Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In contributing to this grievance debate, I rise to inform the parliament of the urgent need for federal funding to improve and expand vocational education and training opportunities in my electorate. At a time when our economy is facing a shortage of skilled labour, substantial investment is required to train our youth to become productive members of the workforce. Strong population growth is occurring in the northern coastal suburbs of Perth, so it is imperative to develop new training facilities close to residential areas. Engaging with young people and providing the right opportunities and pathways to enter technologically advanced industries will benefit the local economy.

The College of Electrical Training in Joondalup is an award-winning industry training centre operated by the National Electrical and Communications Association.

The college is in its early stages of planning a new innovation centre. This state-of-the-art facility will provide courses of study in the new technologies relevant to apprentices of the future, including advanced batteries, hydrogen cells, robotics and automation. The innovation centre will be based in the Joondalup innovation and learning precinct, which is already home to the emerging cybersecurity industry in WA.

It is encouraging that industry recognises the need to address acute trade shortages now, which will soon be critical as we move towards a renewable energy future. Additional federal funding is required to provide local vocational education and training facilities based in Joondalup for our residents which will help develop the highly skilled workforce of the future. I look forward to working with the City of Joondalup and the Joondalup Business Association to secure the much-needed investment in training facilities for our regional city.

I wish to acknowledge the contributions of NECA CEO, Carl Copeland, and Steve Hall as they and their team push the boundaries to meet the needs of their industry. They have briefed me about the proposal to develop an innovation centre to provide a pathway for high school students to enter the industry. Funding is required to assist in the construction of the centre. Whilst NECA has purchased the site, an additional $15 million is required to complete the project.

The proposed innovation centre will not only provide an introduction to a career in the industry, but also allow a transition from middle school to pre-apprenticeship in school pathways. These pathways lead to electrical trades and are expected to provide employment to approximately 160 school leavers each year. With industry training spaces for the post-trade market, these are the types of projects which will bring real world experience to the post-secondary school training environment.

For many years, the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects has been highly regarded by parents as being the key to their children's future careers. Despite this, commencements of the trades have not kept up with the demands of industry. While trades have been the traditional pathway for the less academically inclined, the requisite knowledge and skills required for trades have increased. With a focus on new energy apprenticeships, the electrical and associated trades now demand a clearer path from years 7 to 12. Decisions made in middle school can impact greatly on a school leaver's readiness for STEM careers. Apprentice completion rates clearly show that ill-prepared or uninformed decisions before an apprenticeship commences will have a detrimental impact on completion.

Many school graduates are exiting the school systems with minimal, if any, experience using hand tools, applied engineering or mathematics. While becoming steadily more demanding from a STEM perspective, the trade profession is still one of early starts, physical activity and greater dangers. The school education system is not adequately providing the career pathway options available to students in STEM streams. Experienced centres such as Scitech in Perth are used to ignite the mind and passion for STEM in the middle school student.

The government has acknowledged the significant demand for workers, as outlined in its Powering Australia proposal, due to the current skills shortage. From rewiring the grid to solar banks and community batteries, every one of these initiatives require highly skilled and trained electricians. A new energy skills program to ensure training pathways are fit for purpose should lead to 10,000 new energy apprentices. The government needs to plan for the future by investing in the training facilities required to develop a highly skilled workforce required by emerging industries. For instance, the green hydrogen industry is expected to provide sustainable employment for more than 30 million people worldwide by 2050. Green hydrogen requires electrical workers across every step of the process. Add to this BESS, BEV and PHEV battery technologies, and the demand for electrical workers will only increase.

Australian Industry Standards, the skills organisation responsible for the electrotechnology package, notes that the workforce size will grow by over 24,000 by 2026, with the renewable energy sector to employ over 44,000 people by 2025, many of these in regional Australia. This growth in the workforce starts with school leavers, to ensure we have a sustainable future.

I wish to place on the parliamentary record my strong support for $15 million in federal funding to enable the College of Electrical Training to construct the new innovation centre on its site in Joondalup. I have previously informed this House about the need to attract more technologically advanced industries to the city of Joondalup. These new businesses will be able to collaborate with institutions within the Joondalup Learning Precinct and innovation hub, thus providing more opportunities to work locally for our highly skilled workforce. The Joondalup innovation and learning precinct is already home to Edith Cowan University, the North Metropolitan College of TAFE, the College of Electrical Training, the Cyber Security Training Centre and the Western Australia Police Academy. Investment in the new NECA College of Electrical Training innovation centre will add to the world-class vocational training and educational precinct by focusing on higher education opportunities already available and expanding collaboration, advocacy and resource sharing.

I call upon the Albanese government to favourably consider the proposal by the College of Electrical Training and NECA to develop an innovation centre in Joondalup and provide the necessary $15 million in federal funding for its construction. Investing in training facilities today will develop the skilled workforce of the future, adding to the productive capacity of our economy. The youth of the northern suburbs of Perth and in my electorate of Moore, will benefit significantly from access to educational opportunities close to home.