Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The government has been acutely focused on ensuring that the scarring impacts recessions have on young Australians were not felt in the COVID-19 induced recession. We've invested heavily, as we know, and quite proudly in the skills and training system. That has, of course, helped businesses retain staff, because quite often it's the young person, the apprentice, that is the first person to be let go. We've ensured that, by our investment in the skills and training system, employers have been able to keep those young people and those apprentices on, and this further supports that pipeline of workers in Australia.

We have invested by way of the boosting apprenticeship commencements wage subsidy, the supporting apprenticeship and training wage subsidy. Again, this has now ensured that more Australians have trade apprenticeships than ever before in recorded history. That is a good thing, but it is because of the investments made by the coalition government. (Time expired)