Firstly welcome to the brand new SkillsOne website, I hope you enjoy having a look around at the vast amount of information we have available on the many options in skilled trades in Australia.

It’s a great resource for students and school leavers, teachers, career advisors, training colleges and employers or anyone interested in exploring trade skills opportunities.

SkillsOne^™, the brand, was officially by The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence in Sydney on the 26th of July with the Hon. Minister for Vocational and Further Education, Andrew Robb and was attended by vocational specialists, members of the Government, industry and the media.

The SkillsOne^™ brand has been developed to support our objectives of raising the profile and status of trades. The SkillsOne^™ brand currently is made up of two powerful marketing tools: SkillsOne^™ Television and the SkillsOne^™ website.

SkillsOne^™ features engaging television and web content that focuses on people who are passionate about what they do; the exciting career opportunities available across the many trade industries and the skills that are in high-demand.

These two initiatives will help provide quality information in an engaging way and a one- stop shop for people interested in a trade; employers; registered training organisations; as well as people providing guidance on career options – such as including parents and vocational guidance counselors. All will find this to be a rich tapestry of information.

With the support of Foxtel, Austar and News Limited, SkillsOne^™ television will be broadcast on Aurora: The Community Channel (183). Each week a series of programs will be presented as a branded channel. SkillsOne^™ television will provide a unique opportunity for industry groups, corporates, training bodies and individuals to get involved in addressing skills.

SkillsOne^™ television will eventually be available for use by schools, registered training organisations and career counselors in a range of formats able via the website, including onto mobile phones and iPods.

We have made this information available in a variety of formats in order to appeal to the various generations we are targeting. A great majority of the people we are seeking to encourage to consider a trade as a first career choice are part of Generation Y, who have different communication needs to employers seeing to find apprentices.

In conjunction with the launch of the SkillsOne^™ brand the Institute for Trade Skills Excellence also announced a host of other initiatives to help close the gap on Australia’s Skills shortage:

• A once in a lifetime SkillsOne^™ promotion giving automotive apprentice hopefuls the chance to win the Ultimate Apprenticeship where the prize will be to join the A1 Australia Grand Prix team while they race here in Australia. Entries open on July 28.
  

• The announcement of the Trade Teacher of the Year Awards to recognise excellence in teaching for skills and trade teachers. Nomination forms are currently available at The Institute website and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October.
  

• The Provider Excellence Scheme, an accreditation system for registered training organisations (RTOs) that will give prospective students and employers a trusted system to measure the standard of the many courses available. The Provider Excellence Scheme will award RTOs that undertake the voluntary assessment either a gold, silver or bronze star rating in recognition of training excellence, not just compliance.

• The establishment of an Employer Campaign that works with key employer groups to ensure that on-the-job training is meaningful and beneficial for apprentices. The Employer Campaign aims to ensure apprentices complete the duration of on-the-job training through improved job satisfaction and working conditions as well as developing strategies to meet the needs and retain generation Y recruits.

I hope you enjoy the site and if you have any suggestions please provide feedback, after all this is your site and we all need to work together to make it a complete one-stop shop for everyone interested in skilled trades.

Cheers,

Brian Wexham

CEO, The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence