Communication. The first step in Apprentice Development: An investigation into communication strategies to assist automotive apprentice development in North West New South Wales

Abstract

The Automotive Industry in Australia is a vital component of the Australian economy. The Automotive industry contributes fifty billion dollars in turnover and employs three hundred thousand Australians (Automotive Training Australia Limited 2004). Within this economic activity however, there is a current, and projected, drastic skill shortage for the Automotive sector (Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce 2000). Vocational training and education is also high on the agenda of responsible governments who are trying to build the nation's skill base at this critical time. It is with the current discussion of skill shortage and the proposed reduction in time lines for apprentice indenture that this research thesis has been conducted. The participants of this research project were drawn from the automotive sector within Northwest New South Wales. These participants included all stakeholders within apprentice development from employers, training providers and apprentices themselves. Participation within the project was purely on a voluntary basis. As a reflection of the importance apprentice development holds within the automotive sector, not one of the stakeholders that were asked to contribute to the research project refused to participate. To explore the effect that improved communication would have on the interaction between stakeholders involved in apprentice development, the methodology was structured around an experimental framework, which utilised comparison groups to validate results. To allow these realities to be explored the research was particularly focused on the real-world situation. This conceptualised as an investigation of how communication enhancements between employers, apprentices and training providers in the automotive sector could improve apprentice skill sets. Focus groups were utilised when developing data collection tools to induce critical reflection within the stakeholders as to how the systems could be improved.