Senate debates
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Questions without Notice
WorldSkills International Competition
2:56 pm
Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Minister for Employment Participation, Senator Arbib. Is the minister aware of the WorldSkills competition in Calgary, Canada, where international youth from 50 countries around the world gathered to compete against each other in 26 trade and service events? Can the minister inform the Senate of whether Australia was represented at the event and, if so, the results that the team achieved?
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank Senator McLucas for that question. I am very happy to inform the Senate that, yes, Australia was represented at the WorldSkills competition.
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
As I was saying, it is my pleasure to inform the Senate that, yes, Australia was represented at the WorldSkills competition. Twenty-nine young apprentices and trainees from around the country attended the competition in Canada. I had the great honour, along with Dr Andrew Southcott in the other place, to attend a number of functions for Australia’s team, known as the Skillaroos; the presentation of blazers to team members; and also the farewell. This is an extremely competitive process. Competition is fierce. The Koreans, who are ranked No. 1 in the world at the WorldSkills competition, pay their competitors. They have full-time training for their trades apprentices to compete at this competition. In Australia, that is not the case. We went into this competition ranked fifth in the world, which for our apprentices and our trainees was a very, very good effort.
I am happy to announce to the Senate and also the country that our competitors did the country proud. They doubled their medal tally from the previous WorldSkills competition in Japan in 2007, winning two gold, five silver and five bronze medals, which is an outstanding result for those young Australians. Can I put on record that the gold medals were won by James Sun and Jessie-Lee Gladwell in the fields of restaurant service and beauty therapy respectively. Silver and bronze medals were won in the fields of manufacturing— (Time expired)
Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I wonder if the minister could continue to tell us about those students who did so well. Also, in light of the Australian team’s performance at the international competition and of the report released last week by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, which shows a small decrease in the number of apprentices and trainees in training, can the minister inform the Senate what measures the Australian government is taking to ensure that the next generation of Australians have adequate training and apprenticeship opportunities?
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I was also saying in response to Senator McLucas that silver and bronze medals were won in the fields of manufacturing, IT, plumbing, web design, sheet metal work, welding, bricklaying, and wall and floor tiling. It is a great credit to those competitors, their coaches and the support staff but also a great credit to our TAFE institutions. It is a great credit to all the teachers in our TAFEs who put the hours and hours of work into training young apprentices and trainees. This is an extremely important part of what the government is trying to achieve at the moment. During a global recession you obviously have the effect of unemployment, but you also have the effects on skills and apprentices. We have seen apprenticeship numbers go down—there is no doubt about it—during the global recession, but the government is acting. In terms of the stimulus, we have put in place a 10 per cent figure on total contract labour hours for apprentices. (Time expired)
Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank the minister for his answer. Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister further inform the Senate on what improvements the federal government is making to vocational education and training in order to address the skills crisis in Australia? And can the minister please advise how the benefits of the Australian government’s improvements to vocational education and training will improve our country’s productivity?
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank Senator McLucas for the question. I take on board one of the interjections. I do congratulate the employers who were involved in the work. They had a role to play and they allowed those apprentices to take the time, get the extra training and attend, so I do thank those employers. On the stimulus, as I said, we understand that we must now prepare for the future. We must skill up the country and skill up our apprenticeships for the future, and that is what we are doing. That is why we have the 10 per cent figure for apprentices. That scheme is actually working. Recently I went to Seven Hills and saw a pre-apprenticeship scheme at one of our community housing programs—young apprentices working to build a stimulus house. It will take almost 12 months off their apprenticeship. This is the work that the Labor government is doing. (Time expired)
Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.