Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a former apprentice, I know firsthand about education and the vocational education system and just how important it is to young people. It serves a vital part of our overall education system. I'm on the record as saying that not everybody, particularly in my electorate, needs an arts degree to get a job. In fact, the most successful people I know are self-made entrepreneurs who have come through the VET system. During this critical period of unprecedented disruption in the labour market, a vibrant VET sector will further improve our capacity to grow, to compete and to thrive in a global community.

The National Skills Commissioner Bill 2020 will establish a new statutory position, the National Skills Commissioner, and specify the functions for that commissioner. The commissioner will provide independent expert advice and national leadership on the Australian labour market. Further, the position will review current and future skills needs and workforce development issues. This role could not be more timely as we address the critical challenges of managing the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to the outbreak, Tasmania was bucking the trend when it came to the VET sector. Our state had 5,525 apprentices and trainees commence work in the 12 months ending 30 June 2019, up 9.7 per cent from the same point last year. Importantly, we've seen a continued increase in the number of females taking up a trade or an apprenticeship, with a 10.4 per cent increase on the year before.

Only last week, I caught up with a group of young people from the region. They are at different places in their careers and at different stages in their lives in the vocational sector, but they are all benefiting from the federal government's assistance and the importance that we are placing on the VET sector. I met with four young wonderful people—Zen, Daniel, Amalia and Tyler—from Hellyer College and I listened to them. They are from Brumby Hill Aboriginal Corporation. These four are part of a great program that links Indigenous students with a trade that suits them best. I also met with two scholarship holders from the regional youth VET scholarship program, Daniel and Conor, who were unemployed but are now receiving federal government assistance to undertake a VET course. And I met with two wonderful young women who were working on a building site in Wivenhoe, just outside Burnie. Young Kate is an apprentice with Vos Construction and Joinery, and Nicola is an apprentice with Brad's Painting Service. They told me stories, and they were all positive. They were excited. They'd found their first rung on the ladder of success. No doubt they will be wonderful role models for our future young people looking at working in a trade or in the construction sector. These on-the-ground examples of the Morrison government's commitment to driving improvements in the quality, relevance and accessibility of the VET system, along with the National Skills Commissioner and the National Skills Commission, will underpin Australia's economic recovery. I commend the bill to the House.

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