We've been apart of the community for 40 years
Founded
April 11, 1980
Registered company name as ALJUSTREL LTD
Hunter Group Apprenticeship
June 3, 1980
The company began trading in Adamstown as Hunter Group Apprenticeship
Adamstown Branch purchased
January 1, 1991
Our first branch (or workshop as it was formally known) was later closed and sold in 2011.
Hunter Group Training Ltd
April 12, 1994
As the company went from strength to strength and begun diversifying, it was renamed Hunter Group Training.
Become a registered RTO
August 15, 1995
With pressure from state and federal Governments for GTO’s to become financially independent, the company directors made the logical decision to become a Registered Training Organisation. Some of the original qualifications on our scope were things like Tiling, Carpentry, Plumbing, Drilling, Fitting and Turning, Plastering, Painting, Retail and Business. Our original RTO Manager was Mr George Harman.
Work for the Dole program commenced
January 1, 1996
Our hugely successful Work For The Dole program begun in 1996 and later finished in 2014. This program saw an enormous amount of unemployed Australian’s find and keep valuable jobs. Novaskill was one of the original providers of this program in NSW.
Newcastle Branch opened
February 3, 1997
Home to our Head Office and Newcastle-based branch, Novaskill Newcastle is located at 148 Lambton Road, Broadmeadow, NSW 2292.
Moree Branch opened
February 9, 1998
Early 1998 the company opened a branch at Moree to assist training apprentices living in rural NSW. This branch later closed in 2000.
HGT Learning and HGT Personnel
August 5, 1998
New trading names for each arm of the company were established in late 1998. HGT Learning for our RTO and HGT Personnel for our GTO.
HGT Australia Pty Ltd
October 6, 1998
Another name change to HGT Australia Pty Ltd. This is still our name today.
Ballina Branch opened
November 2, 1998
Still operational today, our Ballina branch has become our second-largest branch. Located at 58 Tamar Street, Ballina, NSW 2478.
NSW Centre for Fisheries, Seafood and Maritime Studies opened
February 1, 2000
Located above the Fishermans Co-op at Wickham, Newcastle, this branch taught Seafood Processing and Maritime Studies in cooperation with the Co-Op. This branch later closed in 2005.
Coogee Branch opened
January 1, 2001
To service a growing Sydney market, HGT Australia opened a branch in the beach-side suburb of Coogie. This branch later closed in 2004.
Central Coast Branch opened
January 1, 2002
Originally located in Gosford before moving to Tuggerah, a branch was opened on The Central Coast. This branch is still in Tuggerah and still operational today.
DEST-ARTAP program commenced
May 1, 2002
In a joint effort with The Australian Defence Force, HGT Australia successfully ran the DEST-ARTAP program. The first graduates from this program completed in 2006 with a ceremony in the Newcastle Town Hall.
WorKiT program commenced
May 1, 2002
Ran by our Assistant General Manager, Cathy Webb, and now Assistant GTO Manager, Mitch Maguire, the hugely successful WorKiT program took long-term unemployed Novocastrians into a training (usually Horticulture) and gave them simultaneous on-the-job work experience at a local government housing facility.
East Coast Training
June 5, 2002
The trading name East Coast Training was established and rolled out company-wide.
Coffs Coast Branch opened
January 1, 2003
Still open today, our Coffs Harbour branch is located at Suite 1 – 2, 26 Park Avenue, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450.
Mid North Coast Branch opened
January 1, 2005
Having moved offices several times, our Port Macquarie based office is still open and now located at Suite 2, 40 Gordon Street, Port Macquarie NSW 2444
Nambucca Valley Branch opened
January 1, 2006
Although the office has moved, the Nambucca Heads based branch is still operational today. Located at 18 Bowra Street, Nambucca Heads NSW 2448.
Indigenous logo created
June 2, 2008
Sometime in 2008, one of our talented Indigenous employees, Neil Kinchela, used his talents to design our Indigenous logo. This logo is still used to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to Indigenous communities throughout Australia.
Novaskill was born!
July 17, 2008
In early 2008 it was decided that a rebrand was needed. The managerial team decided to run a competition among internal staff to come up with a new company name. 5 different options went to the Board of Directors (suggestions like Nova Learning, Nova Education etc.) and Novaskill was the winner. Eytomology: Nova – Latin for new and Skill – used since 1300’s to define a sense of ability or cleverness.
Jenny Sivyer Achievement Awards commenced
November 3, 2008
Each year, to recognise the achievements of outstanding Novaskill staff, eligible employees are nominated by their supervisors for the Jenny Sivyer Achievement Award, so named in memory of our much loved and dearly missed colleague and friend Jenny Sivyer. Jenny was our inaugural winner in 2008, winning a trip to Vietnam as a reward for her hard work. Jenny sadly passed away in
Hunter Valley Branch opened
January 5, 2009
Originally located inside TAFE, Novaskill Hunter Valley in Singleton was established in 2009. Novaskill is proud to still have a branch on John Street Singleton today.
9 day fortnight was introduced
January 1, 2010
After 18 months of negotiations, our now Managing Director, Mr Phil Walkley, secured a 9 day per fortnight working roster for all full-time staff.
First use of social media
May 3, 2010
In May 2010, one of Novaskill’s “gen Y’s” Michelle gold, convinced management to create a Facebook account to grow our exposure. In June 2012, the company was excited to announce they had reached over 100 fans. Today Novskill has 15 different Social Media accounts and over 8,000 fans.
Adopted Wisenet Student Management System
December 1, 2010
2010 was the year for technology as the company also began using a new student management system. Previously Escke and Corskill were used.
Mackay Branch opened
January 3, 2011
To service apprentices and students in Far North Queensland, a branch in Mackay opened in 2011. This later closed in 2015.
Indigenous Youth Career Pathways program launch
January 2, 2012
To assist a growing number of disengaged Indigenous youth, Novaskill was proud to work hand-in-hand with the NSW Government in the IYCP program.
Conserving Country Training Strategy
April 2, 2012
In a joint venture with our already close partners, Coal and Allied, a small group pf determined and dedicated Indigenous staff set about to assist Hunter-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to build and maintain prosperous trade-based careers.
Indigenous Skills Center opening
September 26, 2012
Over 100 special guests and dignitaries packed the Indigenous and Industry Skill Centre for its official opening including Member for Newcastle Minister Tim Owen, and representatives from Jill Hall, Greg Combet and Sharon Greirson’s offices. The newly refurbished facility featured a striking orange facade (still there today) and cost $1.9 million dollars. Targeted specifically toward indigenous Australians, early school leavers and high needs unemployed, the Indigenous and Industry Skills Centre is a welcoming space, centrally located, and easily accessible. It included interactive “mock” workplaces like a building and constructions workshop, hospitality cafe, a retail outlet, aged care facility and IT lab for IT and business services training. Skills workshops were on display on the day with dozens of course participants showing off their developing skills.
AAMPED Mentoring program launched
November 5, 2012
The Australian Government Initiative known as ISMAA (industry Specialist Mentoring for Australian Apprentices), was rolled out in Novaskill as AAMPED. The aim of the program was to increase the retention rates of Australian Apprentices, particularly in the first 12 months of training, in order to improve completion rates and support the supply of skilled workers in sectors and occupations where there was a current or emerging need for skilled labour.
South East Queensland Branch opened
January 1, 2013
With a clear need for services in the state of Queensland, Novaskill decided to expand over the border. Although having a few different office locations (including Springwood and Labrador), the Novaskill South East Queensland branch is still operational and is currently inside the Eureka Building, on Short St, Southport QLD 4215.
USI was introduced
January 1, 2015
From January 1, 2015, all Australian students needed to obtain a USI – Unique Student Identifier. This number was theirs for life and was linked to an online record of all nationally accredited qualifications.
Smart and Skilled introduced in NSW
January 5, 2015
The NSW Government has introduced new fee arrangements for government-subsidised vocational education and training (VET). Implemented on 1 January 2015 with Smart and Skilled, they are based on advice from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) and consultation with industry and the community.
NovaJobMatch App was launched
February 9, 2015
After months of research and development, Novaskill launched it’s NovaJobMacth App. The App intended to use the latest data profiling and analytics to help find the right apprentices to fit our most suitable host employer.
HGT Australia International College opened
March 18, 2015
With a slowing Australian economy, Novaskill made a very bold move to expand internationally. The Federal Government has recently signed an International Trade Agreement with China, so many years of research and travel went into building the HGT Australia International College in Australia and establishing close relationships with a number of Chinese deligates. At its peak, the college educated students from over 18 different countries.
Indigenous Employment Pathways Support Program
June 6, 2016
Designed to improve employment opportunities and experiences within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, this program was successfully run by Novaskill for over 2 years. . Participants undertake a combination of on the job and formal training resulting in a nationally recognised diploma-level qualification, specialising in human resources, procurement or project management.
Skilling QLDers for Work launched
July 4, 2016
Skilling Queenslanders for work was a State-funded program Novaskill successfully secured in July 2016. The program was to employ Construction Trainees through our Group Training Organisation for 6 months, working on a community project before being placed into full-time apprenticeships.
Employability Skill Training begun
June 12, 2017
Designed to help long-term unemployed individuals develop the necessary fundamental skills for job-seeking, this program is still running very successfully across most of the Novaskill footprint.
Establishment of The Sistahood
October 27, 2017
The Sistahood is a network of strong, supportive, and dedicated women of Novaskill who are responsible for driving new ideas and implementing change on issues and topics that affect women in our business, our industry and our community. Currently chaired by company Accountant, Shae Prescott.
Establishment of Phil Walkley Scholarship Award
March 28, 2018
Named in honor of our Managing Director, Mr. Phil Walkley, this scholarship rewards one outstanding employee with an opportunity to further their career and create new opportunities in an experience outside of Novaskill.
Local Government Group Training established
March 29, 2018
LGGT was established to deliver expertise and experience in apprenticeship and traineeship employment services, very specifically within Local Government and Council areas.
Correctional Services Program started
April 8, 2019
In a strategic partnership, Novaskill secured a contract with NSW Correctional Services to deliver specific and specialisaed Nationally Accredited Training to inmates.
TriSpace Training established
December 2, 2019
With a heavy focus on micro-credentialing, the TriSpace Training Model was developed by now-former RTO Manager, MR Phillip Reed. This training focused on small bit-sized courses that could be built upon to become on larger nationally recognised qualiication.
Indigenous Career Pathways Program
February 3, 2020
To continue our excellent work in local Indigenous Communities, Novaskill began work on the ICPP program to ensure prosperity and education in local Indigenous communities.
Covid-19 pandemic
March 30, 2020
As the Coronavirus pandemic worsened and Prime Minister, Mr Scott Morison forced an essential lock-down on all Australians, all Novaskill employees began working from home and finding new and innovative ways to continue the education and work of our apprentices, trainees, and students. Most workers return to primarily office-based work after 8 weeks.