Apprenticeships, Employment & Training Provider | VERTO
VERTO is an award winning, not-for-profit organisation assisting businesses and individuals with all their apprenticeship, employment and training needs. Our expertise covers a range of areas including Aboriginal services, Australian apprenticeships services, disability services, employment services and vocational training to help businesses, individuals and local industry to thrive. Our mission is to positively impact the lives of individuals and communities and we’ve built a track record of exemplary customer service over 35 years, built around an ethical approach.You'll find the team in over 40 locations across New South Wales.
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Futureproof your working life with new skills program
For an increasing number of Australians, job security is the number one concern in mid-life.
Redundancies are an ever-present threat, and if you work in a tech-related field, it’s easy to feel out of step with your millennial colleagues who were born with an iPad and smartphone in their cribs.
What’s more, it can also be difficult to know where to turn if you are looking to up-skill, or change direction after being in the same role or industry for most of your working life.
Luckily, there is help now at hand, thanks to the Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers Program (the Skills Checkpoint Program), an Australian Government-funded initiative which aims to fill a gap in the services currently available to older Australians.
In a nutshell, if accepted into the program the government will pay half the cost to help you retrain, or upskill, up to the value of $2,200, with you or your employer paying the rest.
The program provides advice and guidance on transitioning into new roles within your current industry, or pathways to a new career, including referral to relevant education and training options.
Eligible individuals are those aged 45 to 70 who are employed and at risk of entering the income support system due to organisational or industry changes, or recently unemployed and not registered for assistance through an Australian Government employment services program.
VERTO, an award winning, NSW-based not-for-profit organisation assisting businesses and individuals with all their apprenticeship, employment and training needs is one of two agents charged with rolling out the national scheme.
Its patch is NSW, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, while The BUSY Group handles Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
The Australian Government estimates the $17.4 million Skills Checkpoint Program will support up to 20,000 Australians over four years nationally.
VERTO chief executive, Ron Maxwell, said the first step for anyone from NSW, Victoria or the ACT who might be interested in taking part is to contact the VERTO team.
“Once we’ve established a participant’s eligibility, we conduct a free career planning session which determines suitable education and training options as outlined in an individual career plan. This help participants to reach their employment goals,” says Ron.
“This includes retraining in order to pursue career opportunities in new professions.”
Ron says VERTO’s direct engagement program with employers offering large redundancy programs is also working well.
“We are, however, committed to the continual promotion of the Skills Checkpoint Program and are therefore very grateful for the interest taken by sites such as 50 So What, as it’s important we get the word out to the 45-70 market about the opportunities provided through this program.”
For more information on how you can get involved, just call 1300 4 VERTO (1300 483 786), email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit VERTO Skills Checkpoint.
As published by 50 So What at 50sowhat.com.au
TAFE NSW Orange student Clinton Larkings will compete in WorldSkills
TAFE NSW Orange student Clinton Larkings has been selected to represent Australia at the 45th WorldSkills International Championships taking place in Kazan, Russia.
Competing in the Industrial Mechanics Millwright category, Mr Larkings will join a team of 40 people, including 15 competitors and 25 experts and officials, who will represent Australia at the international skills event.
The 15 young men and women, known as the Skillaroos, will compete against apprentices and trainees from 60 countries, in the hope of becoming world champions in their chosen trade or skill area.
The Skillaroos, all aged between 19 to 22, represent a wide range of trades and skills with the majority aligning with the National Skills Needs list, these include: Cloud Computing, Electrical Installations, Plumbing and Heating and Graphic Design Technology.
The 45th WorldSkills International Championship will bring together more than 1,600 young people, representing 60 countries and regions who will compete in 56 skill competitions from August 22-27.
Vocational education minister, Senator Michaelia Cash said the competitors demonstrated the quality of skills we have in Australia.
"Australia has one of the best reputations in the world for skills development," she said.
WorldSkills Australia CEO Brett Judd congratulated the Skillaroos on being selected to represent Australia.
As published in the Central Western Daily, April 18 2019 - 10:30AM
VERTO signed Clinton up to a Certificate III in Engineering- Mechanical Trade with Luke Cross Engineering and Rigging in Dubbo in 2016.
What could Election 2019 mean for the VET sector?
By Ron Maxwell - CEO
With a federal election almost upon us, there has been a lot of talk in the media around the key issues that will drive voter decision-making, and one of these, as always, is education. Vocational Education and Training (VET) is widely recognised as key to the future of work in Australia, and as such, is playing a part in Election 2019.
Both of the major parties have made announcements relating to VET funding; the Liberal Government via the Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow package, and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) through a pledge to increase sector funding and subsidise more apprenticeships.
With its competency-based nature and close ties to industry, in my opinion, VET is uniquely placed to build the skills Australia needs to stay competitive in a global jobs market, and address skill shortages across a wide range of industries. But if Australia is going to realise the full benefits of this, we need a strong, healthy VET sector.
Education and business sectors need realignment
I've talked before about how our school system tends to put more weight on university options than VET, and this is something that needs to be addressed.
I was recently in Europe to explore the way the VET sector operates and was pleased to see the strong ties some countries have between their school curriculum and VET. In Germany, VET pathways are actively encouraged and can be entered while a student is finishing their school studies. Even more importantly, there’s a real level of engagement from business in that they see it as a true partnership between industry and VET. It means that businesses actively engage as they see a real benefit to their operations. That engagement leads to businesses and the government actively investing in the VET system and certification is highly sought-after. The system is working; the completion rate for apprentices in Germany is over 80%, compared to around 53% in Australia.
While the culture is most certainly different, and it's not as cut and dried as simply copying the system, there is a lot that can be learnt from the German VET sector.
Ahead of the NSW State Election in March 2019, the Liberal Government announced two technical high schools to be built in the state, and these schools could make inroads into this in NSW. The technical high school model offers a more integrated VET pathway, whereby students complete their higher school certificate, while at the same time developing vocational skills.
Funding review will help
I was also pleased to read that, should they be successful at the federal election this month, the ALP will conduct a review into the tertiary education sector. We currently have disparate funding models across courses and tertiary providers. Funding for the university sector has increased considerably across the last decade, while VET sector funding has remained stagnant.
This seems incongruous, when even the federal government's own VET sector review recently found that "complex and confusing funding models" needed to be addressed, calling for the development of a nationally-consistent funding model.
Employer incentives will be key
Many of the proposed changes address funding on the student side, and while resolving disparate state funding models and ensuring VET is financially accessible for students is critical, it is also critical to support employers in taking on trainees and apprentices.
When we talk about funding and incentives for employers, many people think it is about funding big business who don’t need it, but the reality is that many trainees and apprentices are taken on by microbusinesses. This could be the family-owned restaurant or the solo tradie who has built a business through years of hard work and is now in a position to take on an apprentice. The system can be daunting for these types of businesses and the financial burden can be heavy.
Additionally, many of these businesses are located outside of our major cities and can offer employment opportunities to young people in areas where jobs are harder to come by and unemployment rates are typically higher.
Providing financial incentives to these businesses makes sense, particularly when you consider the financial impacts of unemployment that can be avoided by increasing job opportunities.
Students need choices
Often when our state and federal governments discuss funding, there is a strong focus on TAFE. But while TAFE does a brilliant job and it is important that we have a strong public provider, it's also important that students have choice.
Having a competitive sector fosters innovation, increases quality outcomes and enhances student experience. It also enables more students across the country to access VET. Funding models need to support students in choosing the right provider for them.
At the end of the day, whether we see a continuation of the Liberal Coalition Government, or, as is widely-tipped to occur, we welcome a new Labor one, it's clear the VET sector will play a role in Australia's future.
So, for me, I hope whoever is successful on 18 May 2019, will have the fortitude to do what it takes to strengthen the VET sector, and ensure Australia will have the skills to remain competitive on a global stage.
Four reasons why you need to upskill
By Jason Foster, General Manager, Apprenticeships and New Business
At some point in your career, you’re going to need to evaluate your skills. It happens to us all, whether you’ve been in one career your entire working life or have hopped from job to job.
In our work at VERTO, helping people to find the right way forward in the career path they want is core to what we do. Here’s a list of the top four reasons why we think you need to examine up-skilling as an option.
It’s a rapidly changing world out there
We live in a time when the world around us is changing. As we move even further into the digital age, technology change is driving a massive shift in the way work. This is only going to change further as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) and other similar technologies take hold. The first line of defence for your career is ensuring that you are ready for this and are taking steps to plan for how your career will be impacted.
My first tip is to look at how you can upskill to take advantage of this trend. For example, with technology now delivering data to our fingertips how can you upskill yourself to better operate in this type of environment? This is especially important for older workers, where the adjustment to technology can be a tougher task. It’s the reason why programs such as Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers exist: to help you find the right career option at a time when change is rapid.
Losing your job
It’s the most dramatic reason but that doesn’t remove the fact that this can happen at any time. Whether it’s redundancy or a whole career ceasing to exist, losing your job can be a very difficult pill to swallow.
Options exist to help you find your feet again. Programs such as Career Transition Assistance or the Skills Checkpoint program referenced earlier can help you make the switch to a new career or role a much easier change.
Certification for the win
Like it or not, holding a certification in this highly competitive jobs market can make the difference in so many industries between being selected for an interview and being simply overlooked.
Employers are looking for candidates that have a recognised, tested skill set that they can bring into their business. It’s a something that you can easily check off by ensuring that you have taken the necessary steps to upskill yourself. A good example is in motor mechanics, where the role has changed so rapidly in the past 10 years that the need to retrain is paramount.
Better qualifications equals more opportunity
Following on from the above point, updating your skill set provides more opportunities not only by providing you with certification, but also by growing the opportunities you can apply for.
For example, gaining new skills can help you to transition into an entirely new career path, one that you may previously have overlooked or may not have known existed. There’s a known skills shortage in Australia, meaning that up skilling can provide huge benefits both for yourself and the economy. For example, we have a huge shortage in commercial chefs, meaning that if you’re prepared to shift careers, you can be almost assured of finding a role.
VERTO has a range of options available to help you find the right way forward. There are services and programs out there that can take some of the stress out of the situation, help you explore your options, and get you quickly on the path to your next job. Contact our team at VERTO to find out more about our programs and how we can help you.
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