VEYANCE BELTS AHEAD

 Designed mainly for the mining industry, Veyance Belting’s conveyor belts can weigh 35 tonnes, are up to 400 metres long, almost two metres wide and up to 40 millimetres thick. Each belt takes about two days to produce and will sell for up to $400,000. Well-trained staff are essential in creating belts that meet their exacting standards and will withstand the tough conditions in Australian mines.

 Veyance Belting has developed an internal training culture of traineeships and apprenticeships in conjunction with their Registered Training Organisation, New Futures Vocational Consulting (NFVC), over the course of a ten-year relationship. They also work closely with the National Union of Workers to encourage the up-skilling of staff, which is benchmarked against national competency standards and based on both company and employeeneeds. To date, 66 of its 172 employees have completed Australian Apprenticeship programs.

 Changes to the Victorian training system mean that training places such as Veyance’s are more likely to be subsidised. The Victorian Training Guarantee entitles eligible students to government subsidised training through a TAFE institute, university TAFE Division, Adult Community Education organisation, or private Registered Training Organisation (RTO). If a business is looking to up-skill its employees through any of these approved providers a government subsidy will be available to help them meet the cost of their training.

 The Victorian Training Guarantee provides an opportunity for businesses to share the cost of training with Government for training for the skills they need to raise productivity and innovation. It is also designed to boost the skills and capabilities of their workforce.

 “The guys simply need to know what they are doing,” Georges Wilmann, the company’s Environmental, Safety and Training Manager says. “It is critical to our success that the operators are competent. And unless they do their Certificate III in Process Manufacturing they won’t be able to progress through the place.”

 “Veyance is absolutely streets ahead of everyone,” says Krys Graves, one of two trainers from NFVC working closely with the company. “In terms of the time it puts into working with trainers to develop customised training materials, and in ensuring that every employee in the factory does training, regardless of whether or not their place is funded, they are outstanding” she says.

 Veyance Belting recently signed the Victorian Skills Pledge, another feature of the Victorian Government’s reforms to the Victorian training system. The Victorian Skills Pledge is a public declaration by businesses of their commitment to skills development. And by all accounts, there are few businesses more committed to staff training than they are.

 Another component of the reforms, Skills for Growth: the Workforce Development Program, provides eligible businesses with independent specialists to work with them – free of charge – to identify their strategic business aims and objectives, assess staff skills, and place staff into accredited training.

 Skills for Growth is open to all Victorian-based small and medium sized businesses in the private, public and community sectors. To be eligible, your business must employ between 1 to 200 staff, have been in operation for at least 12 months and be financially viable. Your business also needs to have signed the Victorian Skills Pledge.

 Taking the Victorian Skills Pledge gives your business a range of marketing opportunities to show potential customers you are dedicated to up-skilling your staff to best-practice standards. For businesses like Veyance Belting, the reforms to Victoria’s training system can only make it easier to develop the skilled workforce they need for continued success.

 For more information about changes to the TAFE and training system, including Skills for Growth, the Victorian Training Guarantee and the Victorian Skills Pledge, visit www.skills.vic.gov.au or contact Alex Bernhardt at MESAB on 9889 0966.