Future Skills Organisation

FSO are mindful of the scope of this Council, the challenges this will bring as well as the opportunities to work with industry and training providers to drive the improvements which they know are now possible. We have a strategic partnership in place with PwC Skills for Australia who have many years of experience as a Skills Service Organisation (SSO) with responsibility for the Finance, Technology and Business sectors.

The first body of work which we will focus on is the generation of the workforce and skills assessment for the sectors. This is the foundational assessment, developed in collaboration with Industry, training providers and Governments, which will guide on the key gaps to be addressed and will inform the decisions taken by the Government about which activities they will invest in. This plan must reflect your needs, and to capture your views we will build on the established TAFE/FSO working group which has been successfully operating over the last couple of years.

Finance, Business and Technology (FBT) impact all parts of the Australian economy, and the modern workforce need skills across all of these areas, albeit at different levels of proficiency. This is reflected in VET enrolments; in 2021 approximately 17% of these were for Finance, Technology and Business qualifications. In FSO’s work as a Jobs and Skills Council, they are acutely aware of the responsibility to collaborate effectively and specifically to engage across industry to ensure we understand their needs. A key part of the work will be how to  engage with the other Jobs and Skills Councils.

We are also mindful as to how quickly things are changing with the march of technology and the impact this will have for how people are trained. Common to all sectors are the need for people with greater digital skills, as well as cyber awareness. Artificial intelligence will provide new opportunities for everyone to work in different ways. We know that regulation and compliance will continue to be a point of focus for the financial sector. All businesses will need people who can be great programme managers. These changes will impact every industry.

The core FSO team you will work with includes the following professionals. The CEO, Patrick Kidd OBE OAM, who brings substantial experience in training, stakeholder management and digital transformation following a 30-year career in the Army. The Director, Operations and Delivery, Alison Wall, who has over 20 years’ experience working in the VET sector,  gaining experience across roles in RTOs and state and national government agencies. The Director, Growth and Engagement, Ross Raeburn, leveraging 20 plus years’ experience in leading digital marketing agencies, focused on developing  intelligent and influential engagement. The Director, Strategy and Planning, Dr. Geethani Nair, who has 25 years’ experience within the Australian VET sector across technology training, ICT management, VET leadership and education.

From this point we are keen to continue to build closer relationships with TAFEs as well as the other registered providers to provide advice and inform our thinking.  You can also visit here for more information.