Major industry release the ACS Deloitte Digital Pulse, has been released for 2021. The Australian Computer Society contracts Deloitte to produce the report each year, which explores the workforce landscape for digital industries across Australia. This year's report identifies that "Australia’s better-than-expected economic performance over the past year was partly due to technology enabling businesses to adapt to a dramatically changing and uncertain environment."
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Read the report

A review of the Certificates III and IV in Fitness is due to conclude, with final drafts being released for comment ahead of submission to the Australian Industry Skills Commission for endorsement and incorporation in the SIS Sport Fitness and Recreation training package. 

Please contact FutureNow on 9285 8555, or email gscott@futurenow.org.au before COB Monday 24th May 2021 if you would like to provide any further advice.

View the final draft of the training products
View the Implementation Guide

Skills Impact have released Draft 2 training products for the Horse Care project for review and comment. The drafts (from the RGR training package) can be found on the Skills Impact website (skillsimpact.com.au).
The drafts will be available for feedback, either to FutureNow or Skills Impact until close of business Thursday 10 June 2021.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down the 2021 Budget on Tuesday, 11th May, which expands spending in areas including childcare, aged care, mental health, and infrastructure. Below are links to a collection of articles from creative and leisure industries' media outlets, summarising and analysing the budget.

​ArtsHub veteran Gina Fairley answered the question of 'What's in it for the Arts' succinctly: 'Sweet little'. However, the already announced Digital Games Tax Offset is being embraced by industry. The screen sector, regional galleries and museums, Aboriginal visual arts, and media are all represented in the budget, though primarily through already-announced initiatives.

North Regional TAFE's Broome Hospitality and Student Services Centre has moved forward with tenders for the construction of the $10 million project now open. Local firm Engawa Architects has finalised the design for the development of two new buildings at the Broome campus; one for hospitality and tourism and the second for hair and beauty training, which will be linked by an outdoor meeting place.

The redevelopment will provide a welcome boost to hospitality and tourism training in the Kimberley region. Construction is anticipated to start in July 2021 with estimated completion in July 2022. 

​A similar project for the Mandurah campus of South Metropolitan TAFE is currently out for tender.

Several heritage buildings and sites throughout Western Australia are set for restoration after receiving funding under the State Government's 2020-21 Heritage Grants program. The grants program offers dollar-for-dollar funding of up to $40,000 for conservation projects; and up to $20,000 for community events, activities and heritage interpretation projects for places listed on the State Heritage Register. Offered for the first time, the new Community Heritage Grants funding stream will support towns and communities with interpretation projects and events that promote or celebrate the stories of State Registered places.

Inaugural community grant recipients include heritage trails for Donnybrook and Beverley, an Aboriginal heritage trail through Hyde Park and a festival in Fremantle to celebrate The Universal Terrazzo Tile Factory.

The Federal government is set to announce a 30% tax offset for the games development industry, as part of the Budget due to be handed down on Tuesday 11th May 2021. The offset represents the first national industry assistance since the Interactive Games Fund was halted in 2014, with only half of funds allocated.
Industry have welcomed the news, which comes after years of lobbying and a federal inquiry. Sector peak body the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, made a submission ahead of this years' budget, seeking the offset, as well as restoration of the original Fund.

Read more at Kotaku, ArtsHub, or Mumbrella 

The WA government has announced a $20 million Aboriginal Tourism Fund, at the WA Regional Tourism Conference in Geraldton. The Tjina: Western Australian Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan was developed by Tourism Western Australia and other government agencies with the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council and the Aboriginal tourism industry.
The Fund will support a range of initiatives including a stated objective to attract more Aboriginal people to work in the tourism industry. 

The Tjina: Western Australian Aboriginal Action Plan 2021 - 2025 is available at http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au 

The 2021 STEM Equity Monitor has been released, showing a small increase in women's overall participation in STEM industries. The new data shows an increase in women working in STEM-qualified industries, with women now comprising 28 per cent of workers – up from 24 per cent in 2016.

First launched in March 2020 as part of the federal Government’s Advancing Women in STEM 2020 Action Plan, the STEM Equity Monitor brings together multiple data sets from across government to form a comprehensive and interactive view of girls’ and women’s participation across STEM, from primary school through to the workforce. 

The NCVER-informed data identifies that women access better average incomes than men upon graduation from an IT-related vocational qualification, with a median average of $59,000, versus $52,000 for men.

Explore the data