FRONTLINE'S SUPEREXPO WORKSHOP

Led by the Blind Manufacturing Association of Australia in partnership with Frontline, training by the window furnishing industry has recently expanded through the development of a 5-year Training Plan. Examples of the qualifications now drawing interest from the window furnishings industry include the Certificate IV in Leadership and Certificate III in Blinds, Awnings, Security Screens and Grilles.

Leading the workshop was a panel including: Kerry Bell, lead training program development, Frontline Learning; Natasha Badami, training program coordinator ITHEA (Institute of Tertiary and Higher Education Australia; Richard Waring, Trainer with ITHEA; Phillip Charlton, lead program implementation, Frontline Academy; Adrian Blood, lead program provisioning, Frontline Solutions; Bethany Spearing, Frontline account manager, MEGT.

Frontline’s Kerry Bell outlined the collaborative nature of program development. “The process that we usually follow is, if you come to us we want to sit down with you and identify what skills gaps you have and what are the biggest challenges you face. We’ll then go back with the information we’ve gathered and start creating a training strategy tailored to your needs. For example a company might say, ‘We’ve been doing rollers or venetians but we want to move into exterior products’, so we’ll help develop a program.”

Bethany Spearing from training organisation MEGT outlined the different funding streams available and it was also noted that the funding was targeted at new employees, while contractors were not eligible for the funding, indicating that in some cases it would be beneficial to directly employ a contractor to enable them to undertake training.

Other practical issues were outlined, including the challenge of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Richard Waring commented: “It can be a challenge to put together what you’ve done in the past as evidence for RPL assessment. Our approach is to have people undertake a learner profile to identify the depth and range of their experience and cross reference to the learning program. This not only ensures the program is fitted to individual learning needs but also enables individuals with a depth and range of experience to accelerate their learning. Our experience is that even people with years of experience learn something new or a better way of doing something in the process.”

One business owner pointed out the threat of “backyard operators” in terms of taking business away from and tarnishing the reputation of legitimate companies, underscoring the importance of accreditation and training.

“The BMAA has been working with Frontline to make this qualification Certificate III in Blinds and Awnings, a recognised national qualification,” one panel member confirmed. “The BMAA is working to build a licensing system – it might take years – but we’ll get there. Let’s face it – you have to have a licence to be a plumber or an electrician, so why in the world don’t you have to have a license to attach an awning to a building?”

“We’ve gone from one person qualified in the last 10 years, to now 100 people working towards it in recent months. That’s a huge achievement, but it’s important to get the message out because if industry doesn’t take up the opportunity, government won’t recognise the need for it and we’ll be back to square one.”