Latrobe Valley growth plan boosted
Tue 12 April 2011
The Government today announced the establishment of four new Industry Link Officers under the $10 million Skilling the Valley project.
The project will play a key role in supporting the Latrobe Valley through an exciting period of growth, with an increasing population and expanding new and existing industry operations in the region.
The new officers will link employers, government, labour groups and education providers to build long-term skill and training strategies for the Latrobe Valley.
The appointment of the new officers and their placement with key partners in the project will give the Valley an integrated capability to develop the State of the Valley Report and Latrobe Valley Industry and Employment Roadmap, both of which are vital to support the region’s growth.
The Latrobe City Council, the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI), the Gippsland Trades and Labour Council and the Gippsland Education Precinct would host each of the four Industry Link Officers.
The development of a Latrobe Valley Industry and Employment Roadmap will sharpen the focus of the existing $25 million Latrobe Valley Advantage Fund to ensure a greater strategic approach to developing new skills, attracting new industries and developing new technologies in a low carbon economy.
The new positions will work with local training providers, government, and employers on several projects including preparing the State of the Valley Report – which is vital in informing the development of the overall Latrobe Valley Industry Employment Roadmap.
The Skilling the Valley announcement is a positive step towards re-training and re-skilling retrenched workers, or those who have been out of the workforce for a period of time.
The Industry Link Officers will work with local training providers to increase the uptake of foundation level courses as part of the government’s Strong Foundations initiative.
Under Strong Foundations, all Gippsland residents can access a range of foundation level qualifications to improve literacy, numeracy, language and work skills under the Victorian Training Guarantee. A broad network of public and private training providers in the Gippsland region will offer foundation level courses.
While Victoria continues to lead the way with its education and training systems, recent reports affirm that the State needs to improve and increase foundation level skills across the board.
The introduction of Industry Skills Officers under the Skilling the Valley project will play an important part in supporting the Latrobe Valley through this period of growth.
