Developing Partnerships
Understanding the workplace culture, communication and continuous review are the keys to a successful partnership says Dave Chapman, who speaks of a long term partnership between Northparkes Mines (NPM) and TAFE NSW - Western Institute (WI).
Dave Chapman
Head Teacher, Western Institute, TAFE, Primary Industries and Natural Resources Faculty.
Started as part time wool classing teacher in 1978 and was appointed full time in 1982. Undertook quality assurance for Elders and national program for Australian Wool Exchange. Dave was instrumental in retraining professional wool classers Australia wide.
Eight years ago he commenced working with the mining industry and resource management.
Successful partnership
The partnership, which has worked successfully for seven years, essentially
- provides training and mentoring for workplace assessors
- assists in the development of assessment resources
- audits the assessment process.
As a result of the partnership, fourteen qualifications are underway at NPM, including Certificate III Laboratory Practices and the newly introduced Certificate IV Metalliferous Mining.
Keys to success
Dave Chapman, who is the Program Leader for Forestry and Mining, TAFE NSW- Western Institute, says that not only do you need to provide the means for learning to happen but also the relationship must continually undergo review.
“You must understand the industry and workplace culture. If staff come off shift at midnight you must be there at midnight to meet them ….Regular meetings, listening to the needs of the client, open and honest communication and regular reviewing, evaluating and validation are all mandatory. What we do is an act of helpful activity. We want to continually improve.”
Resources
Dave has developed impressive folders for use when inducting new NPM assessors. Each folder is fronted with the company name, logo and a relevant worksite picture. The contents reflect the learning outcomes and include checklists for learners and suggested assessment strategies. The text is clear and concise and readable. Unique folders, but with different content, are given to each new trainee enabling onsite assessment and monitoring of outcomes.
Feedback
Dave makes a point of visiting the mine on a regular basis to iron out any concerns and to check that the NPM assessors and management are happy with training outcomes. When a particular skill is required and not available within his section, Dave does not hesitate to hire an expert because he knows that industry expectations of TAFE training and delivery are high.
“There is also the need to deliver what we say we can and keep faith with our client.”
The client relationship
“I feel it is important that there is one point of contact between NPM and TAFE so that any issues are solved quickly; this also promotes ongoing planning and communication and a better understanding of each other’s culture.”
This direct line of communication, along with several other considerations, impacted on the NPM decision to engage TAFE rather than operate as an RTO.
“ TAFE resources, expertise and networking abilities, project officer support and access to a wide variety of training and assessment packages also played a part.”
Developing new contacts
“It’s easy to get your foot in the door. Just ring up and ask to talk, but you need something you can sell and back up with services.”
It's the services that partnerships like this provide, in particular customised delivery and management of the overall client service that underpin quality lasting partnerships with industry.
Dave always takes a folder similar to the NRM folders, to prospective partners, plus easy to read, colour coded wall charts. These charts were financed by the Resources and Infrastructure Industry Skills Council Limited (RIISC) and have proved an extremely useful tool. RIISC also financed the development and production of a professionally made video displaying the ability and experience of Dave’s section for use when visiting prospective clients.
“I use the video with groups like Mission Australia or at the Apprenticeship Centre to show people outside the industry how TAFE operates and what options are available.”
Industry events are useful for networking but Dave puts care into his choice ensuring that it is relevant to his TAFE role.