Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

By my own definition a week in parliament has been an especially good one when I'm allowed multiple opportunities to speak about TAFE and vocational education in this place. My first contribution was at the beginning of the week, during private members' business, where I had the opportunity to move a motion supporting the implementation phase of the National Skills Agreement, an agreement ratified by the National Cabinet close to one month ago almost to the day. This is a significant agreement, and I'll speak to it as a South Australian.

As we all know—because I'll be the first to tell this to anyone that will listen—my state of South Australia was the first in Australia to enter into an agreement with the Albanese Labor government to embrace this government's fee-free TAFE policy and its placements. It's a policy that provides benefits for the broader labour market and our skills base and directly benefits those who undertake a TAFE course as part of this outstanding policy. We were the trendsetter state, or the canary-in-the-coalmine state, with this policy, and the others certainly did follow.

With the National Skills Agreement in place, our state will now benefit from an additional $2.29 billion in funding between the state and federal governments, meaning 150,000 training placements over five years. This came after the 15,000 additional fee-free TAFE places between 2024 and 2026 that were announced by our government and the South Australian government. Getting people into vocations that have shortages today and many shortages tomorrow will benefit us all, and TAFE's role in achieving this cannot be underestimated.

Notwithstanding the economic climate facing us at any given time, a policy such as fee-free TAFE is one that acts to remove some of the financial impediments that some out there might be weighing up before taking a leap of faith and undergoing a journey to upskill themselves or even to complete a sea change in a wholly new vocation—one that is in very high demand and one that industry and government have confirmed will likely continue to be in high demand. This policy is breaking down some of the financial constraints to someone accessing a chance at a sea change and a pathway into the jobs of tomorrow.

These statistics almost appear like a mantra in every contribution on TAFE education or employment, but they always require restating, in the event that we all forget why we are doing this. Three million Australians currently lack the fundamental skills required to participate in training and secure work. Nine out of 10 new jobs will require post-secondary school education, with four out of that total requiring a VET qualification. In my electorate of Spence, according to Jobs and Skills Australia's labour market data dashboard, 69 per cent of online job advertisements require a qualification of certificate III or higher. Alarmingly, 30 per cent of online job vacancies still require a bachelor's degree or higher.

When everything gets muddled by numbers, some figures truly hit home. Only 9.5 per cent of people over the age of 15 in Spence have attained a bachelor's degree or higher. That is why I have been putting a considerable amount of effort towards unlocking access to quality education. Disadvantage—whether that be by socioeconomic status; the tyranny of distance, meaning the inability to adequately travel to and from study or placements that aren't based closed to home; and not having clearer pathways forward into higher education from a vocational education setting: these are barriers to entry that I've been wanting to break down ever since being elected. Not everyone's path allows for a university education straight out of high school—myself included—but we aren't doing our jobs if we aren't leaving the light on and the gate unlocked for someone to be able to study without their personal circumstances being the hurdle that stands between them and a career that they have aspired towards but has always been somewhat out of reach.

The Minister for Skills and Training's statement to the House back in September was one that I keenly listened to in the chamber. I was proud to be in the House back in September to hear the Minister for Skills and Training deliver a statement of great importance, a statement outlining the Albanese Labor government's strategy to revitalise national planning in vocational education and training.

I've had a good look at the list of those members who have noted the minister's statement, both today and since this was on the Notice Paper. I notice a lot of familiar faces amongst us. Most, if not all, are from our side of the chamber, but this should come as no surprise. It isn't a rarity to find some of the bigger supporters of vocational education on this side of the chamber. I wouldn't dispute being called a rusted-on TAFE supporter either, though its No. 1 supporter is the Minister for Skills and Training.

I was very pleased to have shown him around TAFE SA's Elizabeth campus when he visited my electorate, alongside South Australia's minister for education, Blair Boyer. Both ministers came into their roles a few months apart last year. Both of them are firm believers in TAFE, both for what it is and for what it can be. They both have another thing in common—a mission statement which involves unwinding years of neglect from Liberal governments, both in Canberra and states and territories, that undermined not only the role of TAFE, as a pillar of vocational education, but its place in the education system more broadly. TAFE, as we know it today, is the product of a Labor government transforming it and its role in education, in providing skills and training required for the needs of the workforce.

Upon forming government, Labor has put education, skills and training at the forefront of our agenda. When everyone went home at the conclusion of the Jobs and Skills Summit, all stakeholders should have been sound in the knowledge that this was only the beginning. I'm not sure what the expectations were for those who participated in the process from the beginning. There may have been some cautious optimism. Perhaps they just expected something from the previous government's playbook—a final media release from the summit being the end of it all. What we had instead were those stakeholders continuing to be involved in the process of planning and shaping priorities for our labour market. The efforts of our government, in working with universities and TAFE, industry peak bodies, unions and state governments, has delivered a great deal already.

I look no further than the South Australian defence industry workforce and skills report, which was announced last week in South Australia by the Minister for Defence and South Australia's Premier, Peter Malinauskas. South Australia's defence industry is one that is growing and one that will continue to grow and be a fixture in our state, hopefully, for many decades into the future. Our state's expertise in shipbuilding and defence technology, coupled with our educational infrastructure—including TAFE SA—provides a solid foundation for training the next generation of defence industry professionals. This aligns with the broader national strategy to build a resilient and capable defence workforce, which is essential for our national security and economic prosperity. In order to realise this ambition, it requires strategic and collaborative effort.

We need to ensure that young Australians know what they need to do in order for them to secure a good, well-paying job in a field that will be in high demand by the time they are leaving school and taking their next step in life to find a career. A factor that will determine the success or failure of this plan involves the governments of today—and successive governments—celebrating and promoting the value of vocational education and training by raising the profile of TAFE and challenging outdated perceptions that still exist in a number of parts of the community.

We should encourage more Australians to consider TAFE as a viable first option for their education and career development. Paul Keating said that having a good education was like having the keys to the kingdom. There are many roads leading into that kingdom, but it is the role of government to ensure every Australian, regardless of their background or their bank balance, can walk through the door and grasp a good quality education today and the opportunities of tomorrow.

Much like the member for Hunter, I'd like to take note of the great benefits that I've received from the TAFE system. I completed my seafaring studies at Challenger TAFE in Western Australia back in 2006, and this led to a fantastic 10-year career as a merchant seafarer in the maritime industry. I'm forever indebted to the education that I got from TAFE. It's led me all the way to this place, and I'll be forever grateful for that.

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