Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently had the privilege of helping Footscray City College open their fantastic new environmental science and horticultural centre and their science technology centre. Our economy is changing. The traditional manufacturing jobs of the past are evolving into highly skilled and highly competitive roles. In my electorate in Melbourne's west, the closure of the Toyota plant in Altona and the uncertainty surrounding the future of the BAE shipyard in Williamstown have sent shockwaves through my community. Furthermore, youth unemployment in Melbourne's west is currently at 13 per cent, one of the highest rates in the state.

Giving our students the right training is essential to ensuring that young people in our community are given the best possible opportunity in the workplace, and giving our nation a workforce ready to meet the challenges of the decades ahead. That is why I was so pleased to attend the opening of the Footscray City College environmental science and technology centres. These centres will kindle a love of science and technology in students, opening their minds to new career paths in the years to come.

I am very proud that the previous Labor government was able to support the construction of these facilities through a grant of $2.2 million under the Trade Training Centres in Schools Program. This policy recognised not only that investment in trades was desperately needed but also that it should be directed through collaboration with industry. The previous government worked with schools and local industry to determine where the jobs of the future will be and to ensure that students were trained with the skills needed for these jobs.

Along with the trades training centres, the federally funded Partnership Brokers program is helping young people in my community make a successful transition from school to further education, training and employment. The Partnership Brokers program creates partnerships between schools, local businesses and the broader community to ensure that the tailored training students receive results in real employment outcomes.

The trades training centres program and the Partnership Brokers program work hand in hand to link local industry with local educational providers to ensure that both students and employers get the skills they need. Nationwide, the Partnerships Brokers program has established over 2,500 partnerships in just four years. The return on public investment is clear. Our local Partnership Brokers program estimates that the cost of running the program annually is equivalent to the annual cost of Newstart benefits for 28 unemployed Australians.

Unfortunately, the Abbott government has axed both the trades training centres program and the Partnership Brokers program. The Abbott government's recent budget was an attack on what makes Australia a fair and egalitarian society. Not happy to simply introduce a 'learn, earn or starve' policy for young Australians without a job, the Abbott government has also sought to make it more difficult for young people to acquire the skills they need to find work. If the Abbott government were serious about helping people into the workforce, it would retain policies like the trades training centre program and the Partnership Brokers program and invest in the skills of our young people, instead of throwing them to the wolves.