Industry Engagement and Getting the Relationships Right November 2010 Geoff Gwilym CEO Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council

Background  Automotive trade UK  11 years in TAFE - teaching, industry services, strategic projects and curriculum development  3 year secondment to Ford Motor Co  Two private industry RTOs (VACC - REIV) including a Group Training Company  CEO Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council  Industry Committees/Boards/Steering Groups

Most of what I am going to talk about just seems like common sense. However… common sense isn't what it used to be either.

What do we mean by industry?

Industry Unions Industrial Government Often industry is viewed in a silo form

Industry Unions Industrial Government The edges are more blurred than they used to be

Government Industry State Government National Government Local Government Unions Industrial Parties Industry Associations The industry relationship gearbox

Enterprise Used to be an RTO but got out of that business Existing workplace arrangements include minimum training for staff Parties may have a preferred RTO Runs its own RTO Also a member of a national employer association Member of a state industry association Has a relationship with a local RTO Good relationship with the LLENs and always seeks their advice on training issues CEO is the chair of an ITAB, ISC or TAFE The enterprise is also seeking national EBPPP funds The political space

If you don’t understand the background and politics you may waste a lot of energy

1. Understanding the Client  If we don't have a clue about the client the chances of developing a relationship are not great  Business owners and operators can have an extreme passion for their business, failing to connect with that can be problematic  Understand the clients previous experiences with TAFE/RTOs can save a lot of time and energy  Being able to develop trust and rapport will be critical to the relationship.

One-to-one engagement-this is about time and energy

2. Understanding the clients needs  Often industry is not sure about their needs, what they do know is they want a solution  Often employers need help to define the issues in the workplace (maybe this is the service)  Most employers are confused about and not interested in the VET language, they want simple solutions that meet business needs  Industry want RTOs to understand their business sector-the deeper the better.

Understanding the clients needs (cont)  Industry want a range of solutions  Most employers will not understand that TAFE Institutes can be in competition with each other for their business  Industry want you to make the training system work for them stop using jargon and leaving 15 page booklets  It’s a complex system - industry just want the simplified version.

3. Credibility in industry carries significant weight  What credibility do you bring to the discussion?  Do you know anything about the industry?  Are you confident that your industry speak is accurate?  Ever been to an industry breakfast? (why not)  Are you/institute a member of the association?

Increasing your credibility  Take someone with you that has industry cred  Look at the employers website  At least look at the Skills Council Environmental Scan  Don’t make things up to increase credibility  Demonstrate an interest in the industry-don’t just talk about it.

Mind the credibility gap

4. Developing relationships for the long-term (not just for you)  Industry want a key contact person, primarily the person who had the initial relationship  Each time the contact person changes there is a risk of disconnect  Relationships should not be limited by the scope of one project or context, they must to be treated as a dynamic long-term arrangement  Recognising that some relationships will not convert into work, there may be other benefits.

If you treat industry engagement like a switch it will be doomed to failure

HighLow Engagement should never be turned off; but the volume can be tuned

What does industry require from a TAFE partner?  The bottom line is industry often just wants something now, even when they are unsure about what it is that they want  The solution for the employer may in fact not be training related; but they may not know this  It is the development of trust and finding solutions to problems that will determine the nature of the relationship.

What industry is looking for in an RTO?  Competence  Business relationships/integrity  Contextualisation  Competitiveness  Creativity  Responsiveness

What industry is not looking for in an RTO?  Inconsistency  Unreliability  Lack of industry knowledge/understanding  Selling stock items  Not being able to simply articulate a complex VET system  Disengagement  Multiple contacts from the one institute.