Western Australia looks to Down Under Live to help tackle skill shortages

The government of Western Australia is coming to Down Under Live in London to recruit skilled workers to help tackle the state’s impending skill shortages.

According to a respected economic analyst, Peter Kenyon, professor of economic policy at Perth’s Curtin University, the state is set to revisit the skills shortages that were the downside of the mining boom that ended in late 2008.

‘‘WA is doing well in terms of population growth and labour supply is increasing … we are likely to see a little bit of amelioration in the absolute skills shortage that we saw towards the end of the boom in 2008,’’ Prof Kenyon said. ‘‘I think that will be short-lived.

‘‘I think before very long we will again see the job advertisements increasing for waiters and all sorts of staff in the windows of all the businesses around Perth.

‘‘Not enough time has passed for us to build the skills base to get over that shortage.’’

As part of its commitment to build a strong base of skills in the state, representatives from the state’s Immigration and Health departments will be at the show, recruiting for a range of state sponsored jobs, and interviewing likely candidates. The participation of Western Australia at Down Under Live London, comes on the back of a successful show in Birmingham, where over 1,300 people came to the show in search of a new life in Australia or New Zealand.

Over 3,000 people are expected to attend the London event, and pre registrations are already strong, with jobseekers looking to take advantage of the pre show offer of 2 tickets for £10.

Anyone interested in getting tickets for the event should call               01179 323586         01179 323586 or go to www.downunderlive.co.uk

Source  :  www.australiamagazine.co.uk

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Anonymous donor to replace nurses’ car tyres

An anonymous donor will cover the cost of replacing car tyres slashed in a vandal attack at Western Australia’s major children’s hospital.

Nurses returning to their vehicles from 12-hour night shifts were distraught to find tyres had been slashed on their cars some time on Monday night.

Up to 23 cars parked in Princess Margaret Hospital’s secure staff carpark were targeted in the attack.

PMH executive director Philip Aylward has released a statement today saying all affected staff will be reimbursed by a generous donor.

Police are still investigating the crime.

Source  :  www.watoday.com.au

Read Full Post »

Perth man contracts swine flu strain resistant to Tamiflu

A Perth man has become the first person in Australia to contract a strain of swine flu which is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

WA Health confirmed the 38-year-old man, who has a weaken Australia to contract a strain of swine fled immune system, initially responded to the drug but developed a resistant strain of the virus when his illness relapsed.

There have been 13 cases of Tamiflu-resistant infections reported around the world.

WA’s Chief Health Officer Dr Tarun Weeramanthri said in a statement this was a rare and isolated case and did not pose a risk to the public.

“There is no evidence that the virus has spread to other people – none of the patient’s family or hospital staff caring for him have contracted the virus, and he has not been in contact with the wider community,” he said.

“Experience from overseas shows us that these cases tend to be confined to individual patients and it is not uncommon for it to occur in people who have weakened immune systems.”

Dr Weeramanthri said the man had been treated with an alternative antiviral drug that was active against the resistant virus and was no longer infectious.

However, he remains in a critical condition in intensive care.

“When it becomes available, the human swine flu vaccine will offer the best protection against the virus and I would encourage people to seriously consider getting vaccinated,” he said.

The first people to be offered the vaccine will be pregnant women in their second and third trimester, those with underlying medical conditions including morbid obesity, Aboriginal people, children in special schools and frontline healthcare workers, WA Health said.

Source  :  www.watoday.com.au

Read Full Post »

Private school fees to rise 8pc

Parents of children at private WA schools should brace for fee rises up to four times the inflation rate next year, with new figures showing education costs leapt 37.5 per cent in the past five years.

Elite colleges said it was too early to set next year’s fees but they predicted rises between 5 and 8 per cent.

Principals said big pay rises to State schoolteachers last year in a three-year agreement were driving up fees at private schools because they competed for staff.

Scotch College principal Andrew Syme said fees at private schools had to go up at least 6 per cent to keep pace with teachers’ pay rises before any improvements in service.

Anglican Schools Commission chief executive Peter Laurence said fee rises at low-fee church schools would be similar to last year’s increases of between 6 and 9 per cent.

“Teachers’ pay is the number one driver that’s going to keep increases higher than they used to be a few years ago,” he said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show education costs in Perth, comprising school fees and other miscellaneous costs, have jumped 37.5 per cent since 2004 – the biggest increase registered by any capital city. Canberra had the second biggest leap, with 29.4 per cent.

The rise was driven by a 55.9 per cent lift in fees associated with pre-schools and primary schools. By contrast, pre-school and primary school education costs in Sydney rose almost 23 per cent.

Pre-school and primary school fees have grown faster than the average wage of West Australians which, between 2004 and today, jumped 44 per cent – the biggest rise of any capital city.

The State Government has held down public primary school fees so the increase is mainly for private schools.

A private education in WA costs between $3000 a year for Year 12 tuition at low-fee Catholic schools and $17,000 a year at high-fee independent schools. Many private schools in Sydney and Melbourne charge more than $20,000 a year.

Association of Independent Schools of WA executive director Valerie Gould said the recent teacher pay rises and rising construction costs in the building boom two years ago may have been the big contributors to increased education costs.

WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief economist John Nicolaou said the fact fees were going up so much in the private sector reflected poorly on the public school sector.

He said people were voting with their feet and going to the private sector even while fees were rising, which said something about what parents thought of Government schools.

WA Secondary School Executives Association president Rob Nairn said students in Years 8 to 10 could get an education at a State school for a voluntary contribution of $235 a year. Costs were higher in Years 11 and 12 but much less than in private schools.

Source  :   www.thewest.com.au

Read Full Post »

Charles Gairdner earns nursing award

A Perth hospital has become the first in WA to be awarded the internationally recognised Magnet Hospital award. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital has been given the accreditation by the American Nurses Credentialling Center, joining prestigious hospitals including Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

 Health Minister Kim Hames said staff at SCGH had been providing high-quality care for the past 51 years and he was “delighted” at the achievements of the hospital. SCGH executive director Dr Amanda Ling said a growing body of research showed Magnet Hospitals offered high quality care to patients, who experienced better outcomes and fewer complications.

“By fostering a supportive environment which promotes professional development, staff increase their expertise and become more innovative in their approach,” Dr Ling said. “They enjoy greater job satisfaction while patients benefit from improved care.”

Acting director of nursing at SCGH Sue Davis said Magnet Hospitals also had much better records recruiting and retaining nurses.

“When staff are provided with an environment and the skills that allow them to provide high-quality care, they are more fulfilled and far more likely to remain with the hospital,” Ms Davis said.

Magnet status is valid for four years.

Source  :  www.thewest.com.au

Read Full Post »

Probe into immigration exam cheating

Allegations of cheating by students in immigration exams has seen the launch of a corruption investigation.

Australia’s largest international student service, IDP Australia, is investigating possible corruption among its staff after students in Sydney were caught cheating on exams it conducts for the Department of Immigration, The Sun-Herald newspaper reports.

Copies of the May International English Language Testings System (IELTS) exam were sold for between $12,000 and $18,000, one source claims.

“These have been leaking out for months,” the source told newspaper.

“It’s like a chain of command. It came from the official service who gives it out and takes his cut.

IDP would not confirm how many people had been caught cheating.

“Cheating in IELTS tests is not commonplace,” an IDP Australia spokeswoman said.

“‘However given the high stakes involved, attempts to cheat or engage in other fraudulent activity such as identity fraud do occur.

“Recently in Australia a number of test takers have been detected in their attempt to cheat in the IELTS test. Whether or not it was an internal problem, we don’t know.”

IDP is investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Department has defended its outsourcing of English tests, which have been handled by IDP since 1994.

Source  :  www.ninemsn.com.au

Read Full Post »

Keep Australia Working’ marks 1000 jobs in first week

The Rudd Government’s partnership with business and community leaders to Keep Australia Working has secured more than 1000 jobs in its first week, Minister for Employment Participation, Senator Mark Arbib, announced today.

Senator Arbib today joined Local Jobs Champions Bill Kelty and Lindsay Fox at the third Keep Australia Working Forum at Casula, where he announced 240 jobs in Canterbury Bankstown and South Western Sydney Employment Priority Area.

The Australian Government is providing $3.7 million from the $650 million Jobs Fund for three Western Sydney Projects.

The 240 jobs in Western Sydney bring to more than 500 the positions funded through the Jobs Fund and come on top of the 250 jobs in South Eastern Melbourne and 23 jobs in Northern Tasmania announced at jobs forums earlier this week.

The private sector is also playing a significant role in boosting employment with Lindsay Fox announcing this week he would employ an extra 450 staff over the next two years at Linfox and Woolworths announcing 60 jobs for its new logistics centre in Launceston.

“The Rudd Government is doing everything possible to keep Australians working,” Senator Arbib said. 

“This week by working together – the Government and industry – we’ve managed to create or protect more than 1000 jobs.

“Not every week will be as successful as this week in keeping people in work. There will be ups and downs, because the global recession is far from over.

“But this week has shown what can be achieved by working together.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Employment Jason Clare said community leaders, business representatives and job service providers would today join Government to develop a regional employment strategy for Canterbury Bankstown and South Western Sydney.

“The Keep Australia Working forums allow the community to maximise the benefits of the Government’s Economic Stimulus Plan and Jobs Fund and develop localised responses to the impact of the global recession.

“We want to find job opportunities for local businesses and workers, particularly in areas like Western Sydney where unemployment is a growing problem.”

Mr Clare said Local Jobs Champions, Lindsay Fox and Bill Kelty, would bring their considerable experience and wisdom to the table.

“The Local Jobs Champions will help forum participants identify local skill and labour needs and develop directions for the future,” Mr Clare said.

“It’s great to have Lindsay Fox and Bill Kelty on board. Few people understand the Australian economy better than these blokes, they’ve been through it before. They’re travelling with us around the country helping areas hit hardest by the global recession.”

Today’s forum is the third in a series being rolled out in employment priority areas across Australia as recommended in the Keep Australia Working interim report presented last week to Deputy Prime Minister Gillard by Senator Arbib and Mr Clare.

There are now 20 employment priority areas around the country:

• Canterbury Bankstown and South Western Sydney (New South Wales)
• Illawarra (New South Wales)
• Richmond Tweed and Clarence Valley (New South Wales)
• Mid North Coast (New South Wales)
• Sydney West and Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
• Central Coast Hunter (New South Wales)
• South Eastern Melbourne (Victoria)
• North Western Melbourne (Victoria)
• Ballarat Bendigo (Central Victoria)
• North Eastern Victoria
• Ipswich Logan (Queensland)
• Cairns (Queensland)
• Townsville Thuringowa (Queensland)
• Caboolture Sunshine Coast (Queensland)
• Southern Wide Bay Burnett (Queensland)
• Bundaberg Hervey Bay (Queensland)
• Northern and Western Adelaide (South Australia)
• Port Augusta Whyalla Port Pirie (South Australia)
• South West Perth (Western Australia)
• North West/Northern Tasmania.

For more information on Keep Australia Working, visit http://www.deewr.gov.au/Employment/KeepAustraliaWorking/Pages/home.aspx

Read Full Post »

Retail hiring jumps on spending hopes

Retailers are boosting staff numbers in anticipation of an improvement in consumer spending, according to the Australian Retailers Association.                

The industry group’s executive director, Richard Evans, said surveys of association members showed a 12 per cent jump in employment for small and medium-sized retailers this month, painting a much more positive picture than figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier this month.

The number of people employed in the retail sector fell by less than 0.1 per cent last month compared with February, on a seasonally adjusted basis, but the ABS also reported an increase in underutilisation—the proportion of the workforce that is either unemployed or not working as many hours as it would like.

The rate of underutilisation among female workers was 9.1per cent last month, compared with 6.4 per cent for men, which the ABS attributed to the larger proportion of women working in industries with high levels of casual employment, such as retail.

However, Mr Evans said most retailers were holding on to skilled staff in preparation for rising demand, with 68 per cent reporting no change in employment levels in the past quarter.

“A further 16 per cent of retailers actually increased their number of staff during the same period,” he said.

“Retailing works in cycles, and although the sector has experienced a downturn, good retailers are doing their best to hold on to skilled staff as consumer confidence continues to grow and a new type of consumer emerges.”

The same trend was in play among the bigger retailers, with David Jones boosting staffing levels around the Mother’s Day shopping period after the delivery of the federal government’s fiscal stimulus package in April led to a sharp rebound in sales.

Mr Evans said the stimulus package and lower interest rates meant most consumers had more cash available to spend, but “negative and fear-filled commentary” had fuelled a tendency among consumers to cut discretionary spending in favour of saving or paying off debt.

This meant shoppers would be in a better position to spend when confidence picks up again—with the ARA forecasting an improvement as soon as the September quarter.

Source  :  www.careerone.com.au

Read Full Post »

Perth woman witnesses Michael Jackson’s death

TWO Australian women on a bus tour of Hollywood stars’ houses have told of the chaotic scenes as they accidentally witnessed the King of Pop’s final exit.

Helen Battaglia of Alfred Cove and her friend, Sally Wilson of Melbourne, were on a Starlight bus tour when their driver decided to show them Michael Jackson’s mansion.

“We turned into where Michael Jackson’s been staying and as we came round the corner we saw a fire truck.”                                                                 

“The driver said ‘Oh there’s a fire truck here, there’s a bit happening’.”

Ms Wilson said the bus pulled up in front of the gates of the mansion while photographers milled around the entrance.

“All of a sudden the gates open and out came the ambulance while paparazzi were all running and banging and trying to take photos in the back of the ambulance,” she said.

Ms Battaglia said the scene became chaotic as Jackson’s staff fought to block the paparazzi from grabbing final pictures of the dying star.

Ms Wilson said passengers on the bus had no idea what they were witnessing.

“It was all happening. We weren’t sure who was in the car at that stage,” she said.

“They were just yelling out and then the ambulance took off and two black SUVs came out of the driveway and followed it.”

The women said photographers dashed to follow the ambulance.

“The paparazzi were running towards our bus saying ‘go go go’,” Ms Battaglia said.

“They got in a car and took off driving erratically, chasing the ambulance,” she said.

“I couldn’t believe what was going on. It was surreal.”

As their bus then left the scene, the driver paused to speak to a local woman who sells maps to the stars’ houses.

“She was crying on the phone and the bus driver stopped and said “Mary, what’s going on? Is it him?” Ms Wilson said.

“She was wailing and crying but she couldn’t talk, she just said “Yes, it’s him. It’s Michael.”

The two women were feeling flat after their brush with celebrity death.

“Today we’re a bit sad about the whole thing,” Ms Wilson said.

The event lent a bizarre and tragic twist to a celebrity-filled day for the two Australians, who were staying at the historic Hotel Roosevelt, once home to Marilyn Monroe and Clark Cable.

Earlier that morning, Ms Wilson ran into Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as they were leaving the hotel.

“That was about 10.30 in the morning. I was just walking down a corridor with no one else there and this door flicks open and there’s Brad and Angelina,” she said.

Source  :  www.news.com.au

Read Full Post »

ABC Learning’s UK business sold – Receiver

THE receiver of ABC Learning Centres has sold the childcare group’s UK arm for an undisclosed sum.

ABC’s UK business, called Busy Bees Group, was purchased by Singapore-based company Knowledge Universe Education, Chris Honey of McGrathNicol said today. 

Mr Honey said Busy Bees Group, which is the UK’s largest children’s nursery group, will continue to be operated by its existing senior management.

“As receivers, we are very happy with the value realised for this business, and are pleased to have sold it to an internationally respected childcare provider,” he said.

He said Busy Bees Group was in a similar situation to ABC’s business in New Zealand, as it was not itself in receivership and had continued to trade profitably.

Mr Honey said the sale of the ABC in New Zealand was progressing well and that strong interest from a number of bidders had led to an extension of the sale timetable.

Mr Honey said no decision had been made yet on a timetable for the sale of the Australian business.

“The ABC Learning centres in Australia continue to trade well, with the focus remaining firmly on providing high quality childcare, driven by the local ABC centre staff at a community level,” Mr Honey said.

ABC, Australia’s largest childcare centre operator, went into administration and receivership in November 2008, owing more than $1 billion.

Source www.news.com.au

Read Full Post »