The new NSW Trade Skills Pathways Centre, announced in the NSW 2020 budget, has now commenced operations. The initiative was announced as a ground-breaking innovation that will go beyond traditional apprenticeships and traineeships to capture workers who may have missed the opportunity to obtain formal skills.
Rather than a ‘bricks and mortar’ centre, it commences with two separate programs designed to increase the number of tradespeople in NSW. The first program is to help experienced but unqualified workers in the construction sector gain trade qualifications through an RPL and Gap Training skills assessment process. Training providers with Smart and Skilled contracts have been invited to participate in the program and there is a target of 750 completed participants. If the program proves successful it will be expanded to include other trades.
The second program is a strategy intended to pioneer new and innovative ways to increase the participation of women in trades. The strategy will increase the appeal of trades for women and increase awareness of gender discrimination in workplaces to assist workplace supervisors manage conscious and unconscious bias. The intention is to improve access and opportunities to support women to take the first step and transition into a career in trades. The strategy is currently going through approval stages.
