Barry Haase (Kalgoorlie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Australian Technical Colleges (Flexibility in Achieving Australia’s Skills Needs) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2006. This bill will provide for increased funding for the ATC program, which is of particular interest to us in the Kalgoorlie electorate, as one of the colleges will open in the Pilbara region in July this year. It is no secret that there are skills shortages in this country and there is nowhere that these shortages are felt more than in my electorate. The resources boom in Western Australia, particularly in the north-west, has created great prosperity but has also created a desperate shortage of workers. Workers are needed in the Pilbara region on every level across all industries, but particularly in the trades. In recent decades there has been a focus on tertiary education, with vocational courses falling behind in popularity and status. This has led to a large number—some say a glut—of university graduates. But the Australian community needs tradespeople as well. There are shortages of plumbers, electricians and builders across the country, jeopardising projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

State laws and regulations have stifled change and progress and kept the training of trade skills locked in the dark ages. Too many cases of trade jealousies and union dominance have aided and abetted state Labor governments in maintaining an environment that discourages young Australians from taking up apprenticeships and making a real contribution to the Australian economy while securing a future for themselves—and a sound financial future at that. The states failed to address the looming problem of the skills shortages, which frustrated the federal government into action in 2004 and into doing something positive and meaningful. We could only be patient for so long waiting for the states to attend to their responsibilities, because everyone is affected by these shortages, and there are dire consequences when communities do not have these services.

For example, in Western Australia there are approximately 4,200 plumbers and related workers according to the state government career information website. The majority of them work in the Perth metropolitan area, where the population is 1.5 million, equating to one plumber for every 357 people. Cities are affected by trade shortages, but the towns across my electorate feel it even more. For example, the online Yellow Pages listing for plumbing businesses reveals seven in Karratha, with a population of 10,000, and just one in the town of Port Hedland, with a population of 15,000. Granted, it is not necessarily accurately representing those trades in the towns, but it gives you a sense of the situation.

While the ALP has an ongoing fascination with streaming all young Australians through a tertiary course, the Howard government has recognised this considerable problem and is committed to raising the profile of vocational and technical education. For the time being we have been forced into adopting the only immediate workable solution, which is skills migration via the 457 visa, but we also have a long-term strategy that will turn this situation around. In fact, this government’s investment over the period 2005 to 2009 will total more than $11.3 billion, the biggest commitment to vocational and technical education by any government in Australia’s history.

The Australian Technical Colleges (Flexibility in Achieving Australia’s Skills Needs) Act 2005 was enacted on 19 October 2005, providing the legislative framework to establish and operate the ATC program and providing funding of $343.6 million for the initiative. Attracting people to the trades is vital for Australia’s future. The ATC initiative offers a new approach to achieving this and forms an important part of this government’s strategy for tackling skill shortages. These colleges will promote trade qualifications as a highly valued alternative to a university degree and will provide up to 7,500 young Australians with the opportunity to combine an Australian school based apprenticeship, leading to a national training package qualification, and their Year 12 certificate. This amendment bill provides additional funding of $112.6 million for the ATC program, bringing the total for the 2005 to 2009 period to $456.2 million. The additional funding is broken down into $27.8 million for 2006-07, $42.6 million in 2007-08, $32.6 million in 2008-09 and $9.5 million in 2009-10.

This measure is necessary for a number of reasons. The demand for these colleges has been significant, as has the support from communities and industry. To date, 24 ATCs have been announced and 20 funding agreements have been signed ensuring funding for their establishment and operations until the end of 2009. Five of the colleges are already operational and a further 16 are expected to commence during 2007. Additional funding is also needed to provide for the flexibility of this program. Each college has been encouraged to pursue a model that best meets the needs of the region in which it is established. This flexibility has resulted in the operational costs necessary to get each college up and running being higher than expected. They vary from college to college—that is what flexibility is all about. However, in general, the costs relate to the need to attract the best teachers and support staff, extensive industry engagement, marketing and promotion, curriculum development incorporating industry requirements and the necessity for some colleges to operate on interim models in the early years.

There has been an increase in operational costs due to the fact that, of the 24 announced colleges, only four are based on existing schools, compared with the original estimate of 12. The colleges have not been able to leverage existing services and infrastructure for the new ATCs, which means that new facilities must be built in many cases. It has also emerged that several colleges need multiple campuses to ensure appropriate coverage of the region, which has led to increased operational costs. In fact, the Pilbara ATC is a fine example of this, being decentralised over five separate locations. Additional funding is needed to ensure that students are trained using the latest tools and equipment, with a focus on enterprise, employability, business and information technology skills to ensure that they are as job ready as possible. This final element is of importance to me, as ensuring that our young people are job ready is vital for not only the Pilbara area of my electorate but this nation as a whole.

It was very gratifying for me when I was told at the end of May last year that I had secured an ATC for the Pilbara, and even more so when I joined the former Minister for Vocational and Technical Education, the Hon. Gary Hardgrave, at the signing of the funding agreement—finally—on 18 January this year at Karratha. It was satisfying, as the state government had held up the project. At one stage I was almost convinced that it would not happen. The state opposed the college, resisting the obligation to provide staff on flexible wage structures, but the agreement was finally signed and provided $23.5 million for the college in capital and operational grants. It was signed, due in the main to the perseverance of those who knew that this progress was vital.

The ATC Pilbara, as it is known, will now offer the opportunity for young people to learn a trade without having to leave home and for employers to be involved in the curriculum and, at the same time, provide support for local industries and businesses. The college will be based in Port Hedland, with sites opening at Port Hedland and Karratha in time for semester 2 this year. In 2007, the proposed student enrolments are 50 year 11 students. In 2008, the figure remains the same for year 11 students, but 35 year 12 students are added. In 2009, an estimated 65 year 11 and 40 year 12 students will be enrolled. Student numbers will increase following the opening of the Roebourne and Onslow sites next year and the expansion to Tom Price and Newman in 2009.

The ATCP will be registered as an independent school under the School Education Act 1999, offering courses in engineering, construction, electrotechnology, automotive trades and commercial cookery. The academic learning program will be developed and reviewed annually, and the trade training will be delivered by the Pilbara TAFE. Flexible and practical learning is a key element of academic programs to be offered, and it is anticipated that students will be able to study academic programs outside school time.

The ATC program will produce high-quality, work ready apprentices. This project is a very significant one for the Pilbara, and employers across the board support this project because the need for a local, appropriately trained workforce has never been stronger. Businesses from cafes to major companies are all suffering the same problems in attracting and retaining employees. A search yesterday on just one employment website found 166 vacancies in the Pilbara, from engineer to truck driver to bar manager.

The industry consortium for the ATCP is led by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia and comprises BHP Billiton Iron Ore; Pilbara Iron, part of the Rio Tinto Group; Woodside Energy; Chevron Australia; the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association; and the Western Australian Department of Education and Training. There is additional support by local industry groups such as Newcrest Australia, Fortescue Metals Group, WorleyParsons, SKM, and Ngarda Civil and Mining. Their involvement will ensure that the skills taught to students will be directly relevant to the trade they have chosen and will assist in encouraging local employers to provide school based apprenticeship opportunities for students.

I must speak about an element of this program which has the potential for an outcome that is arguably more important than the training of our Pilbara young people generally, and that is the training of our Indigenous young people. Everyone involved with the ATCP will be working to address the issue of Indigenous education. The chair of the ATCP is Mr Meath Hammond, General Manager of Indigenous Affairs at Woodside. Mr Hammond has more than 10 years experience in the community and Indigenous affairs across academia, government and industry. All the parties working on this project recognise the importance of engaging with the local Indigenous community for a mutually beneficial outcome and are committed to increasing Indigenous employment opportunities. The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association has worked with its member companies—including Chevron, which is about to begin developing the $11 billion Gorgon gas project—on the issue of Indigenous employment. Through the Indigenous Affairs portfolio, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA influences legislation and policies on Indigenous issues and provides a forum for addressing the need to build sustainable relationships between industry and Indigenous people.

Training and employment in particular have been a key focus for developing economic and social outcomes, which has been embraced by many Chamber of Minerals and Energy member companies. BHP Billiton’s Pilbara iron ore operation has made a commitment to increase Indigenous employment in its operations and the wider community to 12 per cent by 2010. With the current levels of Indigenous employment at the site at three per cent, this is a very significant undertaking. The program, titled Investment in Aboriginal Relationships, is a long-term initiative that recognises Aboriginal communities as key stakeholders. The program focuses on education, training and employment, including an Indigenous trainee scheme and the development and support of educational, vocational and life skills programs, in conjunction with the education department and the expansion of the BHP Billiton cross-cultural training program.

Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Iron established an Aboriginal training and liaison unit in 1992. Known as ATAL, the unit manages training, employment and community relations programs designed to support self-determination and community capacity building within Aboriginal communities in the Pilbara. ATAL runs education programs, pre-employment training programs and scholarship and cadetship programs in Karratha, Roebourne, Tom Price and Paraburdoo. ATAL’s programs focus on job skills training, small business development, education, cross-cultural development and the preservation of Aboriginal culture and heritage. The cultural heritage unit of ATAL works in consultation with Aboriginal communities and elders to record, map and protect significant Aboriginal sites in proximity to its operations.

In 2002 Woodside became a participant in the Corporate Leaders for Indigenous Employment initiative sponsored by the Australian government. Woodside has instigated an Indigenous employee retention strategy and cultural awareness training for its employees aimed at maintaining long-term employment for its Indigenous employees. There are several employment vehicles through which the company hopes to create employment opportunities for Indigenous people: the National Indigenous Cadetship Project, an Indigenous commercial traineeship program, the Woodside graduate program and direct recruitment.

If you will permit me, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I will provide the House with a brief outline of life in the Pilbara, to give an insight as to the importance of this project to the people in that area. Economic success from mining is certain, but the future of the region is not. Regional Australia, particularly the towns in my electorate, faces an uncertain future due to the lack of regional development. There is no long-term growth, populations are shrinking, towns lack infrastructure and services, and incentives for professionals to relocate to these areas are few and far between.

The resources industry makes the most significant contribution to the Pilbara’s economy—albeit primarily with a fly-in fly-out workforce. It is the biggest employer. It is expected to be prosperous for the foreseeable future. The Indigenous population in the Pilbara, which is marginalised, is rising, but there has not been a correlation to the numbers employed. This is due to welfare dependence, a lack of education and training and a culture which places insufficient importance on self-reliance.

Indigenous children are not encouraged to go to school by their parents, and those who do attend are not made to stay there. The statistics vary, but, in general, I believe 80 per cent of Indigenous children who are enrolled in primary school—which is by no means every child—do not attend on a regular basis. Without at least a primary school education these children have no chance of moving into secondary or further education, let alone of getting a job. The sad reality is that an Aboriginal child is more likely to complete a term of incarceration than year 12.

This situation must change. The resources companies in the Pilbara, as elsewhere, are eager to employ and train Indigenous workers, but the workers are not available. In 2001, according to ABS census data, 50 per cent of working age Indigenous people in the Pilbara were not in the workforce. The ATCP—that is the Australian Technical College, Pilbara—will go a long way to improve standards of education, local employment, local training and business engagement. The most important role I believe it will play is to increase the participation of Indigenous youth in education and training and help them create a future for themselves.

The additional funding provided by this amendment bill will allow the ATCs to be properly funded and taken seriously. The role they will play in the future of our young people is vital, and they must have support from all of us to succeed. I take this opportunity to recognise the hard work done by the former minister, the Hon. Gary Hardgrave, in the area of vocational and technical education. I know that achieving the Pilbara ATC was hard work, requiring great leadership and persuasion skills. However, required above all was tenacity and the ability to never countenance failure. I thank him for his interest in the Pilbara and the training of our young people there. He saw that Pilbara firsthand on a number of occasions. Thanks and recognition must also go to the ATCP board and the Pilbara business community for its support and encouragement of this project. I commend this bill to the House.

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