Anne Urquhart (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last week I met with Maree and Jason, the husband-and-wife team behind RTV Training, a local machinery and safety training organisation in the electorate of Braddon. They've successfully secured $250,000 in funding through the Albanese Labor government's local jobs, local people grants under the Local Jobs Program. The funding will allow RTV to run their new program, Entering the Construction and Energy Transition Industries. The program will support around 40 participants and will build on their skills and abilities to secure nationally accredited training and employment opportunities. It's focused on the construction and future energy transition industries, which are growth sectors for Braddon.

Maree and Jason were kind enough to show me around their fantastic training facilities in Ridgley, and even got me into an excavator! Maree and Jason are passionate about getting the best out of their clients, regularly providing support over and above what's required for their training and short courses. They've even purpose-built a mini roof for their working-at-heights training so the course can be conducted safely and practically. Maree and Jason told me they were very excited to start this new program, given the job opportunities that currently are available in these growth sectors.

As an RTO, RTV provide courses for businesses and individuals, including short courses for first aid, confined spaces, white card, chainsaw and many more. They have a huge range of machinery to teach people how to operate loaders, telehandlers, graders, dozers and a whole range of others. The machinery is located onsite to give participants real-time experience in practical training scenarios. They also offer qualifications in agriculture, horticulture, civil construction, mining and quarrying. These qualifications are all directly relevant to many work opportunities right across the electorate of Braddon, so it's fantastic to have access to quality and comprehensive training close to where people live so they don't have to travel that far to get there—in their words, 'If we can train quality workers in Braddon, we can keep them here and everyone benefits.'

The Albanese Labor government is funding projects that support the workforce needs of our region, helping jobseekers move into work while supporting local employers to get the workforce that they need. This funding for RTV benefits jobseekers, employers and local businesses by delivering practical, community led solutions that respond directly to local workforce requirements and also to what's coming up in the future. I want to congratulate Maree and Jason on securing this funding. I'm proud to support increased access to training, both for jobseekers and for those looking to upskill right across those industries that are going to be so important to us in the future, not only for existing workers to transition into but for new workers coming in.

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