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

I thank Senator Moore for the question. In this current economic environment Australia has an urgent need to lift skill levels and workforce participation. This will allow individual Australians the opportunity to participate in our economy and provide employers the skills they need to compete in a global economy. We know that the skills of our workforce are an important driver of productivity, so our future success depends on our skills. Skills Australia modelling shows that in the five years to 2015, Australia will need an additional 2.1 million workers with vocational education and training qualifications—that is, people in the workforce and people coming into the workforce.

But we need more people trained to a higher level, and today the Prime Minister outlined the government's proposal to take to the states at the COAG meeting in April to try and work with them to address the shortfall of skills in our economy. We put on the table $1.75 billion in extra funding over and above our normal commitment to try and get a national partnership that helps meet that skills shortfall and drive up the level of skills in our economy—drive up the skills that our people need to take up the high skilled work that is becoming more prevalent in the economy. We know that unskilled jobs are disappearing. If people do not have high skills they will not be able to access the jobs that are emerging in the economy. So we focus on an entitlement for everyone being able to train to certificate III level, which is a major driver of people's access to work. The Commonwealth will be supporting income-contingent loans—HECS style loans—to allow people to study at higher diploma and associate diploma levels. This is about driving skills in the economy and giving young Australians the opportunity to maximise their potential.