13 February 2012

Happy New Year and welcome to our first Update for 2012.

In December 2011, AgriFood Skills Australia held a Futures Workforce and Skills Think Tank in Sydney for industry leaders, enterprise owners, producers, industry representatives and academics from across five major sectors to identify the future workforce and skill needs of the agrifood industry. It was agreed that rapid change in industry will continue within a highly competitive local and global environment.

One of the key themes that emerged from the forum was the need for education and training to be driven far more by industry and businesses, and that the training system needs to be far more flexible and responsive to changes to industry requirements and skills development.*

The funding that AgriFood Skills Australia and our other sponsorship organisations provide, supports the ongoing work of ISS Institute to develop and enhance the skills and capabilities of our workforce and to ensure that our industries are responsive to global and local challenges. ISS Institute looks forward to continuing to work with AgriFood Skills Australia and to developing partnerships with other peak bodies to ensure that relevant research, education and training is available to Australian industries when they need it.

We are therefore pleased to announce that we have five (5) Fellowships open for application this month. Now is the time to apply and help strengthen and enhance the future of your industry. Our Fellows know exactly how rewarding and professionally enriching these Fellowship opportunities can be. The Fellowships can provide industry connections and partnerships, launch Fellows into new spheres professionally, and provide them with the skills and knowledge to ensure the competitiveness of their industry into the future. We strongly encourage you to put forward worthy candidates for our Fellowship program.

While we look for our future Fellows, we continue to build on the success of our previous Fellows. Our much-awaited Dry Stone Walling Workshop is back. The next workshop will be held on 5 May 2012 at South West TAFE’s Glenormiston Campus. This workshop is incredibly popular so be sure to register your interest now.

2012 is looking to be an exciting year for those involved with ISS Institute. We look forward to deepening our current partnerships and establishing new partnerships that support Australian industry to meet today’s local and global challenges.

Bella Irlicht
CEO, ISS Institute

In This Edition

• New Fellowships
• Dry Stone Walling Workshop
• New Reports
• Fellows’ News
• Other News

New Fellowships

2012 Skills Victoria Overseas Fellowships

We have four (4) Fellowships to award in the first of two rounds of the 2012 Skills Victoria Fellowships. Visit our website to download the application form and start your application today!

Previous Winner

Francesca Jorio, 2010 Skills Victoria Veneto (Italy) International TAFE Fellow:
“As a past Fellow I can sincerely say that my experience has been life changing and most definitely an experience I will cherish forever. I am very enthusiastic of promoting the Fellowship and again thank you all for the hard work put in by ISS!”

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2012 International Building & Construction Fellowship

We have one (1) Fellowship provided by Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC) this month. This particular Fellowship will be advertised later this month. Please call us on 03 9347 4583 and we will send you the application form!

Previous Winner

Gerard Healey, 2009 International Building and Construction Fellow:
“The International Building and Construction Fellowship offered by the CPSISC and ISS Institute created opportunities for me that significantly boosted my career and personal development! Without the Fellowship I would not have been able to meet so many knowledgeable people and see so many fantastic buildings.”

Dry Stone Walling Workshop

Images courtesy of Nick Platt

Our Dry Stone Walling Workshops are back! Our next workshop will held on 5 May 2012 at South West TAFE’s Glenormiston campus. With the help of our wonderful presenters David Long (2001 Master Builders Association of Victoria/ISS Institute Fellow) and his colleague Alistair Tune (ISS Institute Associate), participants will get the chance to build a dry stone wall from scratch during this one-day workshop.

These workshops are incredibly popular and places always fill very fast! Please call us on 03 9347 4583 and we will send you the registration form!

New Fellowship Reports

We have a number of Fellowship reports that have just been released including, ‘Preservation and Restoration of Timber Heritage Structures’, ‘Wastewater Treatment: Remote Control and Monitoring’, ‘Motor Racing Training and Safety’ and ‘Iron Hulled Heritage Vessel Restoration’. Our Fellowship reports are a wonderful source of industry knowledge and cutting-edge technologies. Please feel free to circulate them throughout your networks.

Amy Chan (2009 The Pratt Foundation/ISS Institute Overseas Fellow) reports on ‘Preservation and Restoration of Timber Heritage Structures’.

Bayden Clissold (2009 Skills Victoria (TAFE)/ISS Institute Fellow) reports on ‘Motor Racing Training and Safety. A Comparison: The USA Versus Australia’.

Paul Gray (2010 Skills Victoria Veneto (Italy) International TAFE Fellow) reports on ‘Wastewater Treatment: Remote Control and Monitoring’.

Matthew Gurn (2009 The Pratt Foundation/ISS Institute Overseas Fellow) reported on ‘Iron Hulled Heritage Vessel Restoration’. It is with the deepest sadness and sorrow that we announce the death of Fellow Matthew Gurn. Our condolences go out to Matthew’s family, friends and colleagues.

All of our Fellows’ reports are available on our website. Follow this link and search the Quick Links on the right-hand side of the page to select a category.

Fellows' News

Renato Balestra (2005 ISS Institute/Victorian Government (Design) Fellow) has designed all the costumes for Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle!

“David Gallo’s candy-colored [sic] sets, Renato Balestra’s glittery costumes and Tom Sturge’s sparkling lighting create a fanciful, if slightly off-kilter, fairy tale world. In the dazzling royal-blue and white wedding scene, it’s easy to believe that dreams really do come true.” — This year's best holiday show: a sparkling, Christmas-free 'Cinderella', article By Alice Kaderlan, Crosscut.com News of the Great Nearby.

Craig Day (2009 The Pratt Foundation/ISS Institute Overseas Fellow) has just released a series of videos in conjunction with the Department of Primary Industries with more information on how to use agricultural chemicals safely.

Craig’s Fellowship report is titled ‘Industry: Australian Agriculture – Crops’. Click here to read his report.

Sidonie Carpenter (2006 The Pratt Foundation/ISS Institute Overseas Fellow) was quoted in The Herald Sun! The 2006 The Pratt Foundation/ISS Institute Overseas Fellow and Green Roofs Australia president talked about vertical gardens:

"There has been a huge push and interest worldwide in greening urban spaces," Ms Carpenter said.
"The world has become more conscious of green infrastructure and bringing more green space into our high-density areas. People want to be in touch with something living and vertical gardens have become very fashionable." — Vertical gardens are on the way up among inner-city green thumbs, article by: John Dagge, Sunday Herald Sun January 08, 2012.

Click here to read the entire article. Sidonie’s Fellowship report 'Green Roofs and Vertical Gardens' is a must read for anyone interested in this area! Click here to read her report.

Well done to Karen O’Reilly-Briggs (2005 National ISS Institute Overseas Fellow)! Karen explores the prospect of improving pathways and opportunities for tradespeople in Australia through the introduction of a masters-level qualification with her NCVER research report. Karen has been accepted to a PhD program.

Karen’s Fellowship report is titled ‘Pipefitting: Skills Deficiencies in Metal Fabrication and Welding (Pipefitting) in Australia’. Click here to read her report

Other News

Congratulations to David Wittner (member of the ISS Institute Board). David has been awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) for his service to business, particularly footwear retailing, to professional organisations and to a range of charitable groups. David’s contribution to ISS Institute has been outstanding and we wish to extend our thanks and congratulations.

We are indeed privileged to have Gabrielle Berman join our team. The breadth and depth of her knowledge and skills have added a new layer of professionalism to our organisation.

Our friends at AgriFood Skills Australia and TFIA have included some of our Fellow’s reports on their respective websites. Click here to see the reports endorsed by AgriFood Skills Australia. Click here to see the reports endorsed by TFIA.

We would like to encourage our Fellows to share their news with us by email. Please note that your news might also be shared on our Facebook page and Twitter stream. If you are using these social media tools we would love to hear your comments on our Facebook page or send us a message on Twitter.

* AgriFood Skills Australia 2012, AgriFood Skills Australia Newsletter, Issue No 20, January 2012, www.agrifoodskills.net.au