House debates

Thursday, 4 August 2022

Questions without Notice

Employment

2:49 pm

Photo of Anne StanleyAnne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Skills and training. How will the Albanese Labor government work to address the skills crisis it inherited and help ensure that the economy is not held back by these skill shortages?

Photo of Brendan O'ConnorBrendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | | Hansard source

ONNOR (—) (): I thank the member for her question and her keen interest and advocacy in tackling skills shortages in this country. Given the sheer scale of this challenge, the government has hit the ground running on this very important issue. Now, it is true to say that we didn't just inherit a massive fiscal debt; we also inherited a massive shortage when it comes to skills in the labour market. That's the reality, and, for that reason, we need to do everything we possibly can to address this problem, because, over the last decade, there has been a mismatch between investment in skills and the skills that are in demand.

So there's a lot of work to be done by this government, because, whether you look at the aged-care sector or disability care, you see skill shortages. Whether you look at advanced manufacturing or the tech industry, or hospitality, tourism and retail, there are skill shortages. There are skill shortages in the traditional trades and in personal care services. There are even shortages amongst the teachers and trainers that are needed to equip the workforce with the skills that are in demand. For that reason, we need to get on with this very quickly.

That's why, as the Treasurer said earlier in question time, we're convening the Jobs and Skills Summit, bringing together businesses large and small, unions, training providers, state and territory governments and other experts to drive this agenda and make sure we work together to deal with this problem, this shortage—in many sectors of the economy it's a crisis—that's actually being experienced in those areas. It's also why we've committed to 465,000 fee-free TAFE places. We want to put TAFE back at the centre of the VET sector in this country, finally. That is absolutely an important vehicle to bring about change.

This government understands that, for Australia to succeed and for us to maintain and improve living standards, we need to have a skilled workforce. A skilled workforce is a productive workforce. A productive workforce means a stronger economy, and it means cheaper goods and services. But, as a Labor government, we also understand this: training working people means that this provides them with the dignity and, indeed, the sense of fulfilment of having a good job, because, if you train workers in areas of demand, you provide security of employment for those workers; you provide career progression. So it's not just important for our economy. It's not just important for businesses in this country. It is critical for workers, who deserve a decent go and deserve secure work.