  • increasing greater links between structured off-the-job training and the practical work-based experience gained by apprentices
  • achieving more appropriate on-the-job training with associated productivity benefits for the business
  • achieving more appropriate release from the workplace to receive industry relevant theoretical off-the-job training
  • increasing the understanding of the apprenticeship training period and the business economic cycle, the nature of contracting work and the issue of increasing specialisation of work
  • adopting more flexible forms of training partnerships and greater cooperation between the employer and training organisation

Contact:

For further information about this project, contact Steve Balzary on 0418 215 732 or Jim Tinslay on  0411 250 187