Industry

The Australian service industries are at the forefront of Australia's economy providing goods and personal services to both domestic and overseas markets. The industries are distinguished by their continual need to respond to changing customer demand driven by social, technological and economic changes.

Although recent times have brought many changes and challenges to the service industries, the core of these industries is the provision of good customer service. Survival and growth within these industries requires its workforce to develop and use a range of personal and professional qualities that add value to the goods or services. Meeting customer demands is the principal driver of skill needs

Strong growth, together with increased global competition and social, demographic and technological challenges, will compel industry and individual businesses to broaden their recruitment arena and make skill development a high priority business strategy. The business imperative to achieve greater efficiency and innovation will result in demand for ongoing training and retraining with an expectation of high quality training outcomes.

Major change drivers impacting the service industries:

• changing retail/service formats to gain market share and remain competitive on a global or local level - global business versus local business;
• increasing convergence of service industries creating a blurring of boundaries between industry sectors as new industry growth places pressure on future workforce arrangements;
• multi channel retailing becoming a critical area of importance for retailers and other service industry businesses wishing to remain competitive in the future;
• sustainability as a critical issue driving consumer demands;
• demand growth for service industries in regional Victoria.

The requirement of skills to be transferable, as well as training arrangements to be flexible will be essential. In addition, the frenetic pace of change may mean that some skills will not stay relevant for long, especially those which entail specific product knowledge and technology. Therefore training will need to be more dynamic and focus on developing knowledge and skills that will enable workers to adapt to changing environments.

Industries

SSV is the state ITAB for the Tourism Hospitality and Events (TH&E) industries as well as the Wholesale Retail and Personal Services (WRAPS) industries. In this section of our site you will find news relating to the above industries as well as information on training packages and our IACs.

Industry Advisory Committees

The primary purpose of these committees is to identify and establish policy positions on key issues with respect to industry and training and to report decisions back to the SSV Board.

The committees will also be encouraged to identify issues and initiate positions relevant to various industry sectors where specific issues arise. Relevant committee members will be invited to join an Industry Reference Group (IRG), with other relevant industry colleagues to address the issue and report back findings to the IAC and SSV board. IRGs will be formed to address specific issues, rather than being "standing committees" with regular meetings.

It is important for the committee work in collaboration with all stakeholders in order to provide the best possible outcomes.

Training Packages

Training packages specify the skills and knowledge required to perform effectively in the workplace. They do not prescribe how an individual should be trained. Trainers and supervisors develop learning strategies - the 'how' - to support an individual learners' needs, abilities and circumstances.

The development and endorsement process for training packages ensures the specifications are developed to an agreed quality standard and are highly responsive to industry's existing and future demand for new skills.

The following key principles underpin the development and endorsement processes:

• open and inclusive industry-driven maintenance, validation and endorsement of training packages
• strong and clear key stakeholder roles with critical points of intervention and consultation
• continuous improvement, with full training package reviews where required
• highly responsive process capable of meeting industries needs and priorities for new skills
• Industry Skills Councils' responsibility and accountability for the quality and relevance of training packages.

The information on training packages above is taken from the Australian Government - Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website. Please visit this site for more information.