Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small—

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! Can people at least pretend and hold their breath for 10 seconds after I call people to order? There were not even three words out of Senator Hughes's mouth there before the interjections started. It's going to be a long year, if that's the case. Senator Hughes, start again, please. Reset the clock.

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator Cash. Can the minister please update the Senate on how the Morrison government is continuing to build a stronger Australia by supporting Australians to undertake an apprenticeship and developing Australia's skilled workforce through its $74 billion JobMaker plan?

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

I thank Senator Hughes for her question. As we know, the Morrison government is investing in ensuring that Australia has the skilled workforce that Australia needs. Without a doubt, looking at the Morrison government's investments, we have made skills development the absolute heart of our economic recovery from COVID-19. In fact, as we now emerge in 2021 from the impacts of COVID-19, we will continue to build on our record of skills reform, to support, in particular, new apprentices into training. Two of the signature policies of the coalition government are the JobTrainer policy, signed with all states and territories, a joint commitment to releasing almost 320,000 new low-cost or free training places into the training space—the key is, in areas of labour market demand—and Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements.

It's been a tough year for employers, and the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy is all about assisting employers to bring a new apprentice or trainee into their workplace. The Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements subsidy supports employers of any size, in any geographic location, in any industry, to sign up a new apprentice with a 50 per cent wage subsidy, up to $7,000 a quarter, running through until 30 September 2021. There are still nine months of the program to run. What we've seen to date is over 29,000 employers—and I'm very pleased to say this includes 21,000 small businesses—register over 73,760 new trainees or apprentices for the program. This includes 5,600 bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, 4,700 electricians, 4,600 sales assistants, 4,000 automotive electricians and over 3,800 hospitality workers.

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

Senator Hughes, a supplementary question?

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline to the Senate how the government's early action through the supporting apprentices and trainees wage subsidy supported small businesses to keep apprentices on the tools and supported small businesses with their cash flow through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic?

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

As I just said, we put in place the supporting apprentices and trainees wage subsidy to bring into the system 100,000 new apprentices and trainees. But, of course, when COVID-19 hit, we understood as a government that we needed to provide critical support to, in particular, small businesses, for them to keep the apprentices or trainees they already had in training on the job. That was one of the first economic responses that the Morrison government put in place in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The supporting apprentices and trainees wage subsidy has now supported more than 58,500 small and medium businesses to keep 117,000 apprentices and trainees in work today, because that's where we need them—on the job. Over 17,000 electricians, 22,000 carpenters, joiners and bricklayers and 5,500 hairdressers have all been kept on the job because of the policy that the coalition government, the Morrison government, put in place.

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

Senator Hughes, a final supplementary question?

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Cash, how will the government's record skills investment support labour market recovery and help Australians find secure work as we emerge from COVID-19?

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

The skills investment that the Morrison government is putting in place is all about generational change and it will support Australians to get the qualifications and skills they need, importantly, to secure jobs after the pandemic. We want them to train up in areas where we know there is labour market demand. This is, of course, crucial, in particular to supporting job security, economic productivity and quality of life for all Australians.

In relation to the labour market, over the last seven months Australians have now seen 784,500 jobs return to the economy as COVID-19 restrictions have eased. Hours of work have now increased 165 million. Full-time employment was a majority of employment in terms of jobs growth in both November and December of last year. We know there is a long way to go, but the policies that the Morrison government is putting in place are seeing jobs return to the economy.