Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Minister for Vocational and Further Education) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for his question and acknowledge the wonderful work he has done to help get the Australian Technical College, Northern Tasmania off the ground. This government has been working to a multibillion dollar plan to tackle labour and skills shortages. It is a plan that has already made a major contribution. It is an important part of the continuing success of our economy, and it is a success already. I will give you some examples. In 2006, four times as many young people started a bricklayers apprenticeship than in 1996. In 2006, nearly four times as many young people started a plasterer’s apprenticeship than in 1996. The list goes on and on through dozens of trades. In fact, last year, in 2006, 142,000 people completed apprenticeships compared with a paltry 32,000 in 1996.

Importantly, the government’s plan, which has delivered so much already, is also a plan for the future because demand for skills will continue. It will continue because of the strength of the economy, amongst other issues—the year-on-year uninterrupted growth that we have had. The 30-year low in unemployment will continue to put significant demands on skills. So this plan for the future not only includes a raft of initiatives to give us the capacity to train more people but also, very importantly, is about elevating the status of technical training so that people can be justly proud to pursue a career in a trade. Elevating the status of technical training is necessary because Labor—those opposite—have spent more than 20 years telling parents that unless their children go onto a university education they have failed them.

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