Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The government are very much focused on ensuring Australians are first in line when it comes to accessing the jobs that are being created. Many of these are high-skill and high-pay jobs, but we do understand that there are sectors in the economy that are doing it tough and some workers have been impacted in a very real way by the structural adjustment which is occurring.

To ensure that Australians have the opportunity to upskill and reskill during this time of transition, the government have announced Skills Connect, a $110 million investment in a range of initiatives designed to consolidate the government's skills programs and better target industry and worker training. It will provide workers with the training they need to transform from sectors which are experiencing structural adjustment to sectors in which skilled labour is in strong demand. It is working with employers and unions to give those workers the opportunity to move to where the jobs are and to transition their skills for the demands of those growing industries.