#POWER OF TAFE: Industry Partnerships

With over 25,000 apprentices completing training at TAFE Queensland, the focus on health and safety has always been paramount. This is why TAFE Queensland has chosen to partner with TIACS to ensure conversations about mental health are encouraged both in training and on the job site.

Now in its fourth year, the Heavy Industry Multi Skills (HIMS) pre-employment program in Port Pirie, South Australia, is getting results through collaboration with TAFE SA, local major industries, and Regional Development Australia Yorke and Mid North (RDA Yorke and Mid North).

Working together with defence and security company, BAE Systems Australia (BAESA), a new, innovative program – the Shipbuilding Readiness Program – was developed to equip young people with the skills needed to work in shipbuilding.

Wodonga TAFE’s collaboration with the Australian Defence Force will now be extended nationally due to a successful tender that will enable increased training opportunities for Defence members whilst bringing employment for up to 250 staff members.

In a first for Australian TAFEs, 11 institutes across Australia are working together as TAFEcyber. The consortium produces job ready cyber security professionals with hands-on skills. The consortium is led by staff at South Metropolitan TAFE in Western Australia and was initially supported by various government seed funding initiatives.

Over 15 years ago, Greenslopes Private Hospital in Brisbane articulated two key problems – a shortage of enrolled nurses, and the time spent teaching new graduates the ‘Greenslopes way.’ Working collaboratively with TAFE Queensland, a solution – “Grow Your Own Workforce” – was developed to train enrolled nurses in a Diploma of Nursing wholly on-site in the workplace.

Capecare, in Busselton WA, the largest independent aged care provider, addressed their labour shortages by partnering with South Regional TAFE to deliver an ‘intensive-start’ traineeship. From 2020 to 2022, 24 trainees completed a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing), with all gaining employment as carers upon completion.

TasTAFE have worked collaboratively with the Multicultural Council of Tasmania (MCOT) to develop their Diverse Leadership Program, preparing current and emerging leaders for decision-making roles within the workplace and community.

Together, CYP Design and Construction (CYP) and Holmesglen Institute have created the Victorian Tunnelling Centre (VTC), a one-of-a-kind skilling facility based on international best practice. CYP is a joint venture of John Holland, Lendlease and Bouygues delivering the Victorian Metro Tunnel Project’s rail tunnels and underground stations.

TAFE NSW and Volvo are leading the development of skills needed to work with zero emission buses. The partnership has helped drive this clean environment initiative, as New South Wales legislates to replace diesel fleets with electric buses over time.  

A long-standing partnership between RMIT and Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV) is building a workforce of dental assistants and technicians, while serving the oral health needs of vulnerable clients.

Western Australia’s Water Corporation has worked closely with TAFE for over ten years to verify that its VET water qualification programs are high quality and in line with required national training standards.

BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) – the largest producer of seaborne metallurgical coal identified a need for the fast-tracked development of automated technology skill sets and qualifications for an open-cut mining environment in Queensland. The response was a multi-million-dollar collaboration between BMA, TAFE Queensland and CQ University Australia, the Queensland Future Skills Partnership.