David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator Cash. Can the minister please update the Senate on the state of the labour market following COVID-19 and how the Morrison government has supported Australians through this once-in-a-century pandemic to stay connected to the labour force and to find employment?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fawcett for his question. As you know—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, Senator Cash. I thought we were going to have that looked at over the weekend. We've got the same microphone problem. You are blessed with a very loud voice, Senator Cash, but I will ask you to lean into the next microphone, and we'll try and have that fixed overnight.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I'm still just as loud! COVID-19, as you know, has had an unprecedented impact on the labour market, but new research that's been released by the National Skills Commission on the Australian labour market shows that, while the impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented, there are signs of recovery and cause for optimism for all Australians. We have begun the long road to recovery. In fact, we've seen 648,500 jobs return to the labour market since May. That is a good thing. Jobs are also returning in industries and occupations that have been impacted by COVID-19, in particular by the restrictions and the shutdowns. What we're also seeing in regional Australia is that job advertisements have been increasing by 17.6 per cent.

The National Skills Commission report is critical to our understanding of the future of Australia's labour market. It not only shows where the new jobs will be created but it also reinforces the Morrison government's work to not only make skills and vocational education more flexible but also more relevant to actual labour market demand. In other words, we're actually training people to ensure that they have those skills to get into a job. Since the election, we, the coalition government, the Morrison government, have focused on improving Australia's vocational and education training system. In fact, in this year alone we will now invest almost $7 billion in vocational education and training. We'll make the changes to this sector to ensure that the training that Australians are undertaking is relevant and fit for purpose. As we emerge from the economic impact of COVID-19, the government will utilise the National Skills Commission, which of course we legislated, to further ensure that our skills sector is properly responding to actual labour market needs.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Fawcett, a supplementary question?

David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, what has the National Skills Commission's research shown about which jobs are likely to see continued growth as we emerge from the economic impacts of COVID-19?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Insights into future job opportunities are vital to not only support our economic recovery but also to ensure that more Australians are able to get back into work as quickly as possible. That's why the report of the National Skills Commission has highlighted the most resilient occupations in our labour market. This is good for people who are wondering what study or training they should undertake—will they be entering one of those industries that has shown resilience despite COVID-19?

These occupations include, unsurprisingly, health care and social assistance, which have faced significant challenges as a result of COVID-19; education and training; mining; construction; transport; and warehousing. In terms of employment growth, it's expected to be in industries such as health care and social assistance, education and training, and professional scientific and technical services over the next five years. Given the disruption caused by COVID-19 to the labour market, knowing that that the job you're training for is going to— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Fawcett, a final supplementary question?

David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, how would the research work of the National Skills Commission ensure that the JobTrainer fund is as targeted and focused as possible, ensuring that people receive training in the areas where there's actually demand for work?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, as you'd be aware, the Morrison government's $1 billion JobTrainer fund is a crucial component of our record investment in vocational education and training. It's also an integral part of the government's JobMaker plan. All states and territories came on board with the co-investment. It's all about providing free or low-cost training to jobseekers and young people, including school leavers. The key to the training, though, is that we have worked individually with the states and territories to determine what their individual labour market demand is, and the JobTrainer courses, the free or low-cost training, actually reflect what is in demand in the states' and territories' labour markets themselves. Our goal as a government is to ensure that Australians receive qualifications in areas of skills demand. In other words, they are training for where the jobs are. You can visit yourcareer.gov.au for more information about JobTrainer.