Industry Engagement and Getting the Relationships Right

November 2010

Geoff GwilymCEO

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

Governm

ent

Often industry is viewed in a silo form

Industry

Unions

Industrial

Governm

ent

The edges are more blurred than they used to be

Government

Industry

StateGovernment

NationalGovernment

Local Government

Unions

Industrial Parties

IndustryAssociations

The industry relationship gearbox

Enterprise

Used to be an RTO but got out of that businessExisting 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.