Stage Five

GTA has been successful in securing funding from DEST for a further Stage Five Marketing Campaign for group training to run until May 2008. The promotional strategies used in this stage will differ from the previous campaigns with a focus on developing promotional materials that tell the “group training story”. Apprentices, trainees, GTO field officers and host employers will be used to “sell the benefits” of group training. The materials will take various forms including podcasts, video, audio and print profiles of apprentices and trainees, FAQ fact sheets and careers advisor resources.

Input from GTO field officers and marketing personnel has been collected through three email surveys. As the various promotional materials are developed they will be forwarded to GTOs who will then be able to request multiple copies for use in their own local marketing. Initial contact has been made with careers advisers through involvement in a national series of career adviser seminars and feedback from them will inform resource development. GTA will also have an increased presence within the DEST Job Guides nationally, both print and online versions, and at major Career Expos in early 2008.The GTA website will be restructured to maximise the impact of the new promotional materials which will also be integrated into other key VFE sites.

This campaign has been designed to have a long term effect at both the national and local levels, delivering resources that can be used to promote the benefits of group training to audiences of potential apprentices / trainees and host employers.

Enquiries about the campaign can be directed to Leonie Stanfield at the GTA National Office.

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Stage Four Phases One & Two

The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) has funded a fourth stage of the group training national marketing campaign. The objectives continue to be to promote apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities through group training to potential apprentices and trainees, parents, and employers with a particular focus on skills shortage areas. Phase one of this campaign consisted of newspaper and magazine print advertisements and editorial and extensive regional and metropolitan radio live reads. It will ran from October 23 through to the end of November 2005 with some youth magazines extending into January 2006.The advertisements directed enquiries to the 1800 number (which connects to each group training state and territory office) and to the group training website. A pop up screen enabled visitors to request information and they received an email with contact details for GTA member group training organisations. The youth oriented advert developed for this campaign is still available to GTA member organisations to customise for their own use. Contact Leonie Stanfield on 02 92996099 for more information.

Phase Two of the group training national marketing campaign ran from 20 February through to the end of May 2006 and built upon the strong response to radio and press advertising in Phase One. The 1800 phone number and group training website were again the contact points promoted as these enabled campaign enquiries to be measured. Live radio reads (metropolitan and regional) formed a significant part of the campaign, running for 11 weeks from 20 February to 5 May 2006. Advertisements ran in state-based newspapers during this period and in their targeted career features, with editorial and GTO stories included where possible. A promotional teaching resource (Gameboard Flyer) was distributed to careers advisers through mail outs by each state careers advisers association and also nationally through the Australian Careers Service.Additional photos of group training apprentices and trainees in the workplace have been added to the existing pool available for GTOs to use in their own local promotion – available through the GTA members section of the website. Group training also had an exhibition booth at The National Careers & Employment Expo which was run in conjunction with the 2006 WorldSkills National Competition in Melbourne from 5-7 May. In summary the campaign was an outstanding success with the following highlights:

• An increase of 241% in 1800 calls compared to the three weeks immediately prior to the campaign
• Average calls per-week increases over the previous campaign ranged from 390% in WA, 210% in SA, 187% in NSW, 154% in VIC and 144% in QLD
• Information requests for the seven-week campaign period totalled 1100, compared to 1133 for the final thirteen weeks of the previous campaign: an increase of 180% per week
• Radio and online media effectiveness demonstrated by substantial increases in their “Heard from” scores, with radio increasing by 575% and online increasing by 169%
• All industries monitored enjoyed increases in information requests compared to the last campaign, ranging from 500% for automotive, through 200% for metals and engineering, 189% for electrical and electronics, 157% for hospitality and 142% for building and construction
• On website visitation, user sessions increased by 132% in week 1 compared to week prior and user sessions for the seven weeks to December 10 totalled 23,377.

Since the commencement of GTA & DEST funded group training marketing campaigns in February 2003 the number of New Apprentices in group training has increased by 7.1%. Numbers have risen from 38,469 in the April-June 2003 quarter to 40,240 (April-June 2004) and 41,198 (April-June 2005).

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Stage Three

The third stage of the DEST funded group training national marketing campaign promoted the hundreds of career options that are open to young people through the group training network. The campaign was conducted in three phases from the beginning of August to the end of October 2004. Incorporating a mix of print (newspaper and magazines) and radio advertising, this campaign demonstrated to parents and young people that apprenticeships are a valuable career path and that group training organisations are the ideal organisations to assist them. All media choices were the result of survey data indicating they were the best match for the target audiences. A four page colour liftout including testimonials from former group training apprentices was featured in key metropolitan newspapers with good regional reach. Live 30 second breakfast radio advertisements also ran during the first two weeks of August on the following stations: