Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all members for their contributions to this debate. The vocational education training system is the engine room of Australia's future growth. It is the place where over four million Australians go every year to learn new skills, gain nationally recognised qualifications and springboard on to their first or next job. It is the place that employers turn to in order to ensure that their employees receive high-quality training to enable them to do their existing jobs better and to perform new roles. Now more than ever before Australia needs this training system to be the best it has ever been. Australia's economy is changing rapidly, and millions of Australians need to reskill and upskill in growth areas.

The National Skills Commissioner Bill 2020 establishes a new independent statutory office, the National Skills Commissioner, and sets out the commissioner's functions. The commissioner will lead thinking on Australia's skills and workforce needs and provide a critical new piece of Australia's economic infrastructure. The commissioner will consolidate and strengthen labour-market and skills-needs analysis and be an independent and trusted source of information about what is happening in the Australian labour market now and into the future. This research and analysis will draw on emerging data sources and cutting-edge analytic techniques to ensure that Australia's labour market analysis capability is world-leading.

The commissioner will examine the cost drivers in delivering quality training and will develop and maintain a set of efficient prices for VET on a course-by-course basis to improve transparency, consistency and accessibility for students. Currently, VET prices and subsidies vary considerably around Australia, with students paying different prices for the same course and varying levels of quality. An efficient price does not mean the lowest price but one that provides value for money. Central to the commissioner's work will be a focus on quality to determine the price that delivers the skills that employers need and that sets up students for a valuable career.

The commissioner will also lead research and analysis to examine the effectiveness of the VET system and advise on the public and private returns on government investment. This means having a better understanding of VET student outcomes such as whether a student got a job and what they are now earning, as well as public benefits such as building a strong care workforce. This analysis will enable governments to direct investments towards high-quality courses that give students the best chance of getting a job.

The Liberals and Nationals in government have a strong, long record of investing in vocational education and skills in rural and regional Australia. It was the Liberals and Nationals in government who introduced the Australian apprentice wage subsidy, which has created 3,200 new apprenticeships in rural and regional Australia. Through this scheme, apprentices are receiving training and are helping to grow small businesses. Those opposite in the Labor Party opposed this scheme, calling it a political fiasco. We have established the first two of 10 industry training hubs: in Burnie in Tasmania and in Townsville in Queensland. The hubs will help improve opportunities for young people in areas of high youth unemployment, creating better linkages between schools and local industry, and repositioning vocational education and training as a first-choice option.

We're also investing $9.9 million to deliver the remote community pilots, which are to be located in the Northern Territory, in Western Australia, in South Australia and in northern Queensland. In the design of the NSC, the government undertook a co-designed program in partnership with state and territory governments, industry and other key VET stakeholders. This included workshops in all capital cities and five regional locations: Bendigo, Cairns, Orange, Karratha and Mount Isa. Consultation in these regional centres helped ensure that the unique views and issues faced in these areas were captured.

The NSC will provide detailed labour market analysis, including an annual report each year setting out the skills Australia needs. Regions will be able to leverage analysis undertaken by the National Skills Commissioner on the performance of VET. Data from the NSC will power the National Careers Institute, providing students, including in regional Australia, with the most accurate and comprehensive data on where jobs are and will be, and what skills they'll need to get them, moving them quickly from learning to earning. The National Skills Commissioner will produce information with the flexibility to respond to local needs and demands. I note the work that the National Party have done not only in ensuring that vocational education and training is supported in rural and regional Australia but also in ensuring that the unique needs and challenges that these areas face will be considered by the National Skills Commission, which the minister for employment and skills is ensuring.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the importance and the increased urgency of this work, re-enforcing the importance of our existing commitment to the reform of the VET system. This bill is part of the Morrison government's $585 million Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow Skills Package and builds on our vision for VET to be a responsive, dynamic and trusted sector. The role of the National Skills Commissioner is underpinned by the principles of independence, transparency and accountability. It will support a stronger and more agile VET system, enabling us to navigate economic recovery, lift productivity and lay the foundations for a prosperous future. One again, I thank all members for their engagement on this bill, and I commend this bill to the House.

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