The National Skills Agreement is a 5-year joint agreement between the Commonwealth, states and territories to strengthen the vocational education and training (VET) sector and will commence 1 January 2024.
The Agreement will:

• deliver a national VET system that provides high quality, responsive and accessible education and training to boost productivity
• support Australians to obtain the skills and capabilities they need to obtain well-paid, secure jobs
• ensure Australia has the skilled workforce it needs now and into the future, with TAFE at the heart of the VET sector.

National priorities are areas where governments have agreed require focused effort to address critical skills and workforce shortages. The agreed inaugural national priorities are:

• gender equality
• Closing the Gap
• supporting the Net Zero transformation
• sustaining essential care services
• developing Australia’s sovereign capability and food security
• ensuring Australia’s digital and technology capability
• delivering reforms to improve the regulation of VET qualifications and quality.

More information about the National Skills Agreement

Skills Insight has commenced work as a Jobs and Skills Council (JSC) covering an extensive range of industries such as:
(i) Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation & Land Management
(ii) Animal Care & Management
(iii) Forestry & Timber
(iv) Furnishing
(v) Textiles, Clothing & Footwear
(vi) Racing
 
The role of Skills Insight is to research and support national workforce skill development to assist in improving the VET system and industry participation within their portfolios. To find out more, including contributing to workforce development solutions, visit their website. 

The federal government via Austrade have launched a campaign this week to attract older workers to tourism. 
 
The campaign highlights the benefits of tourism jobs such as flexibility, seasonal or part-time work and the opportunity to work while touring Australia. 
 
Austrade has developed a range of resources to help businesses recruit mature age workers. 
 
Austrade website with resources

There has been a significant shift in the behaviour of young people over the past decade, according to the latest report from NCVER’s Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). LSAY charts the lives of a group of young Australians as they leave school, enter further study or the workforce and make the transition into adulthood. It compares the results of the group that commenced the study in 2009, who were age 25 in 2019, with the 1998 cohort who were age 25 in 2009.

The proportion of 25-year-olds who completed a university qualification increased from 41% to 52% over the decade, while those with a VET qualification fell from 55% to 46%. Those in apprenticeships and traineeships slipped from 25% to 17%.

The report also shows young people are finding it harder to secure full-time work and completing their post-school study at a later age and, as a result, working while studying for longer periods.
 
Unemployment and underemployment are exacerbated by a lack of work experience and a lack of qualifications that match job opportunities.
 
See the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth: Life at 25: then & now

The National Careers Institute has launched the ‘Your Career’ website, a one-stop site for career information.
The site makes it easy for people looking for their first job, a change in career or looking to return to the workforce to find information about careers. It contains a wide range of information to help with planning and managing a person’s career, including training, further education or current work options. There are quizzes that match potential jobs to a person’s profile, tips on successful job search including resumé writing, links to support services, and a comprehensive list of occupations with detailed career descriptions, pay and outlook.
For more information, please visit the National Careers Institute website.

The Australian Government will extend the human biosecurity emergency period under the Biosecurity Act 2015 by an additional three months. The emergency period, which has been in place since 18 March 2020, will now be in place until 17 December 2020. The order encompasses restrictions on overseas travel, the entry of cruise ships into Australia, the supply and sale of certain essential goods and retail stores at international airports. The Hon Greg Hunt MO, Minister for Health media release.

In a first for Australia, which has never hosted a senior FIFA tournament, the 2023 women's edition of the FIFA World Cup will bring the world’s best players to our shores.

While the final match schedule is still to be determined, the Australia-New Zealand bid proposed the use of 13 stadiums across 12 cities - with Perth's rectangular stadium set to host a number of matches. The recently announced $32.5 million State Football Centre will be completed in time for the tournament, providing world-class facilities for the world's best players.

Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the media exposure of a World Cup was “invaluable”, with last year’s tournament in France having broadcasted to an estimated one billion people.
“Securing a global spectacle of this kind demonstrates Perth and Western Australia’s ongoing development as vibrant, desirable travel destinations. The benefits from hosting the tournament will flow through to our tourism and hospitality industries and the wider economy, helping to create jobs.” Mr Papalia said. Media statement.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) will contact almost one million people who completed vocational education and training in 2019 through the annual National Student Outcomes Survey. These students will be contacted about their employment outcomes, satisfaction, and training relevance, with survey results used to help future students make decisions about training, and to assist governments and training providers to ensure VET is of high quality and relevant to Australian workplaces. NCVER media statement

The SEEK Employment Report for May 2020 shows month-on-month growth in the overall number of jobs advertised. While figures are still down compared to the same time last year (-52.5%), month-on-month growth in jobs advertised is 39.7%.
Hospitality & tourism outperformed all other sectors, with month-on-month job ads in the industry up 138%.
“We are encouraged to see industries which were hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic rebounding at a good pace”, says Kendra Banks, managing director, SEEK ANZ. “Authorities gave businesses the green light to restart their operations, resulting in increased hiring activity. Top jobs in the sector included chefs and cooks and front of house staff.”
SEEK Employment Report, May 2020

Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF), the peak industry group for the tourism, transport, and aviation sectors has developed an app containing relevant and current information for policymakers and interested stakeholders.
Due in part to many people continuing to work from home, and increased reliance on new technology and flexible communication, the app will enable stakeholders to stay informed. It is a single source of research data, content, and contacts. It includes full access to the TTF COVID-19 Travel and Leisure Survey conducted by Newgate Research, which contains a wide range of useful data about the travel intentions and preferred transport modes of over 1,500 Australians.
TTF chief executive Margy Osmond said “We hope this app will be a useful go-to guide, and make sure to keep an eye out for new industry updates as they become available via push notifications as we all ramp up our recovery work.” 
TTF media statement