Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

The tragedy is that, while Australians are crying out for skilled employees, we still have some half a million men and women out of work. Thanks to the previous government’s short-term focus and lack of leadership, much of the training provided over the past decade has been inappropriate. No-one could be bothered to sit down and think about what skills were actually needed. As a result a lot of Australians have wasted their time acquiring skills they have not been able to use. Their frustration and disenchantment is understandable. When Australia needed to develop a culture of lifelong learning, the previous government discouraged people from upgrading their skills by denying them opportunities, support and a sense of direction. Those 450,000 training places that I mentioned earlier include some 175,000 places for people who are unemployed. (Time expired)