In December 2000, the NSW Government issued Training Management Guidelines applicable to major government construction projects (valued at $2.5 million or more). The Guidelines provide a strategic approach to training and skills development in the construction industry at both the enterprise and project level and are mandatory for all government agencies except for State Owned Corporations (SOCs). The Guidelines can be downloaded at www.construction.nsw.gov.au/training.

In light of recent strong evidence that emerging skills shortages, (which includes the building and construction sector), will significantly hamper growth in the national economy, the application of the Guidelines by agencies on their major government construction projects is paramount.

The Guidelines reflect the government policy of encouraging and supporting the construction industry to integrate training and skills development with enterprise planning and management. A key to this is for contractors working on government construction projects to develop and implement appropriate training management plans which provide for structured training outcomes, involve a significant proportion of the project workforce and incorporate performance targets which can be monitored. A key aspect of workforce participation is the requirement that for every 4 tradespersons employed on a building project, one apprentice is also to be employed. The Guidelines also set targets for other relevant types of structured training outcomes.

The Guidelines do not specifically apply to SOCs. However, SOCs are reminded that in carrying out all their activities, including construction, they need to address the issue of adequate skills being available to enable efficient delivery of their services to the public over the medium to long term.

In order to allow Government to better track the outcomes generated by application of the Guidelines, the quarterly Major Construction Projects Report to Cabinet is being amended to incorporate information fields on training targets and outcomes as per the Guidelines on each major project listed. This additional reporting requirement will commence for the June quarter.

Bob Carr
Premier.

Issued : Workforce Capability (Public Employment Office)
Contact:

Policy Aspects: Mr Edward Shestovsky, Director, Asset Management And Procurement Branch, NSW Treasury
Guideline Content: Procurement Practice Help Desk, Department of Commerce: Telephone: (02) 9372 8600
EMail: [email protected]
Telephone no: 9228 4401 Facsimile: 9228 5748
Date: 18 March 2005