The minister and delegation were seeking answers to the following:
1. The general public perception of traineeships in Australia
2. The structure of traineeship/apprenticeships at C-Mac (e.g. number of days/hours trainees spend at OAC, the type of training, etc)
3. The resource requirement to run the traineeship/apprenticeship programme
4. The competitive advantage of traineeship over the academic track
5. The working relationship with the government, vocational educational institutions and skills council, to ensure high-quality teaching and learning for students
• Matt (completed apprenticeship and now doing post graduate business degree),
• Chris (3rd yr mature aged apprentice)
• Alex (2nd yr apprentice) were interviewed by the delegation.
Career paths and how each chose their trade were the main questions.
General Manager Robert McMaster gave an overview of C-Mac staff training, working with TAFE and University, differences between traineeships and apprenticeships, how staff were interviewed and selected. Government incentives, apprenticeship contracts and funding.
Singapore Ministry Of Education directs the formulation and implementation of education policies. It has control of the development and administration of the Government and Government-aided primary schools, secondary schools, junior colleges, and a centralised institute. It also registers private schools.
Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) as a co-host with C-Mac Industries, is the national body responsible for ensuring that manufacturing enterprises have the workforce skills they need to be globally competitive now and into the future. MSA works with enterprises, employer and industry associations, trade unions and industry advisory bodies to identify what skills are needed and how these can most effectively be implemented in industry.
Recognition of C-Mac by MSA as a leading company and a example of the quality of training provided in Australia has encouraged staff at C-Mac. C-Mac’s long term policy of employing one or two apprentices each year over the last 40+yrs demonstrates clearly the companies commitment to ongoing training and the long term sustainability of C-Mac and manufacturing in general.
