TECHNOLOGY
Technology and Distant education
Melbourne, in other words, the technological hub of Australia with top companies in the country including, many international firms like IBM, Microsoft, Intel etc. Melbourne is the leading destination with world top universities for international students with worlds top most universities. Victoria’s ICT industry is a substantial industry, generating large annual revenue for the nation and provide many job opportunities for the citizens and the immigrants. Many graduates are being produced from Melbourne any other city. Students attending any universities/ colleges has a great opportunity to access the latest technologies. The state government of Victoria provide strong support for research and development for the competitive business environment.
To provide equality and improving standards of education variety of programs and courses for geographically isolated students. In Victoria, the distance education is offered either online or by correspondence through Distant Educational Center Victoria. Upon demand individual subjects/ courses/ or programs are being offered for students by DECV which is not available in their schools. Most modern facilities are supported by technology like virtual classroom electronic library resources and virtual classrooms are often provided for the better educational outcomes. These facilities allow students to engage themselves in discussions, listen to a lecture, access reading tools/ materials, consulting tutor assignment submissions etc. Apart from these various student support services like student counselling, academic advice and technical advice are offered by the institution for student excellence.
Public transport:
In Melbourne, public transport is the easiest mode of transportation to get around the city. On purchasing Myki smart card (Rechargeable) people can have flexible access on buses trains and tramps around the city. There are public transports available in 24/7 around the city. Bike sharing/ car sharing and taxi services are the other alternatives for the transportation. More details about the public transports are available from Public Transport Victoria or from City of Melbourne Travel Smart map, a handy pocket-sized street map.
Teaching in Australia:
Teaching requirements and method of class delivering vary according to the province. Classes are delivered in class /online by means of latest technologies. So it’s essential for HR to make sure the person hired is trained to meet the qualities and requirement. Also, teaching skills are to be assessed by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. Again, the rate of pay for the instructors also varies according to the provinces/ territories in Australia. A new teacher can earn between $65,608 and $69,000 (around £40,000 and £42,000) depending on which state you teach in Australian colleges(“Teaching in Australia: Everything you need to know”, 2018). The academic session is divided into four terms
Term 1 – late January to Easter (two weeks’ holiday)
Term 2 – Easter to late June (two weeks’ holiday)
Term 3 – early July to late September (two weeks’ holiday)
Term 4 – early October to late December (five weeks’ holiday)
Pollution:
Since 1980s air quality has been improved in Austrailia as compared to other cities. Currently, particle pollution is one needing more attention. On recruiting a person its necessary to inform to be cautious about if they are allergic. According to the comparison made by Numbeo the pollution is very low and is similar to Canada. (Living, 2018)
Figure 2:
Best services for writing your paper according to Trustpilot
Figure 2; Australia, C., & Melbourne, T. (2018). Pollution Comparison Between Thunder Bay, Canada And Melbourne, Australia. Numbeo.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018, from https://www.numbeo.com
Technological Availability:
Australia is mainly known for adapting to modern technologies, they are one of the main spenders on technological research and development. Classrooms and lecture halls are well equipped with most available technologies with laptops and internet. For successful career development of the student, Australian colleges and universities provide better research platforms with all required technological resources. In addition, the country itself has made huge investments in stimulating researchers for the Australian economy and scientific innovations. For young and promising professionals it’s an opportunity for developing careers and a bright future with various opportunities. (“Technology | Study in Australia”, 2018). On meeting challenges any person for the job its necessary for providing training for the person hired to get familiar with the technologies that are being used for tutoring in Australia. The professors will be getting strong environmental support including academic support, technical support, level of faculty involvement for decision making.
Faculty evaluation:
In Thunder Bay campus rating of professors are done by conducting online surveys and feedback from students regarding the teaching quality experienced by the students. In Australia, faculty evaluation is similar to that of in confederation college with certain evaluating instruments(“Evaluation of teaching: Education at UWA: The University of Western Australia”, 2018)
Student participation in teaching (SPOT): Students are requested to provide a review about their instructors about their teaching quality on each session.
Student unit reflective feedback (SURF): It’s the tool developed by universities for a rating of units.
On Supervision Candidature And Research (OSCAR). This survey provides the student to rate their postgraduate experience for past twelve months.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The study of population statistics, demographics, has a huge grip on an organizations success level. Demographic factors that should be keenly considered by Human Resources professionals are; the labour market, diversity and generational difference.
Labour market:
Unemployment rates, graduation rates from educational institutions, geographic migration are few factors that determine the availability of people for work. Melbourne is rich with an ample supply of workforce that is skilled and employable. Above 60% of the population is between the age of 20 and 64, the working age. Of this almost 40% hold a managerial or professional position. Decorated with a workforce that is structurally balanced, Melbourne has 54 % of male and 46% of female employees. Around two-thirds of workers are employed full time and approximately one third enjoy part-times. A well-educated society embracing cultural diversity, 35 % of Melbourne’s current workforce is degree qualified or higher and more than 70% has a bachelor’s degree or higher or diploma and certificate.
Since English is the national language and medium of instruction, Confederation College would face zero hindrance in that area as the staffs coming from Canada would not be facing any problems regarding communication. According to the available statistics, most of the Australians are qualified and educated so it would actually initiate no trouble to hire local professionals. Canadians would be appreciated as they are considered as internationally trained professionals with au fait knowledge.
It has been noted that the number of males in teaching field has dropped low. One of the main reasons is the perception that teaching only helps fetch a meagre salary and status. Also teaching is often seen with a feminine touch and social pressures usually push men away from the scenario. Hiring policies can, in fact, initiate a change and bring more males into the teaching field. But bringing more males can cause a rise in the expense and can cause increased budget issues. Gender pay gap, the difference between women’s and men’s income, expressed as a percentage of men’s income, calculated using data available from Australian Bureau of Statistics, is currently 15.3 %. As of now, the full-time total salary gender pay gap based on Workplace Gender Equality Agency data is 22.4%. It means that men working full- time earn about $27,000 a year more when juxtaposed to women working full-time.
Diversity:
Melbourne houses one of the worlds most culturally diverse communities. Above 50% of the population has either one or both parent born abroad. Melbourne’s added diversity began blooming early and recent additions include a large number of international students flocking for better education and opportunities. Approximately one-third of the households are fluent in more than two languages with Greek, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Italian and Mandarin being the top picks after English.
Confederation College would be richly supplemented with students and teachers as this part of the country embraces and welcomes nothing but diversity and change. Increasing diversity in workforce around the world presents challenges as well as opportunities for the organizations. The Human Resources department is sure to be as comfortable as at home in dealing with the myriad cultures available. Familiarity the HR staff has in dealing with multicultural students at Thunder Bay will aid in the transition process at Melbourne.
Generational Differences:
Melbourne is a growing city with the population of 4.6 million people. By 2030 Melbourne is expected to overtake Sidney, Australia’s biggest city due to international and interstate migration, birth rates and life expectancy. Melbourne is the home for a relatively young population with 37 percent of the population aged between 25-49 years. Understanding of generational differences is a major step in establishing a harmonious environment in an organization. The four generations that have an influence in the contemporary workplace are:
Generation ‘Y’- Born since 1981 they are achievement-oriented and complacent. They love flexible and informal workplace and encourage diversity in the workplace.
Generation ‘X’- Born between the mid to late 60s and end of 70s. Independent and self-reliant they are willing to take up challenges.
The Baby Boomers – Born between the end of II world war and early 60s. They strongly rely on their work ethics even sacrificing family and other interests in favour of career advancement.
The Veterans – Born during II world war or earlier. All of them are past retirement age but serves on boards of organizations and are highly influential in public life.
Through an understanding of the generational differences would help the Human Resource department of Confederation College in hiring and retaining talents in the workplace. It can also be helpful in segmenting a workforce and avoiding conflicts. With Melbourne’s level of education and population, it would not be an onerous task for the college to find adequate faculty with valid credentials. Even if training be provided to educate faculty about HR concepts of Confederation College, it will only add to the merit of the workforce. Local faculty when hired has to be trained in HR concepts and teaching methodology so that there would exist no confusion as to what is expected of them irrespective of their gender, culture or generation to which they identify themselves. Concepts of Confederation College are the values on which the college operates. Every single member belonging to the family has to be aware of it to be able to contribute fully and wholeheartedly to the organization.
Conclusion
On working on this project, we Identified the external factors for establishing confederation college in the city of Melbourne, Australia. On careful monitoring of the external and internal factors provided on overview to identify the opportunities and threat of implementing the future plan on considering the external factors like Socio-culture, Demography, economic and technological factors. Working on this project had brought up issues related the human resource sectors and was able to overcome these by various HR strategies. A resourceful country like Australia will provide various opportunities for nationals and internationals as a better platform for career development. Also, this gives confederation college to expand and strengthen its Human resource sector.
