Ken Ticehurst (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a result of strong industry and community support, 21 of the 25 Australian technical colleges are expected to be in operation in 2007, which is well ahead of the schedule announced at the 2004 election. This has resulted in additional costs over a five-year period, which this bill seeks to address. The Australian Technical Colleges (Flexibility in Achieving Australia’s Skills Needs) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2006 will increase the total funding for the ATC initiative from $343.6 million to $456.2 million—an increase of $112.6 million over the period from 2006 to 2009.

While it is fantastic that youth in many parts of the country will have the option of this flexible approach to education and training sooner than anticipated, I must express my disappointment and frustration that the technical college in my electorate of Dobell has been held up because of the New South Wales Labor government’s continual political games. The Central Coast ATC would have been up and running in 2007 had it not been for the New South Wales Labor government delaying the granting of a licence. I understand this has also occurred in other electorates in New South Wales and in Western Australia. But we all know what Labor does when it is threatened by good policy: it stands in the way and denies communities of important projects.

The Australian government and Central Coast industries are working together to provide and promote technical training for youth across the whole region, while the New South Wales government tries to stifle these moves—purely for political gain. The local New South Wales Department of Education and Training have been very cooperative and they understand the need to work together to avoid an unnecessary duplication of facilities. However, I understand that the New South Wales Labor government is now refusing to sign a memorandum of understanding to provide the education component for the project, adding further delays to the project. We all know that Labor has a limited grasp of the technical college concept and how valuable it will be for areas with a high youth population and a rapidly growing employment base. It cannot seem to grasp that the technical college initiative will serve to complement TAFE, rather than duplicate it, by providing young Australians with the opportunity to commence their training in a traditional trade through a school based apprenticeship at certificate III level while at the same time completing academic subjects leading to their year 12 certificate.

The additional funding in the bill will provide a capacity for ATCs to provide high levels of support to both students and the employers who engage students as Australian school based apprentices. This is another initiative that the New South Wales Labor government has held up for so long, denying thousands of young people in New South Wales opportunities, options and a say in their future. Instead, state Labor attempted to fool Australians with hollow promises and trade schools, which are nothing like the Australian Government’s ATCs, as they do not offer trade training to certificate III and certificate IV level.

One of the best things about these technical colleges, and something that really sets them apart from other VET initiatives, is their flexibility. Each college has been encouraged to pursue a model that best meets the needs of the region in which it is established. Students and employers are attracted by this flexibility. Employers are able to influence the curriculum to ensure their apprentices are work-ready, and students are able to undertake on-the-job training at times that suit their employer. Students can also work towards two qualifications at once. One student commented that he had been trying to decide whether to stay at school and complete his senior certificate or to start an apprenticeship. He was over the moon when he heard that he could combine the two. This flexibility has resulted in the operational costs necessary to get each college up and running being higher than expected. These costs vary from college to college because every operational model is different. In my electorate of Dobell, on the Central Coast, trade qualifications are vital. In fact, I have recently been involved in a Central Coast apprentice drive with a local organisation called Central Coast Group Training, and we have been working to encourage businesses to take on apprentices, with great results. The plan was to employ one apprentice or trainee per day for 30 days. This program has been running for two weeks, and so far 15 new trainees have been signed on. They are handling about 150 apprentices and trainees currently and they are tied in to make that 200 during this year.

The abolition of technical schools by the states many years ago has meant that over the past few decades our young people have lacked training and skills pathways. The price we have paid is the severe trade skill shortages we are currently experiencing in many of our key industries. Indeed, when I went to school at Granville we had a technical high school there. Technical high schools existed in many other suburbs around Sydney. Many kids learned a lot of their hands-on trades at school.

Those schools no longer exist; they were abandoned by Labor. Labor pursued higher education and just forgot the skills that were really needed to keep this country going. This is why the establishment of technical colleges is vital for the Central Coast. While take-up of places at the University of Newcastle’s Central Coast campus is higher than ever, there are an exceeding number of students in years 11 and 12 on the coast who do not want to go on to university but want to study trades.

Residents and businesses on the Central Coast are grateful that our local area has been chosen to house one of the 25 technical colleges. The good thing about this technical college and why it is a revolution for our young people is the way they are getting trade training. The college is industry-led, which means local employers in the region are working with education providers to establish a college that responds directly to the needs of local industry, resulting in students making a smooth transition into the workplace and local areas having access to a supply of highly qualified workers who will be trained according to local industry requirements.

The Central Coast Manufacturers Association is doing a fantastic job to get the ATC under way and has been fully supported locally by association members including Albany International, Sara Lee, ADC Krone, Gibbens Industries, Masterfoods, Adhesives Research, Gosfern, Thermit Australia and Pacific Labels. These industries are further supported by the involvement of Australian Business Ltd, the Master Builders Association, the NRMA and the Gosford District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, just to name a few. On the Central Coast, trade training will be offered in the engineering trades, construction, electro-technology, automotive trades and commercial cookery.

The bill takes into account that in some cases a newly established school will be the most effective delivery model to meet their regional needs. The ATCs also need to ensure students are trained using the latest tools and equipment. While all ATCs have been encouraged to work closely with existing training providers, including TAFE, to utilise existing infrastructure in their region, the ATCs have in some cases been required to contribute funding for this infrastructure to be refurbished or upgraded.

Recently Mr Lester Searle, who was the campus director for the Wyong and Gosford TAFE, gave me an extensive tour of the facilities at Wyong. It was encouraging to see that facilities for commercial cookery and plumbing were really superior, and very few institutions in the area had anything like it. In fact, the plumbing school is probably one of two or three in the state. We really need to make sure that these facilities are not duplicated. Indeed, the ATCs can provide a training ground and provide a student feed into these TAFEs.

The Australian government is committed to building a nation in which high-quality technical education is as valued as a university qualification. Some 70 per cent of young people do not go directly from school to university and many choose to undertake vocational and technical education and apprenticeships. The Australian government values and respects these choices. The Australian technical colleges initiative is just one of a range of vocational and technical education initiatives that the Australian government is delivering during 2006 to 2009.

In fact, this government’s investment over that period will total more than $11.3 billion, the biggest commitment to vocational and technical education by any government in Australia’s history. The investment includes $781 million over five years from the Skills for the Future package, which is 93 per cent of the total funding; helping to ease the early financial burden on apprentices by providing apprentices starting an eligible apprenticeship with: a tool kit worth up to $800; a $1,000 Commonwealth trade learning scholarship, with $500 paid at the successful completion of each of the first and second years of an apprenticeship in an eligible trade with a small or medium size business; an extension of the living away from home allowance to third-year apprentices who have moved away from home to take up or remain in an apprenticeship; and $10.6 million over four years to extend incentives for employers of higher level apprentices in key growth areas.

Australia is proud to have a world-class training system which many countries around the world try to emulate. The Australian government is committed to maintaining our high-quality training system by focusing on flexibility and being responsive to industry needs. I urge the New South Wales government to forget 24 March and sign the MOU so that duplication on the Central Coast will not be needed. The Australian technical colleges initiative is part of a long-term plan by the Australian government to build the status and prestige of the trades, to address the barriers to trade training in the school system and to ensure that the nation can better plan and meet the needs of trade industries in the future.

At this point I would like to congratulate Gary Hardgrave, the previous minister, whom I worked very closely with over the years to establish this Central Coast ATC in conjunction with other training for apprentices. I commend this bill, which will give young people in my electorate the chance to study at an Australian technical college and get a head start in their working lives.

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