ALA

MEDIA RELEASE
7 OCTOBER 2008

New TAFE NSW one-stop shop
- a shortcut to business solutions

In the ever-changing economic climate, TAFE NSW has consolidated its business services into a new one-stop shop, Employer Services.

Businesses can now go online to www.tafensw.edu.au/employerservices or call 1800 550 444 for a range of services. Each of the ten TAFE NSW Institutes has workforce development consultants on hand to visit employers and discuss their specific needs.

“Many businesses don’t realise that TAFE NSW offers a range of useful advisory services to employers, apart from training. We have been working to become a much more flexible and dynamic organisation in recent times,” Deputy Director-General TAFE and Community Education, Marie Persson said.

“To that end, we can make a really big difference to a business’s bottom line in a number of ways. That includes helping employers to source government funding for training; providing skills and training needs analysis; linking employers with graduates and students looking for work; recognising the experience and competencies of staff in awarding qualifications and providing tailored training courses on site.

“Our services have been developed in response to feedback from businesses about what they need. For example, navigating the funding programs that are available for training can be complex. Many businesses give up very quickly. But they don’t have to do it on their own. TAFE NSW can help with this so that a business can get their training happening more quickly and at less cost,” Ms Persson said.

TAFE NSW has just released a set of case studies in a report called Improving the bottom line – Why industry values partnerships with TAFE NSW that demonstrates how TAFE NSW has partnered with employers to provide effective business solutions. Eighteen businesses are featured in the report including: Franklins, BlueScope Steel, Cochlear, Country Energy, Norco, the RAAF and the Rural Fire Service.

Improving the bottom line is a useful resource for any employer looking for business improvement ideas. It is available as a free download at www.tafensw.edu.au/employerservices.

In his key findings, the report’s author, Dr John Mitchell, states: “Just some of the more recently developed and innovative strategies exhibited by TAFE NSW in these 18 cases include: increasing innovation levels, enhancing entrepreneurial initiatives, changing cultures, managing change, expanding markets, improving product quality and increasing workplace safety.”

Franklins, which has 80 supermarkets in NSW, has been in partnership with TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute since 2002. TAFE NSW has worked with Franklins to conduct a training needs analysis and provide customised training in a number of the areas identified by the analysis.

Learning Development Manager at Franklins, Brigid McGrath, says in the report that TAFE NSW has grown in the services they offer, “They’re not just an organisation that offers large-scale institution-based training, they really do have business acumen and can build very good relationships in business and find solutions that will meet an organisation’s requirements. A lot of other organisations don’t realise that TAFE has that flexibility to offer.”

Businesses can visit Employer Services at www.tafensw.edu.au/employerservices or call 1800 550 444.

Improving the Bottom Line – Why industry values partnerships with TAFE NSW is available as a free download at www.tafensw.edu.au/employerservices.

Media contact: Sue Nelson, Quick Thinking Communications, 0403 343 275 or sue@qtcommunications.com