Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The abysmal approach of the Abbott-Turnbull governments to vocational education and training is summed up by two statistics. Last year, in September, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research published their annual report on the number of people commencing apprenticeships and completing training in Australia. The report demonstrates that, compared with the previous 12-month period, apprenticeship and traineeship commencements between March 2014 and March 2015 decreased by 19.8 per cent in Australia. That is almost a 20 per cent reduction in the number of people commencing apprenticeships in Australia on this government's watch. Over the same period apprenticeship and traineeship completions also dropped by an alarming 19.4 per cent. The most damaging aspect of this report is the fact that the National Centre for Vocational Education Research predict that this decline will go even further into the future because of this government's approach to vocational education and training.

This government is presiding over an economy that is in decline, with lower growth, worsening terms of trade and higher unemployment than when it came to office. High-skill jobs are diminishing, particularly in manufacturing, and we have skills shortages in a number of important sectors throughout the country. There is also a lack of domestic workers to fill important trades in our community. What is the response of this government to that crisis in our vocational education and training sector? Its approach is just to import foreign workers on 457 visas. Instead of investing in training our domestic workers the government will just import them all on 457 visas. It is hell-bent on deregulating the vocational education and training system in Australia to let the market determine who gets apprenticeships and traineeships and whether or not people can afford to complete them. It is hell-bent on removing vocational education and apprenticeship opportunities for kids by cancelling the Trade Training Centres program that was so successful in Australia.

I want to concentrate on that particular program because I think it perfectly sums up this government's approach to vocational education and training. The Trade Training Centres program was, of course, an initiative of the former Labor government. Through this initiative high school students got the opportunity to begin a trade whilst still at school. They could finish year 12, having completed the first year of their apprenticeship, on a pathway to completing their trade by the time they turned 19 or 20 years old. I am fortunate to have one of these Trade Training Centres in my electorate at Champagnat Catholic College. It offers students the opportunity to begin an automotive, a hospitality or a construction trade while they are still at school. Since the Trade Training Centre has been operating—guess what?—enrolments in the school have gone through the roof, to the point that the school is now knocking back applications. Parents want their kids to get a good opportunity, a decent vocational education and a decent job.

Investing in apprenticeships pays dividends. The Australian Jobs report of 2015 shows that 85½ per cent of apprenticeships and trainees are employed six months after they complete their apprenticeship. That compares with 77.6 per cent of VET graduates generally and 68.1 per cent of bachelor degree graduates. So by investing in apprenticeships you improve the skills base of the country, you improve productivity and you invest in growth in our economy. What is the approach of the government? They are going to remove those opportunities for kids to start an apprenticeship at school. Can you believe it? They have cancelled the Trade Training Centres program. There are no more Trade Training Centres at any schools throughout the country under this government because they do not want to invest in vocational education and provide those opportunities for our kids. They are also hell-bent on deregulating the system. This week we have seen the approach of the government in trying to take over vocational education and training and completely deregulate it. And this is what John Barilaro, the New South Wales Minister for Skills, had to say about that: 'I have little confidence that they could run a national vocational education and training sector that actually meets the needs of students and industries and delivers in a way that makes sure that it is driven on quality, not price.' I could not have said it better myself. This mob are about price, deregulation and making students pay more; they are not about quality in vocational education at all. (Time expired)

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