Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Skills and Training. How has the Albanese Labor government cleaned up the mess of a wasted decade in skills? How is the government continuing to work to give Australians the skills and training they need for the jobs and opportunities of the future?

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for his question, and I look forward to catching up with him at the Gosford TAFE in the near future. In the last 12 months, the Albanese government has not wasted a minute. That's because we're a government that responds to the national challenges that we confront. It's why we are laying a stronger foundation for a better future. It's also because, upon election, not only did we inherit $1 trillion of Liberal Party and National Party debt; we were bequeathed by those opposite a massive skills deficit across the entire economy. In fact, if you want to hear a few more statistics, in one year the number of occupations on the shortage list went from 153 to 286, almost doubling in one year. The OECD cited that Australia's labour shortage per capita was the second highest amongst OECD countries when we came to government. So we were dealing with massive challenges.

That's why the government very quickly convened the Jobs and Skills Summit, bringing together industries, employers, unions, universities, the VET sector and state and territory governments. We know that to deal with these national challenges we must work together. We created Jobs and Skills Australia, which is providing strategic advice to deliver the existing skills that are in demand and those skills that are emerging in the labour market. We struck a 12-month agreement with all state and territory governments to deliver 180,000 fee-free VET and TAFE places, 150,000 of which are already filled. We're also strengthening and targeting support for apprentices to lift completion rates; encouraging more women into trade apprenticeships through improved financial and non-financial support; and supplying new energy apprenticeships to assist with the massive demand in the renewable energy sector, and 1,000 of those apprentices have already enrolled.

But there is so much more work to be done. This includes negotiating a further 300,000 fee-free TAFE and VET places from 2024 and finalising a $3.7 billion National Skills Agreement which will provide greater access to the VET sector. This agreement will be the vehicle whereby we will bring about significant reforms of the VET sector to ensure that it is fit for purpose. We've been busy over the last 12 months, but we know there's a lot more to do. Those opposite can keep carping and saying no to everything. We'll just continue to deliver to Australian students, workers, businesses and the economy.