After the success and positive feedback from Inscope apprentice students from the July session, we are pleased to offer more dates for the Mates Apprentice Resilience Program.

This free program is a fantastic opportunity to support your apprentice’s wellbeing and exceed your WH&S obligations.

Mates Apprentice Resilience program was developed based on recommendations from the 2020 Australian Institute for Suicide and Prevention and Griffith University report that identified that apprentices and young workers in the construction industry are overrepresented in the incidence and impact of bullying and mental health, and are at higher risk of suicide.

The program covers skill development in:

• Resilience and Self-care,
• Workplace Bullying,
• Workplace Rights,
• Financial Management,
• Alcohol and Other Drugs, and;
• Suicide and Mental Health.

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We are pleased to announce as of 1 July 2023 Inscope Training will offer CPC31220 Certificate III in Wall and Ceiling Lining training to plastering apprentices located in NSW.

This training will be subsidised by the NSW Government Smart and Skilled program.

As part of this agreement, Inscope Training will help address the skills gap by delivering industry-relevant training that meets the evolving needs of both employers, apprentices and the industry.

NSW trade businesses and apprentices will benefit from our customised and accessible approach to training. We blend online theory with onsite practical training and assessment, giving apprentices more time working onsite, and training with us when and where it suits them and their employer.

The Smart and Skilled program began in 2015 and has been effective in delivering training in key qualifications and geographic and occupational areas. The last time registered training organisations (RTOs) had a broad opportunity to enter Smart and Skilled was in 2017.

Contact us for an obligation-free discussion on how our flexible and quality plastering apprentice training can work for you.

The NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled program provides eligible students with quality fee free vocational training and education. This program has become instrumental in meeting the increasing demand for skilled workers in priority industries within the state.

Inscope Training has invited Mates in Construction to deliver their Mates Apprentice Resilience Program to Inscope Training apprentice students.

This free program is a fantastic opportunity to support your apprentice’s wellbeing and exceed your WH&S obligations.

Mates Apprentice Resilience program was developed based on recommendations from the 2020 Australian Institute for Suicide and Prevention and Griffith University report that identified that apprentices and young workers in the construction industry are overrepresented in the incidence and impact of bullying and mental health, and are at higher risk of suicide.

The program covers skill development in:

• Resilience and Self-care,
• Workplace Bullying,
• Workplace Rights,
• Financial Management,
• Alcohol and Other Drugs, and;
• Suicide and Mental Health.

Read more …

The amendment to the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) to include a prohibition on sexual harassment, came into effect on 6 March 2023.

The amendment protects workers, prospective workers and persons conducting or undertaking a business from sexual harassment.

Under these changes, employers could be vicariously liable for sexual harassment of their workers, unless an employer can demonstrate they took “all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct from occurring”.

One reasonable step to protecting yourself and your workers is to provide appropriate training. Our Sexual Harassment in the Workplace awareness course is 100% self paced online and defines what is sexual harassment in the workplace, the legal liability and responsibilities, the impact of sexual harassment, and what it means to be an active bystander.

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The information provided in this article is a general guide only. Refer to the QBCC website for detailed and up to date information.

Once you successfully complete your trade apprenticeship, you’ve become a qualified tradesperson and no longer an apprentice. However, to perform work over $3300 in value in Queensland, you must either work for an employer with a Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) licence or apply for your own QBCC licence.

There are many different QBCC licenses but generally the first step after finishing a carpentry, painting, tiling and lining apprenticeship is a Trades Contractors licence (Note: Trades such as plumbing, electrical and gas require a special licence.)

A Trade Contractors licence allows the individual or company to enter into contracts directly with a property owner, builder, principal contractor or developer. A trade contractor licensee can engage qualified people in the same trade class as their own licence, or engage and supervise unlicensed contractors. They can also subcontract to a builder.

To apply for a Trade Contractors licence you need:

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Providing and and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace for yourself and your workers, volunteers, customers and visitors is not only the law, it has some added benefits including:

• improved health and wellbeing.
• greater productivity.
• increased job satisfaction.
• greater work participation and increased social inclusion.
• increased individual, team and organisational resilience.
• lower absenteeism rates.
• less workplace injury and workers' compensation claims.

There are many factors to take into consideration when meeting your obligations to provide a safe workplace with one of the most important being employee training.

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Identifying Electrical Hazards in the Workplace

This article shares some information about Inscope's Electrical Safety Awareness course and how you can keep safe or how a business can keep their staff safe from electrical hazards in the workplace.

On average fifteen people die every year in Australia from electrical accidents in the workplace. The most common reasons for these deaths include:

• Lack of training or supervision
• Incorrect work practices
• Lack of maintenance
• A hazardous workplace environment
• Faulty or damaged electrical equipment
• Unauthorised repairs on electrical equipment

There are some simple tasks you can undertake to identify electrical hazards in the workplace to protect yourself and your co-workers:

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WHSQ has issued a Safety Alert for Fit Testing respirators

The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 highlights the importance of fit testing for tight-fitting respirators for workers who need to use them.

While the Regulator outlines the requirements for persons who carry out fit test, i.e. they must have:

• a knowledge of the respirators used for the fit test
• knowledge of the fit-test method
• ability to set up all applicable equipment and monitor its function.
• ability to carry out the test and evaluate the results.
• ability to identify likely causes of fit-test failure

There is now no reason for any company or workers in Australia not to do this course - Wearing, Fitting & Checking Masks

If you require your workers to undertake this training don't hesitate to contact us for group discounted fees.

22-28 November 2021 is National Asbestos week. This year's campaign asks Australians to Think Twice About Asbestos. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness amongst the public and key trades about the health risks associated with exposure to asbestos fibres. Asbestos is still present in millions of homes, as well as public and commercial buildings across Australia. In homes built before 1990, asbestos can still be found anywhere, affecting 1 in 3 homes nationwide.

Asbestos fibres can pose a risk to health if airborne, as inhalation is the main way that asbestos enters the body causing mesothelioma, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, laryngeal cancer, asbestosis, COPD, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, pleural effusion and atelectasis. The use of asbestos is prohibited in Australia. Building materials supplier USG Boral earlier this month discovered “low levels” of asbestos in products it had imported from China causing the temporary close down of the Brisbane Queens Wharf project (McLeod 2021; Dennis 2021).

This article shares some information about Inscope's Asbestos Awareness course and how you can keep safe or how your business can keep your staff safe from Asbestos exposure in the workplace.

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Here at Inscope Training we are proud of our reputation as a provider of high-quality training to the Australian trades industries so we obviously use the most up-to-date technology and learning resources.

As most would probably be aware quite a few of the units in the new CPC packages require students to review, amend and/or create JSA and SWMS’s.

This process can be quite onerous for students to create and for trainers to mark, so as usual, the crew at Ammonite used their experience and cutting edge technical skills to create a free SWMS/JSA Generator to make these activities valid, intuitive, and to provide students with the tools and skills they need to survive.

The tool is available here.
Of course, they also provide a short instructional video on how to use the tool.