Desktop Review of the MINTRAC Scholarship Program

Summary

The report reviews the MINTRAC Scholarship Program (MSP) during the period 2008 - 2012. The Program was introduced to enable employee upskilling and also to encourage entry into the meat processing workforce by first-time graduates with no previous experience in the sector. The program was placed on hold in 2011 to enable a project review to occur. 
At one time the program also included postgraduate (mainly Masters and PhD courses) and short project scholarships. The postgraduate scholarship program is now managed by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA). The short project stream was not offered after 2007. 
In its present form the Program comprises employee upskilling and undergraduate scholarships and this report focuses on these two streams. There are 12 scholarships currently active at September 2012, of which two are in the undergraduate stream; the other 10 are part of the employee upskilling stream. 
MINTRAC has administered the Program efficiently over the period under review and has provided evidence of flexibility and innovation in order to give support to scholars; protect the financial and time-based investments of industry and sponsoring companies; and to further develop and enhance the scholarship program. It has consistently adhered to the main objectives of increasing the skills levels of current employees and also seeking to attract prospective undergraduates with tertiary qualifications. 
The findings highlight the need for more information on the present and project capabilities of the meat processing sector employee base in order to provide additional guidance on which disciplines could be encouraged in the future through scholarship awards. It would be highly beneficial for the scholarships program to better understand the capability gaps that currently exist across the industry, so that funds could be applied even more efficiently for the benefit of enterprises and industry over time. 
The project also served to emphasise the amount of professional development currently on the drawing board at enterprises throughout the industry, not just those with large annual turnovers. For many companies, professional development (whether employee upskilling or hiring new graduates) is becoming an integral part of their business development and an integral response to the way these companies are responding to the competitive business environment and the demands of their supply chain partners. 
The main challenges facing the Scholarship Program are to provide support for employees who are attempting to upskill while working full-time; to ensure undergraduates are fully aware of the many opportunities available through employment in the processing sector; to work with processing companies to ensure appropriate job opportunities are available for scholars (undergraduate and upskillers); and to facilitate professional development throughout the workforce. 
The report reviews a range of recommendations from earlier MSP Milestone Reports and audits which could strengthen the Program when it is relaunched in time for the 2013 academic year and provide further indications to industry about the value of the investments being made.