Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on a piece of legislation that will provide the framework for the delivery of new jobs for Australian workers and for Australia's investment in the highly skilled future workforce. To do this, the Abbott government is implementing key policy measures, including the Trades Support Loans Bill 2014, which is before the House today. This is a program that directly invests in our apprentices by providing the support they need to complete their training.

One of Australia's key focuses is on ensuring our future generations are provided with a highly competitive and internationally recognised education. However, not all forms of education and training are facilitated in the classroom or at a university level. The Abbott government recognises this distinction and the need to invest in education not just for university students but for those whose employment future lies in a trade, such as carpentry or as a diesel motor mechanic—two trades that are currently listed on Australia's National Skills Needs List.

The establishment of the Trade Support Loans program was a key election commitment by the Abbott government. The Trade Support Loans program is a $1.9 billion investment by this government to support our apprentices financially, with the overall aim being to help increase training completion rates, which are currently a serious concern for Australia's future workforce, particularly in regional Australia. In fact, 20 per cent of trade apprentices drop out by the end of their first year and around 30 per cent by the end of the second year. Research has highlighted that a key reason for this high rate of dropouts is the associated wage in the early years of an apprenticeship.

The Trade Support Loans program is one measure that this government is introducing to help ease this financial burden, increase the rate of trade completions and to ensure that Australia has a highly skilled workforce in the future. From 1 July, apprentices will have the opportunity to apply for loans of up to $20,000, which will be repayable once apprentices are earning a sustainable income. Let us be clear: in the first year and apprentice can have $8000 to support themselves, $6,000 in their second year, $4,000, and $2,000 in their fourth year. Repayments will function in the same manner as Australia's FEE-HELP loans, which are received by university students. They will be repaid through our taxation system at the same income thresholds as higher education loans. Loans will be indexed annually in line with CPI and, as we know, when a loan is subject to CPI this simply means that it is adjusted based on the cost of living.

The program has also been set up with a significant incentive for apprentices to complete their trade, with a 20 per cent reduction in the amount of the loan they have accumulated throughout their apprenticeship once they complete their training. This program will effectively replace Labor's Tools for Your Trade payment, which had become an unaccountable handout under the former government.

In Durack, one group who make a significant contribution to the electorate by helping to increase the amount of people who complete their traineeships in industries such as engineering, mining, automotive, tourism and agriculture and horticulture is Kimberley Group Training. KGT achieves this by helping to establish career pathways through training, sustainable employment opportunities and support services under the stewardship of CEO, John Gummery, and board chair, Peter Stubbs. I was very pleased to recently join with the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Nigel Scullion, in announcing funding of $187,000 for this organisation under the government's Indigenous Employment Program to support Indigenous job seekers in the Kimberley to gain trade and traineeship qualifications. Despite organisations like KGT, in Western Australia there was an overall decrease in the number of apprenticeship completions in 2012-13 of approximately six per cent, while there was also a decrease in the number of apprenticeship commencements across all regions of WA of approximately 12 per cent.

However, completions in building and construction in rural WA did increase by approximately 28 per cent in 2012-13. But the same cannot be said for most other trade sectors, which saw stagnant or lower completion rates during this same period. The Trade Support Loans program is a key policy initiative by the Abbott government that focuses on improving these completion rates.

If we want a strong, highly skilled workforce for the future, especially in Durack, then we need to act now to create it. Supporting our apprentices when they need it most is how this will be achieved and should be supported by all. I commend this bill to the House.

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