Employees, whether existing or future, are key stakeholders in most projects, and their issues and concerns are very important in project development. In many cases, existing employees will have direct input into the project, through the development of the output specification.
Employment security and preservation of employment conditions and entitlements are of paramount importance to workers. Accordingly, when developing specific project delivery options, employee concerns need to be considered and appropriately addressed.
The focus of the employee, employment and skills development assessment is as follows:
• Employee stakeholder consultation: It is recommended that the government project team open lines of communication with employees, employee groups and unions early in the project timetable in order to promote an understanding of the project, and to avoid negative sentiment due to lack of information and potential mis-truths. Dialogue in these contexts should be open and consultative, with the aim of ensuring effective change management mechanisms can be developed and implemented during project development
• Employment and training impact statement: The government project team is required to instigate an employment and training impact statement. Agencies should make reference to the Department of Employment and Training's Employment and Skills Development Impact Statement, which provides guidelines and a template for the preparation of such an impact statement.
In accordance with the guidelines, an employment and training impact statement is intended to assess the likely impact of the project on employment and skills development, (be it positive or negative) and to identify where employment and skills development opportunities are being generated.