Benchmarking audit of meat

industry current and

projected trainer capacity

Jenny Kroonstuiver

MINTRAC

www.mintrac.com.au

www.mintrac.com.au

This presentation

1. Scope of registration

2. Trainers and training qualifications

3. Recruitment and upskilling

4. Telephone interviews

5. Recommendations

Background

This project sought to:

• assess and evaluate the current and future

requirements of the Australian meat

industry training workforce

• develop strategies to address projected

future needs.

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Methodology

• On-line survey – 31 responses

• Telephone interviews - 21 conducted

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Major findings

• current and projected scope of registration of

RTOs generally aligns with industry

requirements

• evidence of effective RTO succession planning

• sustainable recruitment practices

• commitment to providing ongoing professional

development to trainers

• strong interest in adding Skill Sets

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SCOPE OF REGISTRATION

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Scope of registration -

qualifications

• Current • At least 10 providers for every qual Cert I-IV

• Over next five years

– Significant drop in Certs I-III

– Level IV – slight decline

– Higher level quals – increase

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Scope of registration – Skill Sets

• Current

– all 42 Skill Sets represented

• Projected

– increases in environment and meat micro

– slight decreases in MHA, carcase trimming

and offal

– significant decreases in animal welfare, basic

meat industry skills, knife sharpening and the

bandsaw Skill Sets

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Scope of registration – other

areas

• well served in the areas of business

administration, food safety auditing,

management and warehousing

• limited capacity in the areas of information

technology, human resources, rural production

and environment

• scope for adding higher levels of qualifications in

OH&S and laboratory operations

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Available specialised expertise

• significant depth of expertise in the areas

of meat quality, stunning, boning and

slicing, knife sharpening, workplace health

and safety and animal handling

• limited expertise in automation, robotics,

climate change, wild and farmed game

harvesting, UCFM and NLIS data

management

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TRAINERS AND TRAINER

QUALIFICATIONS

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Age profile of trainers

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

<30 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 > 70

all

abattoirs

retail

smallgoods

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Trainer qualifications - industry

Answer Options Response

Total

Smallgoods 66

Meat retailing 58

Certificate II abattoirs 145

Livestock handling and production 38

Slaughtering (Cert III level) 93

Boning and slicing (Cert III level) 120

Rendering 59

Meat safety inspection 60

Quality Assurance 57

Leadership 42

Management 25

Vocational Graduate Certificate/Diploma 16

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Trainer qualifications - training

Answer Options Response Total

No formal VET training qualifications 4

BSZ Training and Assessment 50

TAA or TAE Certificate IV in Training and Assessment 202

Diploma of Training and Assessment 14

Diploma of Vocational Education and Training 21

ESL or LL&N qualifications 12

University level Vocational Training degree 13

University level teaching qualification (Bachelor level) 12

Vocational Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) 2

Masters or PHD in education

Other recognised training qualifications 31

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Years of industry experience

• 11/14 nominated areas – more than ten

years of industry experience

• Less experience in game harvesting and

management

• meat safety inspection - a high proportion

of trainers with less than five years of

industry experience

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RECRUITMENT AND

UPSKILLING PRACTICES

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Essential selection criteria

Answer Options Response Percent

Substantial experience in at least one meat

industry sector 86.2%

Recommendations from industry referees 75.9%

Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

(minimum) 75.9%

Specialist skills/experience/qualifications related to

scope of registration 72.4%

Previous meat industry training and assessment

experience 44.8%

None of the above 0.0%

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Other selection criteria

• Over 50%: – prior knowledge of the applicant

– previous industry experience

– Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

• 30-50% – substantial experience in at least one industry sector

– recommendations from industry referees

– specialist skills related to the scope of registration

– previous experience in an industry-related area

– higher level qualifications.

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Professional development

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Occasionally

Regularly

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Trainer recognition

Answer Options Response

Percent

RTO reward such as attending a conference or other

event 59.3%

Feature article in newspaper/magazine/other media 48.1%

Internal RTO award 48.1%

Individual nomination for a MINTRAC training award 40.7%

Section/group nomination for a MINTRAC training

award 37.0%

Personal letter of recognition/thanks 33.3%

Feature article in an RTO publication 33.3%

Nomination for a State Training award 29.6%

Nomination for other industry award 11.1%

Other 11.1%

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TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS

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Factors influencing decisions

about scope

• Primary concern: – audit accountability

– trainer capability

– industry demand

– availability of training

and assessment

resources

– industry strategic

directions.

• Also important: – financial viability

– availability of subsidies

– market size

– community

responsibility.

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• Unimportant

– competition from

other providers

– availability of

facilities

– geographical

location.

• Other factors – client need and their

strategic directions

– partnership

arrangements with

processors

– international

marketability

– client resources

– availability of subsidies

for the companies

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Challenges to RTO capability

• Most commonly identified:

– recruiting and retaining good training staff

– issues related to compliance

– availability of funding

– competition from other providers.

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• Also mentioned: – traineeship eligibility

– inconsistencies between states

– removal of Commonwealth Certificate II subsides for

metropolitan trainees

– getting workers released for training

– increasing requirements for flexibility

– company recruitment and retention capability

– company willingness to include training as part of

their daily operations

– company planning capability.

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Increases in scope over the next

2-3 years • qualifications – most felt they had it about

right

• strong interest in adding Skill Sets

• not intending to introduce other

qualifications related to the meat industry

• Trainer capability: some indicated increase in

– meat safety

– leadership

– workplace health and safety.

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MINTRAC services

• Over 60% mentioned

– network meetings

– Training and Assessment materials

– availability/helpfulness of MINTRAC staff.

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• Multiple mentions

of:

– other resources

such as kits etc

– Professional

Development

program

– MINTRAC

conferences

– the MINTRACker

newsletter.

– ‘everything’

– links with

industry/forward

thinking approach

– MINTRAC’s role as

the face of/voice for

industry

– MINTRAC’s ability

to identify and

attract funding.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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• Recommendation 1

– It is recommended that MINTRAC

encourages RTOs to continue to offer the

Certificate II and III qualifications on their

scope of registration.

• Recommendation 2

– It is recommended that MINTRAC encourage

RTOs to retain and plan for future Skill Set

needs, particularly in the areas of animal

welfare, basic meat industry skills, knife

sharpening and the bandsaw Skill Sets.

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• Recommendation 3 – It is recommended that MINTRAC encourage RTOs

who are currently providing services to the meat

industry to review their range of non-meat industry

qualifications and assess the viability of adding

qualifications in the areas of information technology,

human resources, rural production and environment.

• Recommendation 4 – It is recommended that MINTRAC urgently investigate

strategies to provide upskilling to trainers in the areas

of automation, robotics, climate change, UCFM and

NLIS data management.

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• Recommendation 5

– It is recommended that smallgoods RTOs be

encouraged to adopt workforce development

plans which address concerns about an

ageing workforce.

• Recommendation 6

– It is recommend that RTOs be encouraged to

consider trainer capability to address whole-

of-chain livestock handling and production

capability when preparing workforce

development plans.

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• Recommendation 7

– It is recommended that MINTRAC further

investigate concerns related to compliance at

the MINTRAC training network meetings with

a view to providing industry representation on

identified matters, as appropriate.

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