For employers who need assistance to develop their workforce and improve productivity, TAFE NSW has consolidated its comprehensive business services into Institute one-stop shops.
Businesses can head to www.tafensw.edu.au/employerservices for a range of tailored solutions and advice from the Employer Services sections of TAFE NSW Institutes’ websites, or call our dedicated line: 1800 550 444.
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How can I enhance my business performance? |
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Use TAFE NSW’s Employer Services to upgrade your workforce skills set. |
‘Many businesses don’t realise that TAFE NSW offers a range of useful advisory services to employers, apart from training,’ said Marie Persson, Deputy Director-General TAFE and Community Education. ‘We have been working to become a much more flexible and dynamic organisation in recent times.’
Each of the 10 TAFE NSW Institutes has workforce development consultants on hand to visit employers and discuss their specific needs. Large state and national clients can be serviced through TAFE NSW National Business.
‘We can make a really big difference to a business’s bottom line in a number of ways,’ Ms Persson said. ‘That includes helping employers to source government funding for training; providing skills and training needs analysis; linking employers with graduates and students looking for work; recognising the experience and competencies of staff in awarding qualifications and providing tailored training programs onsite.’
Case studies in a new report called Improving the bottom line – Why industry values partnerships with TAFE NSW prove how good TAFE NSW has been in creating effective business solutions.
Big names such as Franklins, BlueScope Steel, Cochlear, Country Energy, Norco, Baker and Provan, the RAAF and the Rural Fire Service are among the 18 businesses whose TAFE partnerships feature in the report.
BlueScope Steel, for example, commissioned TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute to deliver training in Competitive Manufacturing*.
Companies like BlueScope Steel are always looking for opportunities to reduce their manufacturing costs. TAFE NSW understands this need and has developed training programs that deliver the right people with the right skills.
‘TAFE NSW has come in and conducted an analysis of where we are and what skills and talents exist within the organisation, worked out the gaps and then devised training methods to address these gaps,’ said Peter Baker, CEO of manufacturers Baker and Provan, another business which commissioned TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute and is profiled in the report.
‘By doing that I think we’ll get a very, very good result. Certainly from the way TAFE NSW has performed we’ve got very good expectations of this planned approach,’ he said.
Flexibility in training is also paramount for many businesses, which simply can’t afford to have staff off-site for long periods.
Carl Thompson, Competency Manager, Country Energy, said the flexibility offered by TAFE NSW is one of the many advantages of the partnership.
‘Using local training provider TAFE NSW, reduces the travel and accommodation cost, but by far the over-arching advantage is the reduction in downtime should a plant failure occur while training is being carried out,’ Mr Thompson said.
‘In the past we’ve had a storm go through a region and a number of staff have been a couple of hundred kilometres away attending training and this has severely impacted on our ability to respond to our customers in an efficient manner.’
Improving the bottom line is a useful resource for any employer seeking business improvement. It is available as a free download at www.tafensw.edu.au/employerservices
*Competitive Manufacturing is an umbrella term which refers to workplace improvement activities that encompass problem-solving, communication tools and mentoring staff into ‘lean’ thinking to identify poor business practices and reduce waste.
