industry engagement and getting the relationships right november 2010 geoff gwilym ceo
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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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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.