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Case for Change
21A | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Governance
Update 27 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Governance units of competency
Given the increased prevalence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses since 2015, it is important that the national training system reflects an evolving understanding of the skills needed to competently operate these businesses. New governance skills are also required to implement the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy released in 2018. This strategy recommended the establishment of Indigenous Business Hubs and increased funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. As the units of competency in this sector were last updated in 2015, they require a review and update to reflect developments in the national focus on reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
The number of not-for-profit organisations that identified as assisting Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders has also grown recently. The ACNC Register of Australian charities shows a growth of 3.2% from 2019 to 2020 for these organisations. These organisations require similar governance skills as identified in the profit sector.
If the training products are not updated, there is a risk that individuals leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations will not be equipped to deal with the current challenges and opportunities that face these organisations. Further, if the units of competency are not reviewed, superfluous and duplicative units of competency may remain on the national register.
21B | Cyber security awareness project
Given the lack of ‘cyber hygiene’ in organisations combined with the current large risk of cyber security insider risks and threats due to increased working from home, it is important that additional training products are developed to focus on key elements of insider threats for all organisations. The skills proposed to be included in the new training products include but are not limited to:
- upskilling employees in cyber hygiene
- identifying employee risk profiles
- establishing processes and protocols to prevent risks from arising.
The current units of competency and skill sets that exist for Cyber Security lack a focus on training business personnel on insider threat reduction and prevention. The recently completed Cyber Security Counter-Insider Threat Skill Set Critical Skills for Recovery Project focused on creating these technical skills for ICT professionals. The subject matter experts in Critical Skills Project suggested further exploration be done in relation to the cyber security awareness skills required for general business personnel.
If training products are not created to fill these skills gaps, organisations may be at a greater risk of insider threats, due to a lack of skills and knowledge for employees to reduce their own cyber weaknesses and for managers to create a cyber security aware culture.
21C | Organisational disruption project
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that many organisations were ill-equipped to effectively navigate the disruption. Disruptive events (e.g. natural disasters, public health crises, economic disruption) are likely to occur far more frequently and, for that reason, the national training system needs to meet this emerging skills need. It is critical that individuals are equipped with the skills and knowledge to identify, manage and respond appropriately to the effects of disruptions. The creation of units of competency and skill sets targeted at managers and small business operators will equip organisations with the skills to manage organisations through disruption. The training products will also include the skills required to identify and pursue opportunities during disruptive events. The subject matter experts in the current Cross-Sector Mental Wellbeing Critical Skills for Recovery Project suggested further exploration be done in relation to the operational skills required for responding to disruptions.
If the training products are not created to fill this skills gap, organisations remain susceptible to the adverse effects of disruptions such as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The term ‘organisational disruption’ refers to the significant disturbance to the operations of an organisation or work area caused by a ‘disruptive event’. Disruptive events may be internal or external to the organisation and may or may not be foreseeable.
Downloads
Consultation
The consultation plan has been designed to engage the widest possible population of stakeholders from all states and territories, non-metropolitan regions, and small and medium sized organisations.
Consultation methodologies include:
- Inter-organisational and intra-organisational focus groups; in-person and via teleconference and video conference facilities
- In-depth individual interviews; in-person and via teleconference and video conference facilities
- Survey instruments open to the public; online
- Public feedback on proposed changes; online
These methodologies are being used to gather data from relevant stakeholders including:
- Employers;
- Peak bodies including industry and professional associations;
- Industry networks and subscriber based mailing lists;
- Industry Reference Committee members;
- Registered Training Organisations and trainers and assessors;
- State Training Authorities and Industry Technical Advisory Boards;
- Federal, state and territory government departments and government owned corporations;
- Identified key stakeholders including individuals and organisations.
Consultations involve identifying the expertise of stakeholders and engaging them on the specific changes to the training package relevant to their expertise.
If you would like to contribute to the consultation for this project, please get in touch at info@skillsforaustralia.com
Training Product Development
Draft training products for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Governance, Cyber Security Awareness, and Organisational Disruption projects in the Business Services (BSB) Training Package are now available for public validation.
To review the Draft training products, please click on the button below and download the project documents, including the Draft Case for Endorsement and Draft CVIG.
Please note that feedback will be accepted until the end of the Public Validation Period – COB Friday 2nd July, 2021.
If you would like to provide feedback, please contact Astrid Turner – astrid.a.turner@pwc.com