WHAT QUALIFICATIONS?

There are a number of qualifications funded under the User Choice program, though the ones currently offered within Mynesight’s scope of registration are:

RII20320 Certificate II in Underground Coal Mining
This qualification supports employees who work within the resource sector, including surface mining, quarrying, mine services and port operations. It may also be suitable for surface employees within an underground mining operation. The roles fulfilled by these employees generally includes production operators, processing operators, terminal operators and plant/equipment maintenance personnel, who perform tasks involving a broad range of skilled applications in a varied work context, using some discretion and judgement in selecting equipment, services or contingency measures (i.e. Certificate III Level).

RII20315 Certificate II in Underground Coal Mining Operations
This qualification reflects the role of an individual working as an operator in an underground coal mine, who performs a range of mainly routine tasks using limited practical skills and fundamental operational knowledge, in a defined context working under direct supervision.

Licensing, legislative, regulatory and certification requirements that apply to this qualification can vary between states, territories, and industry sectors. Relevant information must be sourced prior to application of the qualification.

COSTS INVOLVED

All trainees must be paid according to the award relevant to the employers’ workplace – some awards include a specific section for trainees where others do not. To participate in a traineeship they must be employed in a permanent capacity. In some awards a trainee is only employed for the length of the traineeship whereas others this is not the case. Employers need to carefully consider and negotiate the employment arrangements prior to signing into the traineeship.

Generally, traineeships require a student contribution fee of $1.60 per nominal training hour regardless of the level of funding from the State Government User Choice funding – depending on the employee’s award this can be payable by the employee or the employer. All course costs should be carefully negotiated with Mynesight prior to commencing the traineeship.

The government pays part of your training costs directly to Mynesight. The amount may be between 50% and 100% of your course costs depending on the priority classification of the qualification. The remaining training costs (a co-contribution fee) need to be paid to Mynesight. The fee may be paid on your behalf by a third party such as your employer or your parents, but Mynesight cannot pay for it.

For more information please visit the following website here.

ARE ALL EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE?

To be eligible for funding within the User Choice program, employees of your business must be engaged as either;

• Part Time Employees (minimum of 15hrs week)
• Full Time Employees (minimum of 38hrs week)

They can be new or existing employees, who in some cases may also be eligible for additional federal incentives. Other factors may also influence the employee’s eligibility and it is strongly suggested that each employee’s eligibility is assessed against the specific requirements for the nominated qualification prior to finalising any traineeship arrangements. This is a very simple exercise of providing an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) Provider, the relevant employee’s name, DOB, the date they commenced employment with your company. The AASN Provider will assess the information provided and advise of their funding eligibility.

NATIONAL TRAINING CONTRACT

Traineeships need to be signed up through National Training Contracts in order to access User Choice funding. The AASN Provider is an experienced provider of these services. They will attend your premises and assist you and your participants with completion of the necessary paperwork. At the same time, they will go through employer and Australian Apprentice obligations. Once the National Training Contract is completed, the AASN Provider will notify Mynesight, lodge with the State Training Authority and ensure that all parties to the National Training Contract are provided with copies of the forms in a very timely manner (within 2-5 days).

The signing of this contract also triggers the relevant funds to be released (as eligible) to the employer and Mynesight.

HOW DOES THE TRAINING HAPPEN?

Mynesight, employer and trainee design a training plan within the requirements of the chosen qualification that best reflects the work they will participate in and the work they are training towards being competent in. The training plan outlines the competencies to be covered, an approximate time line as well as details regarding delivery and assessment.

Consideration needs to be given within the training plan to the delivery format (e.g. online, workbook, face to face, workplace visits) and what best suits the employer and employees. Dependant on the industrial agreement used in your workplace in the majority of cases part time and full time staff are required to be paid for the time spent in off the job training or in their own time, though this varies from award to award.

ACCESS TO RELEVANT WORKPLACE PLANT, EQUIPMENT, TASKS

In order for your employees to be able to undertake the traineeship within the User Choice Program, Mynesight as the SRTO must first assess your company’s workplace(s) to confirm that the employees have access to the resources necessary to successfully undertake the required training. This includes;

• Suitably qualified persons in the workplace to coach, mentor and supervise their training progression
• A range of relevant plant and equipment on which they can complete training required by the qualification
• A range of suitable work tasks and associated procedures

USER CHOICE TRAINEESHIPS

This page aims to provide further information to employers who are interested in understanding the requirements and benefits of this program, and the steps involved in assisting their employees gain access to this funding opportunity.

Further information can also be obtained by accessing the following Queensland Government websites here and here.

Mynesight is approved as a Pre-Qualified Supplier (PQS) to participate in the delivery of a range of Queensland Government funded training programs as a Supervising Registered Training Organization (SRTO).

HOW DO I ACCESS THIS FUNDING?

For further details please contact Mynesight on 07 4952 4413 or email training@mynesight.com.au.

This traineeship is not intended to create more administration work on site and as such Mynesight has admin personnel who can be deployed to site to assist with setting up and coordination as part of the traineeship.