Hello,
Let's talk about skills.
When I recently handed out gold medals to podium finishers, it was not for sport but for skills. The World Skills Australia National Championships Closing Ceremony was a wonderful event that celebrated 470 young Australians who competed in over 60 skills to be named Australia’s best apprentices and trainees. I represented the Minister of Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor to share the success of our young people in achieving excellence in vocational training. They came from schools and vocational training colleges from across Australia having been selected to compete in areas like cyber, construction, patisserie, manufacturing, game design, fitting, automotive and nursing to name a few. Wave after wave of youngsters came to the podium to rapturous applause and whoops from their peers and families bursting with pride. It’s about time we create diverse and faster economic pathways for young people that take them straight into in-demand careers. As I said on the night,
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Human capital, with the right investment, will form the basis of our future prosperity- something the Albanese Government pushes by regarding an apprenticeship as equivalent to a university degree. This is why one of our earliest initiatives was the Jobs and Skills Summit in September 2022 followed by the release of 180,000 fee-free TAFE places in areas of demand.
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Whether it’s in clean energy, the care economy, agriculture, hospitality and tourism, construction, technology, or the need for sovereign capability in manufacturing, investing in a skilled workforce is vital to our energy transformation, the workers needed for an aging population, and in re-industrialising Australia as we move from a resource intensive country to a country that makes stuff.
This stands in contrast to what we inherited when we came to Government. There were at least 85,000 fewer vocational training places in 2021 compared to 2013, because successive Liberal Governments failed to plan and invest in our most valuable asset - our people. We came into Government faced with a sobering assessment that Australia had the second highest labour shortage per capita among OECD countries.
New figures show that we have smashed our goal of reaching 180,000 Fee-Free TAFE enrolments for 2023, with more than 214,300 enrolments 6 months ahead of schedule.
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The highest uptake has been in the care sector, (health, aged care, and disability care) attracting more than 51,000 enrolments. Other areas include construction, technology, and early childhood education. The data also shows that we are creating pathways out of disadvantage with students including job seekers, people with a disability, and First Nations Australians. Our Government believes that skills are the pathway out of disadvantage and into participation - so do thousands of young and older Australians.
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But we’re not signing off. Apprentices need support as dropout rates of 46% are unacceptably high. They need the scaffolding to improve completion rates. That’s why we are providing $54.3 million in critical non-financial supports to improve completion rates. These supports and services will be targeted at improving outcomes for First Nations apprentices, apprentices with disability, those who live remotely, women in male-dominated trades and others who experience barriers to completing their apprenticeship. We’re also investing $436 million in the Commonwealth Foundation Skills programs to improve literacy, numeracy, and digital skills.
Investing in skills is not only transformative for individuals, but for our economy as well. In fact, our race to net zero depends upon it. The Australian energy market operator (AEMO) has predicted that our energy workforce needs to grow by 12,000 jobs by 2025 and peak at 81,000 jobs in 2049. That’s why we are investing $95.6 million to support 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships. We have made a $40 billion investment into clean energy infrastructure, including hydrogen capture, offshore wind, upgrading the grid, solar thermal and green hydrogen. But we must invest in the talent to make this transformation a reality.
The AUKUS plan for Australia to acquire and manufacture nuclear-powered submarines will create around 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30 years. AUKUS will be the most transformative industrial endeavour in our history – exceeding in scale, complexity, and economic significance of our automotive industry which was waved away by the Abbot Government. The 2023-24 budget invests nearly $150 million in 4,000 STEM university places, a national skills taskforce, and an extension of the defence industry pathways program in shipbuilding. AUKUS, like our energy transformation will help re-industrialise Australia. This is why we are investing in the complementary pathways of vocational training and university reform through the University Accord Process. As part of a $3.7 billion National Skills Agreement currently being negotiated, we are intent on creating new Centres of Excellence in our TAFEs, in partnership with industry, universities and students to address critical challenges in our economy.
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I recently visited Holmesglen TAFE to celebrate the 75th year anniversary of their Adult Migrant English Program. The Albanese Labor Government has committed $20 million in additional funding over 4 years for this program. Our migrants come with valuable skills but without language proficiency, are held back from full participation.
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The career pathways for our young and older people seeking to re-train run through the vocational training and university. Programs like English language and foundational skills provide the scaffolding which is strengthened by mentors, families and carers who swell with pride when students thrive. I want our community to know that VET is a great choice for anyone who wants to study what they love in a practical, hands-on environment where learners get real-world experience that makes them employable.
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