Training.gov.au Project Blog

Project governance and the team

The governance and accountability structure of the training.gov.au development project consists of the following elements:

• Project Vision
• Project Objectives
• Guiding Principles
• The Navigation Projects Management Commitee
• A number of Reference Groups
• The Project Management Team

Project Vision

All training.gov.au work relates to the achievement of the following vision endorsed by the NPMC:

support the industry-led National Training System by providing a technology infrastructure that gives access to authoritative information for regulatory and informational purposes.

Project Objectives

All training.gov.au work relates to the achievement of the following set of objectives endorsed by the NPMC:

• enable the efficient and effective implementation and operation of national protocols for the regulation and performance monitoring of the National Training System by being a single, authoritative source of identified data;
• facilitate the timely and reliable endorsement, publication and distribution of industry’s standards for competence: Training Package content;
• facilitate the effective functioning of the training market by providing online access to information about VET in Australia, including details of National Training System arrangements, nationally recognised training stock and approved training providers.

Guiding Principles

Training.gov.au is being developed in accordance with the following set of Guiding Principles:

Principle 1 - The internet solution will reflect national VET policy objectives, decisions, agreements, legislation, standards and initiatives, particularly the objective of an ‘industry-led system’.
Principle 2 - The internet solution’s scope will be determined by evidence of:

• end-user/stakeholder need and support;
• anticipated outcomes relative to the strategic objectives; and
• initial and ongoing cost-effectiveness.

Principle 3 - The internet solution will be designed and developed to meet the needs and preferences of the people and organisations being served.
Principle 4 - Each component of the vision will be aligned to clearly defined, documented cost-effective and practical business processes supported by those involved.
Principle 5 - Solutions will be planned, implemented and supported using proven mechanisms, approaches, methodologies and documentation for the development and management of IT systems.
Principle 6 - All data in the internet solution will be described in a published data dictionary aligned to relevant standards developed by NCVER and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Principle 7 - The component parts of the vision will be implemented on shared physical and application infrastructure, using products supported by a commercially viable supplier and using openly defined standards.

The Navigation Projects Management Commitee

Overall governance of the project is the responsibility of the Navigation Projects Management Committee (NPMC), a sub-committee of the National Senior Officials Committee.  The group sets the overall strategic objectives and principles of the project, makes final decisions on priorities and scope and establishes Reference Groups to advise on requirements for specific system components.

The group typically holds 4-5 face-to-face meetings per year, and is consulted ‘out of session’ where its feedack is required more urgently.   The current membership of the NPMC is:

• Helen McLaren, Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
• Andrew Boorman, South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology
• Jeannie Cotterell, Australian Capital Territory Department of Education and Training
• Grant Challis, National Centre for Vocational Education Research
• Jane Holt, Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training
• Mike Brough, Skills Tasmania jointly with Phil Geeves, Tasmanian Qualifications Authority
• Ian Gibson, Academy of Interactive Entertainment (representing the Australian Council for Private Education and Training)
• Wayne Hoare, Victorian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development
• Mary Hicks, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (representing the National Industry Skills Committee)
• John Italiano, Box Hill TAFE (representing Tafe Directors Australia)
• Brenda Micale, Western Australian Department of Education and Training
• Cheryll Meade, TVET Australia Quality and Recognition
• Dianne Orr, Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts
• Bob Paton, Manufacturing Skills Australia (representing Industry Skills Councils)
• John Quick, Australian Industry Group (representing the National Industry Skills Committee)
• Graham Foster, TVET Products and Services
• Margaret Willis, New South Wales Department of Education and Training

Information specifically for NPMC members will be made available in a special NPMC area of this blog.

Reference Groups

The Reference Groups are established by the NPMC to advise it, and the project management team, about how the specific components of the system should work.  Each reference group consists of representatives from the groups that will need to use the relevant component(s).  The reference groups meet on an ad-hoc basis and report to the NPMC.  To ensure effective communication, each group includes one or more NPMC members.

The current Reference Groups are:

• End-User Reference Group, advising on how the three public websites and WebServices Consumer Interface should work.
• Training Package Content Platform Reference Group, advising on how the Training Package Content Repository and associated tools should work.
• Regulatory Reference Group, advising on how the Regulatory Repository and associated tools should work.

Project Leadership Team

The day-to-day work of the project is undertaken by the project team, located within the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.  The project team is lead by a Project Leadership Team which meets daily and consists of:

• Alison Cleary, Project Director with overall responsibility for the project team.
• Nathanael Boehm, Build Stream Manager with responsibiliy for business analysis, documentation, development and testing of the system.
• Peter Laycock, Enabling Stream Manager with responsibility for data migration, content, media, communications, design and multimedia.
• Martyn Yang, Usability Advisor with responsibility for ensuring that all user interfaces meet end-user requirements.
• Jonathon Ross, Business Advisor with responsibility for ensuring that all system functionality reflects policy objectives and legislative requirements.