Customised training solutions for trainees and apprentices
24 June 2002
Kangan Batman TAFE currently trains more than 5,300 apprentices and trainees, making it one of Victoria's largest providers of trainee/apprenticeship training.
According to the institute's Apprenticeship and Traineeship Coordinator, Jill Favero, Kangan Batman is the first choice of many employers due to its large range of qualifications and flexible approach to training delivery.
Named Training Provider of the Year in the 2001 Victorian Training Awards, Kangan Batman TAFE offers over 280 qualifications for apprentices and trainees in areas such as: automotive, aviation, aged care, business, building and furniture, child care, cleaning operations, electrical/electronics, engineering, fashion and millinery, finance, horticulture, hospitality and tourism, IT, office administration, polymer engineering, sport and recreation, retail, security and risk management, transport, distribution and storage, warehousing, waste management and more. Pre-apprenticeship courses are also available in many areas.
"Kangan Batman TAFE helps businesses with all aspects of recruiting and training apprentices and trainees. We can provide training in the workplace, off-the-job in TAFE classes or a combination of both", Ms Favero said.
"What makes us unique is that we work closely with both the employer and employee to ensure the training arrangements suit everyone."
Some employers prefer to have their employees complete their training off-the-job, at a registered training organisation (RTO). This approach has worked well for Trevor Sheahan, a trainee technician at Preston-based Sneddon & Kingston Plastics. Trevor completes his formal training in Kangan Batman TAFE's new state-of-the-art Polymer Engineering Centre.
"I really enjoy going to TAFE because the machinery I learn on is the same as at work. I've actually been going to TAFE one extra night-a-week because I want to finish my course early. It should take between three to four years, but I want to finish it in three," Trevor said.
Trevor has won numerous student awards from Kangan Batman TAFE and last week won a Career Development Award from the Plastics Pioneers, a leading plastics industry association. Trevor is currently a semi-finalist in the trainee category of the Victorian Training Awards, to be announced in September.
Kangan Batman TAFE also supports employers who wish to train their apprentices and trainees solely on-the-job, or using a combination of on and off-the-job training.
An example of the institute's flexibility is its work assisting Vawdrey Australia (a manufacturer of semi-trailers and rigid truck bodies) to establish an in-house apprentice training centre at the company's Dandenong factory.
Teachers from Kangan Batman TAFE's Vehicle Body Building Department are currently training and assessing 22 apprentices in the centre, which includes a workshop simulating the Vawdrey production area.
"Our partnership with Vawdrey is a unique approach to apprenticeship training," says Kangan Batman TAFE teacher Colin Cass. "On-the-job assessment is fairly common, but it is rare to see on-the-job training being delivered on this scale."
Another development in apprenticeships and traineeships at Kangan Batman TAFE has been the institute's promotion of the State Government Go for IT program.
Go for IT is a $3.8 million program aimed at helping people into employment through IT, communications or multimedia traineeships. The pilot program in 2000/2001 placed over 130 IT trainees. The State Government has recently expanded the program to place an additional 740 IT trainees over two years.
The program includes pre-employment training for trainees if required, on or off-the-job training during the traineeship, and a $1,100 incentive for employers of IT trainees. This is additional to the normal Commonwealth incentives paid to employers of trainees.
Kangan Batman TAFE recently hosted an industry breakfast to promote the program to potential employers in the north-western suburbs. Statewide Coordinator of the Go for IT program, Martin Broadhurst, spoke at the function, explaining the benefits of the program.
"Go for IT aims to address the skills shortage at the entry-level of the IT industry, in occupations such as PC support, database administration, multimedia, technical support and network management", Mr Broadhurst said.
"Employers are finding IT trainees an excellent way of filling this gap, as they bring much to the workplace in terms of skills and enthusiasm. Over 80 per cent of IT trainees are offered jobs by their employer at the end of their traineeship".
For further information on trainee/apprentice training at Kangan Batman TAFE, telephone the Customer Service Centre on (03) 9279 2555.
