ITAB News - Updated July 2010

Coordinating Respite for Carers (in the Community Services Sector)

Industry Consultation Forum August 3rd

The CS&H ISC is looking for registrations of attendance from the following:

Government / Private Employers (including Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres)
Peak Bodies / Associations
Unions

Information regarding the Industry Consultation Forums is now available on the project webpage and Registrations for the forums are now open. Numbers are limited so please register now!

Rebecca Seib
Project Coordinator

rebecca.seib@cshisc.com.au

Tandiss Hatami
Project Coordinator

tandiss.hatami@cshisc.com.au

Strengthening the AQF update

The AQF Council met on Wednesday 16 June 2010 and agreed on the package of policies that should comprise the strengthened AQF. This includes:

A structure of 10 levels and the criteria for each

Qualification type descriptors for each of the existing qualification types

Specifications for the construction of qualifications

Policies for issuance of qualifications, registers of qualifications, qualification pathways and linkages, generic skills in qualifications, and the addition and removal of qualification types.

The AQF Council is now seeking stakeholder comments on the full package of specifications and policies. A consultation paper will be available on Monday 12 July and comments will be required by Wednesday 4 August.

Stakeholders are invited to attend presentations on the proposed strengthened AQF which will be held in Sydney on Tuesday July 20 10 am – 12 noon and 2 pm – 4 pm

To book into a presentation session, please email your preferred location and time to aqfc@sa.gov.au Venues for the presentations will be published in the AQF newsletter and on the AQF website in early July.

Further information about the Strengthening the AQF project is available from http://www.aqf.edu.au/Projects/tabid/186/Default.aspx

Sydney Feedback Workshop for CHCISC Oral Health Competency Development Project

The Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (ISC) is seeking feedback from representatives in the community services and health sectors on proposed Oral Health components for addition to the Community Services and Health Training Packages.

The Importance of Oral Health and the Project’s Aims

Poor Oral Health has been identified as a sign, and cause, of poor overall health. Every interaction with a client is an opportunity to identify and/or notify them of Oral Health problems.

The ISC is currently undertaking a project to develop Oral Health units of competency for community services and health workers.

Target Groups

Population groups identified as ‘at risk’ in the Australian National Oral Health Plan - healthy mouths healthy lives – are:

Children and Adolescents
Elderly
Low income and socially disadvantaged
People with special needs
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Refugee and Migrant groups

If your work involves direct client contact and/or helping and caring for anyone within the identified groups listed above, then your consideration and comments are vital.

Workshop Details

The consultation workshop will be held in Sydney on Thursday 22 July, with the venue to be confirmed.

Please click here for further information and advise the ISC of your attendance by phone or e-mail by cob Friday 2 July. Click here for contact details

Communicating with clients with Language Literacy and Numeracy Needs

The Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council are holding free national consultation forums in July 2010 and an online survey to receive industry feedback on draft additions and changes to the Community Services Training Package (CHC08) to incorporate Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) competency. The draft changes are intended to assist:

* volunteer tutors who provide adult LLN support

* workers in community services who work with clients with low LLN skills

Registrations for the forums are now open and the online survey will be available from 21 June 2010.

To register and for further information please visit the web page.

2010 Assessor Network

NSW CSHITAB invites you to participate in the 2010 Assessor Network.

Dates for the year are as follows:

Tuesday March 2

Tuesday May 11

Tuesday August 10

Tuesday November 9

2 pm - 4:30 pm

Click here for more Information and Registration

NEW CHC08 TRAINEESHIPS

The following qualfications have recently been established as traineeships for NSW:

CHC30208 Certificate III in Aged Care
CHC40108 Certificate IV in Aged Care
CHC40408 Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs Work
CHC30708 Certificate III in Children's Services
CHC50908 Diploma of Children's Services (Early childhood education and care)
CHC41208 Certificate IV in Children's Services (Outside School Hours Care)
CHC20108 Certificate II in Community Services
CHC41008 Certificate IV in Community Services Advocacy
CHC30108 Certificate III in Community Services Work
CHC40708 Certificate IV in Community Services Work
CHC30408 Certificate III in Disability
CHC40308 Certificate IV in Disability
CHC30908 Certificate III in Employment Services
CHC42008 Certificate IV in Employment Services
CHC30308 Certificate II in Home and Community Care
CHC40608 Certificate IV in Leisure and Health
CHC40508 Certificate IV in Mental Health
CHC30508 Certificate III in Social Housing
CHC40908 Certificate IV in Social Housing
CHC41808 Certificate IV in Youth Work
CHC41908 Certificate IV in Youth Justice

Vocational Training Orders are pending for a number of other CHC08 qualifications and they will be posted here as advice is recieved from the Commissioner for Vocational Training.

NEW HLT07 Traineeships recently established:

HLT30207 Certificate III in Non-Emergency Client Transport
HLT42707 Certificate in Aromatherapy

TRAINEESHIPS NOT ALIGNED TO TRAINING PACKAGES

Commissioner's Bulletin 442

30772QLD Certificate IV in Christian Ministry and Theology
91389NSW Certificate IV in Ministry

Commissioner's Bulletin 421

91385NSW Certificate IV in Adventure Based Youth Work

ORAL HEALTH COMPETENCY STANDARDS

The Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (ISC) is undertaking a project to develop new oral health competency standards for inclusion in the Health (HLT07) and/or Community Services (CHC08) Training Packages.

The National Oral Health Plan identifies greater participation in oral health services by the broader workforce. Development of these competencies has the potential to improve oral health outcomes and enable better access to oral health professionals for clients most in need.

The competencies are being developed to describe work functions performed by the community services and health workforce that is broader than the oral health workforce sector, including nurses, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health workers, aged care workers and disability workers. These new competencies can potentially be packaged as electives within qualifications of this broader workforce.

Eight draft national oral health competency units are now ready for review and validation by industry stakeholders. These are:

CHCOHC401A - Inform and motivate clients and groups to improve oral health care

CHCOHC402A - Instruct clients and groups in practical aspects of oral health care

CHCOHC403A - Screen using defined and validated screening tools and refer as required

CHCOHC404A - Recognise presence of basic oral abnormalities and report

CHCOHC405A- Undertake oral health assessment for referral and care planning

CHCOHC406A - Provide or assist with oral hygiene care

CHCOHC407A - Apply preventive and palliative oral health products

CHCOHC408A - Apply fluoride varnish

For further ISC information

To contact the ISC and/or provide direct feedback visit the project webpage or contact ISC Project Coordinator Bronwyn Walker on 02 9270 6635.

Statewide information sessions rolling out on ‘Keep Them Safe’ 13 November 2009

Following the release of the Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW on 24 November 2008, the NSW Premier and Minister for Community Services announced the Government’s commitment to 106 of the 111 recommendations on 3 March 2009. The five-year action plan entitled Keep Them Safe: A Shared Approach to Child Wellbeing, and accompanying $750 million whole-of-government investment translates to significant changes in the NSW child protection system.

TAFE NSW is conducting statewide information sessions throughout November and early December at over 550 locations across NSW for all key mandatory reporters from government and non-government organisations.

These three hour sessions will provide an overview of the changes to the child protection system including information about Child Wellbeing Units, changes to the threshold of reporting to Community Services and new guidance on information exchange.

A complete list of information sessions and online registration is available at http://www.nsi.tafensw.edu.au/courseregokts/ . In addition to providing key information on Keep Them Safe, these sessions provide a good opportunity to network with other mandatory reporters in your local area.

Pocket Guides to a Skilled Workforce

The ITAB has worked in partnership with industry sectors to produce customised pocket guides that contain straightforward information about:

The match between the skills and knowledge of the workforce and qualifications in the national training system
Explanations and examples of the training choices available to suit the diverse needs of workers and their workplace
A 'Ready Reckoner' for easy access to additional information and support.

The Pocket Guides will assist employers to recognise training opportunitiesand choices to achieve a highly skilled and competent workforce.

Pocket Guides to a Skilled Workforce now available from the ITAB for the following industry sectors:

Disablity Work
Alcohol and Other Drugs Work
Community Mental Health Work
Out of School Hours Care
Working in the Early Childhood Sector
Problem Gambling Counselling
Skills Recognition

Other industry sector Pocket Guides are currently being developed and will be posted here as they become available.

ITAB Assessor Network 2009

The ITAB Assessor Network is over three years old now and has enjoyed participation from a broad range of community services and health RTOs. The network has met in February amd June this year to engage in professional conversations about all things assessment and more. It has proved to be a valuable opportunity for members to network, share ideas and gain worthwhile professional knowledge in a friendly and open setting.

The Assessor Network is open to anyone who is involved in assessment of community services and health training and is run by the members, for the members. Topics for discussion come from the members and no question or concern is too small for consideration. As a bonus, the ITAB provides a Certificate of Participation with details of the topics covered (useful for RTO AQTF evidence) and an always welcomed array of refreshments!

There is one more meeting scheduled this year, Tuesday, October 27 and all are welcomed to participate.

NOTE: The ITAB has been facilitating the South Coast Assessor Network which meets 4 times a year in various locations in the Illawarra. The remaining 2009 network meetings are scheduled for Wednesday 2 September and Wednesday 2 December. Please contact Nan Greig on 4223 1111 for further details.

FIT FOR THE FUTURE - A 2008 Reframing the Future Project

“A highlight of this project was the opportunity for professional conversations with other RTOs and the knowledge that we are not alone”

Project Participant

The ITAB had great pleasure this year in working with 10 RTOs who generously gave their time and support to the ITAB’s Strategic Management project, funded by Reframing the Future. The project ran from May to November with the goal of developing RTO capabilities to continuously improve the quality of training and assessment. This project provided a unique opportunity for RTOs to develop partnerships and engage with each other in a non-competitive environment. They were able to collaboratively benchmark their assessment outcomes, identify continuous improvement actions and broaden strategic management practices.

The RTOs worked in two project teams representing the Children’s Services sector and the Aged Care sector and attended monthly one day workshops to develop a collaborative assessment validation model. The project participants welcomed this opportunity to work in partnership with each other and to take the learning back to their own organisations.

As a result of the collaborative model developed, trialled and evaluated by the project, the ITAB will be able to conduct collaborative assessment validations in the future to support interested RTOs in achieving quality assessment strategies and results. Check the ITAB website for scheduled workshops in 2009.

The success of this project is attributed to the generous support and participation of the following RTOs and the ITAB acknowledges and values their contribution:

Anglican Retirement Villages
Baptist Community Services
Community Child Care Cooperative Ltd NSW
ECTARC
Mission Australia
Network of Community Activities
Southern Solutions
Sutherland Shire Council
Worktrain P/L
YWCA NSW

Employability Skills

At its July 2007 meeting the National Quality Council endorsed an approach to descriptive reporting on employability skills which involves: learners downloading qualification specific Employability Skills Summaries for Training Package qualifications they have completed from an internet site; and RTOs adding a mandatory sentence providing directions to the site to all qualification testamurs for Training Package qualifications.

The website housing the Employability Skills Summaries for Training Package qualifications has now been established. In order to allow sufficient time for RTOs to modify their qualification testamurs to include the mandatory sentence, at its March 2008 meeting the Council agreed to the following two step process for moving to the new reporting arrangements:

From 1 July 2008, RTOs will be required to inform all students issued with Training Package qualifications that Employability Skills Summaries for Training Package qualifications can be downloaded from http://employabilityskills.training.com.au ; and

From 1 January 2009, RTOs will be required to add the following mandatory sentence to all qualification testamurs issued for Training Package qualifications:

A summary of the employability skills developed through this qualification can be downloaded from http://employabilityskills.training.com.au

Rural and Remote Training Needs Research Report

NOW AVAILABLE

The Community Services Training Needs in Rural and Remote NSW research project has been completed. The research encompassed a wide range of community services sectors with 231 rural and remote employers participating in the data collection. This represents over 5200 full time, part time and casual employees. The research findings have been collated into six main rural and remote regions and provide a clear profile of skills shortages, training needs, priority groups and barriers and challenges to training provision.

Research Report available here

NavigatingNSW Launch Photo Gallery

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