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| Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships
Resource Kit |
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Click
here to return to 'Main Contents' page
Click here to go to the Downloads page |
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| Contents |
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Why
use these planning and administration tools? |
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D1
Preparing a local Indigenous profile
Activity
Sheet D1
D2 Charting
your future directions
Brainstorming
SWOT
Analysis
Activity
Sheet D2
D3 Developing
realistic goals, targets and strategies
Activity
Sheet D3
D4 Plotting
your way forward
Case
Study: Preparing a WBS and Gantt Chart
D5 Preparing
for any setbacks
Activity
Sheet D5
D6 Customising
the Pathways for Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships flowchart |
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D7
Using and adapting the electronic files to suit your situation
Australian
Apprentices Image Library |
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| PART D The Tool
Box |
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| Why
use these planning and administrative tools? |
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The purpose of this
part of the Resources Kit is to provide additional information and guidance
about preparing a Business Case so that you can map out detailed strategies
for improving your performance in Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships.
The material
comprises: |
| • |
Additional information,
if required, to build your skills in using the techniques introduced
in PART B of this Resource Kit. |
| • |
Activity Sheets
(or templates) to guide you in the collection and documentation of
the
material to be included in your Business Case. |
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| The Tool Box is
in seven sections: |
| • |
Section D1 will
help you to prepare a local Indigenous profile to better service your
clients
(includes Activity Sheet D1) |
| • |
Section D2 will
help you chart your future direction in enhancing Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships
with the assistance of brainstorming and a SWOT analysis
(includes Activity Sheet D2) |
| • |
Section D3 will
help you develop some realistic goals, targets and key strategies
that will make a difference in your organisation
(includes Activity Sheet D3) |
| • |
Section D4 will
help you to accurately plot the way forward with a simple plan to
develop timelines and a budget to implement your chosen strategies
(includes Case Study) |
| • |
Section D5 will
help you to better prepare for any setbacks in your plans by enabling
you to manage risks associated with implementing your chosen strategies
(includes Activity Sheet D5) |
| • |
Section D6 will
enable you to customise the flowchart Pathways for Indigenous Australian
Apprentices in Topic C1 to suit your context |
| • |
Section D7 will
provide further information about using the electronic files in this
Resource Kit so that they can be adapted to your needs and situation. |
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| D1
Preparing a local Indigenous profile |
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| For you to develop
effective strategies to enhance your organisations involvement in Indigenous
employment and training you will need to know and understand your local
Indigenous people. In this Section you will research your local Indigenous
people, organisations and communities to better inform all staff across
your organisation. |
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Listed
below are some websites that provide useful information about Indigenous
people, their communities and locations |
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| Organisation |
Website |
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Department
of the Environment and Heritage (Indigenous Communities &
the Environment)
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Australian
Government Directory (Indigenous Services)
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www.gold.gov.au
(search for Indigenous Services and select Subject before
clicking on Go)
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Australian
Indigenous Research Network (University of Newcastle)
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The
Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre (AILC)
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Australian
Institute of Family Studies
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Australian
Workplace (select ‘Indigenous Programs’)
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Swinburne
Institute of Technology Indigenous Programs
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CERN/ANU
Aboriginal Studies
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Centre
for Aboriginal Studies-Curtin University, Perth WA |
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Australian
National University, Centre for Indigenous Economic and Policy
Research (CAEPR) |
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| Also look for the Indigenous
units in the TAFE or Higher Education sector in your region. |
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| ACTIVITY
SHEET D1 |
| Preparing your local
Indigenous profile |
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| Find out about your
local Indigenous communities and their history. |
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| Find out about the
key local Indigenous leaders, organisations and networks. |
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Use
the websites listed in PART D, Section D1 as a starting point |
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| Forget sportsmen and
women. Name ten well-known contemporary Indigenous people and what they
are known for? |
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| Who designed the Aboriginal
flag and when? What is the significance of its features? |
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| What does the Torres
Strait Islander flag look like? What are its features intended to capture?
Who designed it? |
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| D2
Charting your future directions |
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In this Section
we provide you with background information on methodologies for identifying
and evaluating ideas that will form the basis of your Business Plan.
While there are a number of methods that can be used, we suggest that you
consider: |
| • |
brainstorming |
| • |
SWOT analysis. |
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| Used together, they
are simple yet valuable tools to ensure that: |
| • |
the collective
wisdom of the key people in your organisation is pooled |
| • |
you collect all
relevant information in a structured way. |
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| Being thorough and
systematic in this way should ensure that you decide on the business strategies
that will work best for you, as well as flag all of the risks that are likely
to threaten their successful achievement. |
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| Brainstorming |
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Brainstorming can
be used in team or group situations as a means of generating a wide range
of ideas and possible solutions, introducing innovations, improvements and
solving problems. The important thing about brainstorming is that everyone
can make a valuable contribution to developing and refining ideas. The good
ideas can be selected and refined later.
Some of
the rules of brainstorming are listed below: |
| • |
Encourage free
thinking |
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List all ideas
on a whiteboard or butchers paper |
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Build on existing
ideas |
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Once initial
ideas are recorded, encourage people to ask questions of each other |
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Combine similar
ideas |
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Set up criteria
by which successful ideas might be evaluated |
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Evaluate ideas
against the criteria and select the best for action |
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Set up a plan
of action |
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Document the
plan. |
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| When using brainstorming
in a group, remember to: |
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refrain from
criticising new ideas as it reduces enthusiasm to participate |
| • |
think wild |
| • |
keep encouraging
new ideas. |
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It is likely that a
number of competing ideas may be generated. Team leaders, in consultation
with other team members, may need to prioritise the new ideas for improvements
that are put forward.
The important point is that these decisions are taken in collaboration and
can be justified.
The important by-product of working in this way is that you will achieve
ownership and commitment by all of those involved. |
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| SWOT
Analysis |
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A SWOT analysis
is widely used around the world in business planning to draw out the relevant
information from a proposal as part of the strategic decision-making processes
of an organisation.
SWOT stands for: |
| S |
for strengths |
| W |
for weaknesses |
| O |
for opportunities |
| T |
for threats. |
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| Strengths and weaknesses
refer to the internal environment that is, your organisation. |
| • |
Strengths could
include previous experiences in developing similar new services to
the ones under evaluation. It could also refer to the enthusiasm of
the field staff for an innovative new approach to servicing their
Indigenous clients. |
| • |
Weaknesses could
be exactly the opposite a lack of relevant knowledge and expertise
within the organisation or lack of enthusiasm from the field team
for the proposal. The SWOT analysis might focus on ways of building
on strengths and overcoming weaknesses. For example, a lack of enthusiasm
may arise out of a lack of knowledge and skills in servicing these
clients. |
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| Opportunities and
threats relate to the external environment that is, factors lying outside
of your organisations control. Nevertheless, these factors still need
to be managed. |
| • |
Opportunities
may be seen as advantages arising from social, cultural, economic
or demographic changes. For example, the existence of a successful
CDEP program in your locality could provide an opportunity for you
to build partnerships and networks. A switched-on careers counsellor
at a local school may be a valuable source of advice on potential
Indigenous Australian Apprentices who are currently leaving the school system. |
| • |
Threats (or barriers)
can include the knowledge that many of the Indigenous people in the
local community have low levels of literacy and numeracy. |
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The obvious benefit
of the SWOT analysis is that you can develop practical strategies to build
on the strengths and opportunities, and to minimise the impact of weaknesses
and threats.
Note that brainstorming
and SWOT analysis, in particular, are widely used in strategic planning
and project management activities. By developing these skills, you will
be well placed to apply them to advantage in building your organisations
capability to enhance Indigenous Australian Apprenticeship outcomes. |
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| ACTIVITY
SHEET D2 |
| Using Brainstorming
and SWOT Analysis in your context |
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We suggest you apply
these two methods to help your organisation to plan to build to improve
your performance capability in supporting Indigenous clients.
We have posed
a few questions to help you get started. You will have other questions that
are relevant to your context. Note that your responses to the questions
about internal factors may be either strengths or weaknesses, depending
on your current situation. The same applies to the questions about external
factors.
Some suggested
questions to get you started are given below. |
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| SWOT |
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| Internal
Factors |
Yes |
No |
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Do
Indigenous people use your organisation? |
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Do
you have a profile with the local Indigenous community? |
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Does
your organisational culture support an improved service to Indigenous
clients? |
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Do
you have Indigenous Australians on your staff? |
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Have
you initiated Indigenousspecific services, programmes, approaches
in the past? |
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Have
you improved your Indigenous outcomes in the last 1-2 years
for: |
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- recruitment?
- retention? |
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Are
your staff aware of the cultural issues that affect employment/training
for Indigenous Australians? |
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Can
you give examples of where you have convinced employers to modify
their mainstream employment processes? |
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Have
you/do you use localised marketing to target Indigenous Australians? |
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Have
you been successful in attracting Indigenous Australians to
advertised vacancies? |
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If you have answered
Yes to any of the above questions, then these could count as organisational
strengths.
If you answered No, then these could count as organisational weaknesses.
|
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| External
Factors |
Yes |
No |
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Have
you set up successful partnerships with other organisations
in the past? |
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Are
you aware of external sources of funds and other support for
Indigenous programmes? |
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Can
your staff implement employment/training programmes using multiple/flexible
funding sources? |
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Is
there an active CDEP or IEC in your area? |
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Are
there role models in the Indigenous community? |
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| SWOT Grid |
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| Using the sorts of
questions weve given as examples on the previous page as a starting point,
use the grid below to document your organisations internal strengths
and weaknesses (left column) and the external opportunities and threats
or barriers your organisation faces (right column). |
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Strengths |
Opportunities |
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Weaknesses |
Threats / Barriers |
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| D3
Developing realistic goals, targets and strategies |
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| In this section
we build on the information presented in PART B, Section
B3 of the Kit about: |
| • |
setting Indigenous
participation goals and targets |
| • |
developing strategies
to achieve them. |
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| We also provide
an Activity Sheet D3 to help you develop your goals, targets
and key strategies. |
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How do you set realistic
goals and targets?
New business proposals are conceived to address a particular problem or
improve an aspect of business performance. It is essential that you have
a clear idea of the business need that prompted you or your management to
initiate the business proposal in the first instance. By being clear on
the need, the goals and targets of the business proposal will follow.
A goal statement is important because it: |
| • |
provides a clear
statement of what is to be achieved |
| • |
provides an event
whose completion can be measured |
| • |
directs the future
course of the proposal |
| • |
provides the
point of reference for resolving future problems and issues that arise
as the new business project unfolds. |
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Your goal statement
should clearly set out how the specific project goals will contribute to
the achievement of the overall business objectives of your organisation.
For example, your goal may be to enhance the quality and effectiveness
of the services provided to Indigenous Australians in your locality.
Even though the
goal statement (or project purpose) may be broadly based, it serves to provide
a basis for identifying the business targets for the project. In order to
accomplish the stated goal, several key business outcomes will have to be
achieved. These are the project targets, or milestones, which direct work
activity. The targets are more precise statements than the goal statement
and must be achieved if the business goal is to be achieved.
A
meaningful way to help in formulating business targets is to follow the
SMART guide.
Your business targets should be: |
| • |
Specific in
targeting the business goal |
| • |
Measurable
in providing indicators of progress and business outcomes |
| • |
Assignable
in that they are clear enough to others to allow them to complete
specific tasks and roles |
| • |
Realistic in
terms of time and resources |
| • |
Time-related
by stating when they can be achieved (ie. indicate a duration). |
|
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| Sometimes, the business
targets may have already been defined by others. Even
then, we suggest that you still put them to the SMART test: |
| • |
Are they achievable? |
| • |
Are they measurable? |
| • |
Are they realistic
in terms of the time and resources involved? |
|
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If you are convinced
that your business targets meet the SMART test, you should use them to specify
some measures of success for the project (sometimes called Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs)). These measures will be the basis for judging whether
your goals and targets have been met. They will also be important during
your evaluation at the end of the project.
If you cannot identify any measures of success against a project
outcome, you should question whether the business targets are clearly worded,
or meaningful. |
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| ACTIVITY
SHEET D3 |
| Developing realistic
goals, targets and strategies |
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| What is your project
goal? |
|
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| How does it contribute
to the achievement of your organisations business objectives or plans? |
|
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| Identify your project
targets: Are
the targets SMART? |
|
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| Can you identify Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each of the targets? |
|
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| What are the strategies
for achieving your goals and targets that are most appropriate for your
situation? |
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| D4
Plotting your way forward |
| Developing accurate
timelines and budgets |
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In PART B4 of this
Kit we stressed the importance of preparing a detailed implementation plan
for your proposals. The plan identified tasks, timelines, resources and
funding required to get the job done.
The foundation
for a comprehensive plan is to identify in detail all of the major activities
and their associated tasks in a logical framework.
Work Breakdown Structure
The most common method of displaying the project tasks is called the Work
Breakdown Structure (WBS) and is illustrated in the figure below. |
| |
 |
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| The skill in constructing
a useful WBS is to: |
| • |
clearly describe
the major activities to be done |
| • |
identify the
tasks associated with each activity |
| • |
consult with
those who will do the work |
| • |
identify when
each task is to be done in relation to the other tasks. |
|
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| The Work Breakdown
Structure is a valuable tool for: |
| • |
estimating resources,
time and cost |
| • |
establishing
an order of tasks |
| • |
controlling the
project |
| • |
reporting progress
and outcomes. |
|
| |
Developing a timeline
- Gantt charts
A Gantt chart will help you estimate the shortest possible time to complete
the project successfully. |
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| The key inputs are
the: |
| • |
duration of each
task in the project |
| • |
earliest starting
point for each task |
| • |
latest starting
point for each task. |
|
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The Gantt chart is
simply a network of horizontal bars that show how the project tasks are
linked. Each task is a bar on the chart showing when it is to be undertaken,
as well as its Start/Finish relationships with the other tasks. It shows
those activities that need to be carried out in sequence and those that
can be carried out simultaneously.
An illustration of a Gantt chart is shown in the following Case Study. |
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| CASE
STUDY |
| Preparing a WBS
and Gantt Chart |
| |
Simone is a branch
manager of a Australian Apprenticeships Centre working in a district that contains
a number of rural towns and outlying Indigenous communities.
Because she is a good networker and listener, Simone is only too well aware
that wherever she goes in the rural areas there is a constant plea for up
to date information about Australian Apprenticeships. It is clear that many of
the Indigenous people she meets are unaware of the Australian Apprenticeships system
and how it could benefit Indigenous people and their communities.
Simone decides that the best way to tackle this problem is to bring all
the information together in some sort of kit that can be taken out and explained
to people in the district, including the Indigenous communities. She believes
that the kit should be released through personal presentations at all key
rural centres.
Identifying the tasks
A key step is to develop an implementation plan. She begins by listing
all the major tasks that need to be done. Her list has about 20 items: |
| • |
identify all
the internal and external stakeholders |
| • |
develop a range
of suitable consultation strategies |
| • |
identify the
information needs/gaps of stakeholders |
| • |
develop design
ideas for the Information Kit |
| • |
select the most
appropriate design |
| • |
gain approval
for Kit production costs |
| • |
assemble information
for Kit and gain clearance |
| • |
draft the Kit
and visual aids |
| • |
get feedback
on Kit design and contents |
| • |
refine Kit and
visual aids |
| • |
arrange for production
of Kit and visual aids |
| • |
determine timing
and location of visits (presentations and meetings) |
| • |
organise guest
speakers from local Indigenous organisations |
| • |
organise venues |
| • |
organise travel
and participant support |
| • |
conduct presentations |
| • |
design questionnaires |
| • |
collect and review
information after presentations adjust programme if necessary |
| • |
follow up users
on suitability of Kit |
| • |
analyse feedback |
| • |
report on project
outcomes make recommendations. |
|
| |
| After reviewing the
task list with her work colleagues, she realises that the tasks can be grouped
under four major kinds of activity: |
| • |
conduct consultations
(Activity 1) |
| • |
design and produce
Kit (Activity 2) |
| • |
plan and deliver
of presentations (Activity 3) |
| • |
evaluate and
report (Activity 4). |
|
| |
Preparing the Work
Breakdown Structure
By sorting the
21 tasks into their respective major activities, she was able to prepare
a WBS for her project. |
| |
 |
Only the first few
items are shown in the WBS to illustrate the process.
Note that in more complex projects, the WBS can be broken into lower
levels of tasks (called sub-tasks). Most project managers use computer programmes
(eg. Microsoft Project) to help them when the complexity increases. |
| |
Identifying the
timelines Gantt Chart
Simones next challenge is to construct a network of her project tasks that
will allow preparation of a Gantt Chart. She believes that this work will
become a valuable tool: |
| • |
for her in
implementing the project in a timely and efficient manner. For example,
if an important task is delayed for reasons that are outside of her
control, she can look to use up some other 'slack time' in the schedule
to try and keep the project on track. |
| • |
for her work
colleagues who will see at a glance the overall status of the project,
both in terms of planned and actual outcomes, at key milestone dates. |
|
| |
| Simone realises that
the network can be constructed using inputs from earlier stages of the planning.
Simone approaches the task by: |
| • |
locating her
WBS |
| • |
estimating the
time for each major activity and each of the component tasks |
| • |
using her knowledge
of dependency relationships to determine the logical sequence of tasks |
| • |
inserting the
task sequences into her Gantt Chart. |
|
| |
 |
| |
| The Gantt Chart can
also plot the actual events against the planned ones. It is simply a matter
of plotting the actual completion times on the Gantt Chart (alongside the
planned timelines). This will show at a glance how the project is proceeding
against the planning schedule. |
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| D5
Preparing for any setbacks |
| |
In this Section
we help you to better prepare for any setbacks in your plans to enhance
Indigenous participation by putting together a plan to manage any known
risks associated with implementing your chosen strategies.
The important thing to remember is that all change involves an element of
risk. However, you will only get improvements in your services to Indigenous
clients if you explore new ideas. The key to success is to have a plan to
identify and deal with the risks that could threaten your initiatives in
this area.
Use the following Activity Sheet D5 to prepare a risk management plan for
your Indigenous participation strategies.
In doing so, you will be following the Australia/New Zealand Risk Management
Standard AS/NZ 4360, which is a risk management methodology that most
private and public sector organisations have adopted. |
 |
| Activity Sheet D5
takes you through the key steps in that methodology, including: |
| • |
identifying risks |
| • |
analysing risks |
| • |
treating risks. |
|
| |
| Your risks can be rated
by using the following table: |
| |
|
Risk
Levels
|
| |
Consequences |
| Likelihood
|
Insignificant
|
Minor
|
Moderate
|
Major
|
Catastrophic
|
| Almost
certain |
High
|
High
|
Extreme
|
Extreme
|
Extreme
|
| Likely
|
Medium
|
High
|
High
|
Extreme
|
Extreme
|
| Possible
|
Low
|
Medium
|
High
|
Extreme
|
Extreme
|
| Unlikely
|
Low
|
Low
|
Medium
|
High
|
Extreme
|
| Rare
|
Low
|
Low
|
Medium
|
High
|
High
|
|
| (adapted from Australian/New
Zealand Standard for Risk Management AS/NZS 4360:1999) |
| |
| The risk levels identified
in the above table are defined as follows: |
|
Extreme |
Extreme
risk. Immediate action is required. |
| High |
High
risk. Should be escalated to senior management. |
| Medium |
Medium
risk. The management responsibility must be specified. |
| Low |
Low
risk. This can be managed by routine procedures. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| ACTIVITY
SHEET D5 |
| Preparing a Risk
Management Plan for Your Proposal |
| |
| We suggest you prepare
a risk management plan by: |
| • |
completing a
risk register, and |
| • |
identifying relevant
risk treatment strategies. |
|
| |
|
Risk
register
|
|
Risk
|
Risk
Assessment
|
Treatment
|
|
(extreme,
high, moderate, low)
|
| 1 |
|
|
| 2 |
|
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| 3 |
|
|
| 4 |
|
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| 5 |
|
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| Risk treatment strategies
for those risks you have decided to treat: |
| |
| Risk 1 |
|
| |
| Risk 2 |
|
| |
| Risk 3 |
|
| |
| Risk 4 |
|
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| Risk 5 |
|
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| D6
Customising the Pathways for Indigenous Australian Apprentices flowchart |
| |
The Pathways for Indigenous
Apprentices flowchart has been designed so that you can adapt it to suit
your local context. If you would like to customise the chart you will need
to order a CD containing a Word file with instructions on using and adapting
the electronic files to suit your situation.
To view Pathway Chart in PDF click on the icon (this
cannot be customised).
(File
size 266
Kb 1 Pages)
Order
Word file with instructions |
| |
| D7
Australian Apprenticeships Image Library |
| |
| Images contained in
the kit can be reproduced in the marketing materials that you develop to
promote your involvement in Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships PROVIDED THAT
YOU OBTAIN WRITTEN PERMISSION IN ADVANCE. If you would like to obtain a
full set of high resolution (print quality) images with graphic file formatting
instructions, please contact: |
| |
 |
Department
of Education, Science and Training
Tel 02 6240 7640
Fax 02 6123 6621
Email: itsp@dest.gov.au
|
|
| |
| FEEDBACK |
| |
We welcome feedback
from users regarding any other information that would assist you to use
this Resource Kit.
Please send your
comments to: |
| |
|
Industry
Training Strategies Section, Industry Training Branch
Vocational Education and Training Group
Department of Education, Science and Training
Location 735
GPO Box 9880
Canberra City ACT 2601
Email: itsp@dest.gov.au
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