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Workforce Plan 2024: Agenda for Action
The Future Skills Organisation (FSO), the Jobs and Skills Council for Australia’s Finance, Technology and Business (FTB) sectors has released a 2024 Workforce Plan. The FSO’s role includes identifying skills and workforce needs, mapping career pathways, developing vocational education and training products and acting as a source of intelligence on issues affecting the FTB sectors....
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Changes to the Australian apprentice and trainee support system
The Australian Government has implemented changes to enhance support for apprentices. The changes include a newly launched Australian Apprenticeship Support Services program delivered by Apprentice Connect Australia Providers (previously known as Australian Apprenticeship Support Network or AASN). Effective 1 July 2024, the new program will include specialised services focusing on women in male-dominated trades, First...
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Skills in Interpreting and Translating: Multicultural Framework Review
The Towards Fairness – a multicultural Australia for all report is available to the public. Informed by the Multicultural Framework Review, the report addresses multiculturalism in Australia. The importance of language, communication, skills in interpreting and translating are detailed from pages 81 to 85. Recommendations for policy improvement in this area are outlined on pages...
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Appointment of new Federal Minister for Skills and Training
The Hon. Andrew Giles MP has been appointed as the Federal Minister for Skills and Training. He will replace Hon. Brendan O’Connor in this portfolio as a result of Minister O’Connor’s resignation from parliament. FAPSTC looks forward to working with Minister Giles and his team to advance skills and training more broadly in Western Australia....
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Young Australians face barriers navigating the workforce
Research by atWork Australia found only 50 per cent of young Australians are confident of achieving current or future career goals. Australia recorded a youth unemployment rate of 9.7 per cent in May 2024, with unemployed youth citing challenges while trying to break into the workforce. Marginalised communities and women are finding it more difficult...
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Inquiry: Health and economic links to women’s retirement outcomes
The Australian Government is leading an inquiry into the issues related to menopause and perimenopause on women’s longer term economic health. This has emerged as a factor to determine policy to improve workforce participation, productivity and retirement planning for women. Based on research conducted by The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), women’s superannuation...
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Underemployed migrant workers could add $70 billion to economy in next decade
Australia could be better utilising its workforce if it matched skills to jobs more accurately to address skills shortages. Recent research conducted by a non–profit organisation SSI in collaboration with Allianz Australia, LinkedIn, Business NSW, and Business Western Sydney found that over 620,000 migrant workers in the country are not fully utilising their skills despite...
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Women and girls falling behind on financial literacy skills
SBS News reports a lack of knowledge in financial literacy leads to poorer economic outcomes in life with this lack of knowledge affecting more females than males disproportionately. The findings are based on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) — which measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their maths, science, and reading skills and...
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Mutual banks announce intention to merge
P & N Bank and Beyond Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) intending to merge. The customer-based banks collectively have 450,000 members and if the merger goes through, the new entity will create one of Australia’s largest customer-owned banks. Key components of the merger include the merged entity servicing a vast metropolitan and...
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Financial planning: associate to provisional adviser
The financial advice industry has faced many challenges in recent years due to the Corporations Amendment (Professional Standards of Financial Advisers) Act 2017 commencing and introducing reforms to the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act), to raise the education, training and ethical standards of financial advisers. Financial advisers must complete an approved qualification at the tertiary...
