Basem Abdo (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) during National Skills Week, we recognise the importance of Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector;

(b) there have been more than 650,000 enrolments in the Government's Free TAFE program; and

(c) there have been more than 170,000 Free TAFE courses completed by Australians;

(2) commends the Government's successful passage of the Free TAFE Bill 2024, supporting quality training and putting TAFE back at the heart of the VET sector;

(3) recognises Free TAFE is helping Australians to get skills in in-demand areas like housing construction, nursing and aged care, giving Australians the skills they want, in sectors we need; and

(4) supports the Government as it continues to invest in the Australian people by prioritising training initiatives like Free TAFE.

This week is National Skills Week, and it reminds us that our future economy and security depend on building Australia's skills capacity today. To seize new industries, meet community needs and stay competitive, we on this side of the House carry this week's message forward through policy and with purpose.

Since January 2023, more than 650,000 Australians have enrolled in free TAFE. That's 650,000 Australians who might otherwise have been shut out of training because of cost. And, importantly, more than 170,000 Australians have completed a free TAFE course—finishing, qualifying and having an opportunity to move into work.

These are not abstract numbers. They represent people taking their first step into a career in construction, nursing, aged care, early childhood education or cybersecurity, areas whose skills this nation needs. And these numbers reflect among them people retraining, mid-career, to keep up with changing industries.

This government promised to put TAFE back at the heart of vocational education and training, and we are delivering. Through the passage of the free-TAFE bill, Labor locked in at least 100,000 free TAFE places every year. This is ongoing and permanent. It's not a pilot and it is not a trial.

In my electorate of Calwell, we are fortunate to have institutions such as the Kangan Institute, one of Victoria's most important skills and training centres. The opportunities that skills and training provide matter, and this government is backing that in. The experiences of Kangan students show us why. Take Christopher, who switched from IT to automotive studies. He said:

I realised a career in automotive could be a better fit for me. Kangan's facilities and teachers have been excellent. My goal is to secure work placement and eventually find a job working with light vehicles.

Tamani is a mature-age student. She said:

Returning to education gave me a sense of purpose and the confidence to be a role model for my son, my nieces and nephews, and my community. I was a stay-at-home mum for many years and decided to return to education so I could better my life.

These are real stories from real people.

Free TAFE is not just changing lives; it is addressing national priorities: in housing construction, where apprentices are being supported with incentive payments of up to $10,000 to take on trades like carpentry, plumbing and electrical work; in nursing and aged care, where free TAFE is training the workforce we need to care for an ageing population; and in cybersecurity, where certificate IV and diploma graduates are already working on the front line in councils, community organisations and small businesses.

Labor is also delivering in other areas. We are raising the living-away-from-home allowance for apprentices, for the first time since 2003. We are increasing the disability wage support payment for employers, for the first time since 1998. And we have delivered the landmark $30 billion five-year National Skills Agreement with the states and territories, lifting skills investment right across the country.

But let's be clear about the alternative. When the Liberals were in office they cut $3 billion from TAFE and vocational education, and only earlier this year, in February, they voted against the free-TAFE bill. The now leader of the opposition even called fee-free TAFE 'wasteful spending'. She went further, saying, 'If you don't pay for something, you don't value it.' Well, tell that to Christopher, to Tamani and to the 650,000 enrolees who have seized the chance to take part in free TAFE. Tell that to the student nurse in Victoria who has saved $17,776 by enrolling in a free-TAFE diploma of nursing.

Liberals don't value free TAFE, just as they don't value Medicare, the NDIS or public hospitals. They would rip this away if they had the chance.

Our national skills policies reflect our focus on some of the most important reforms in a generation, because, in a world of increased complexity, when Australians have the skills, Australia has the future. Free TAFE gives people a fair chance, builds the industries that keep our economy strong and delivers good jobs and secure livelihoods. That's what Labor stand for and that's why we will always back skills, training and TAFE. I want to acknowledge the work of the Minister for Skills and Training for his focus and commitment to this very important policy area.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I now call for a seconder for the motion.

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

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor's so-called fee-free TAFE program has failed to deliver real results. They've spent in excess of $1½ billion of taxpayers' money and yet fewer Australians are in apprenticeships and traineeships today than before. This is not a success story; this is a policy failure. Fee-free TAFE might sound good on paper, but the reality is very different. The Albanese government is not training enough people in the areas where they're actually needed—trades, construction, aged care and essential infrastructure. We don't need more people in low-level generic training programs that don't lead to real jobs, especially not when it comes with a billion-dollar price tag. You can't build houses without tradies, you can't manufacture without boilermakers, you can't fix the economy without trained workers and you certainly can't grow the economy without a skilled workforce.

You may remember the Albanese government's Jobs and Skills Summit in 2022. It was meant to be a game changer. Instead, it was another classic talkfest with no real outcomes. Our skills gaps are getting worse, not better. Right now, we are facing a massive housing shortage and infrastructure bottlenecks. Builders and contractors are crying out for skilled tradies. Ask any builder and they'll tell you they're waiting for months to find a qualified worker. Projects are delayed, costs are rising and communities are missing out. Labor promised that fee-free TAFE would fix this problem, but the dial has not shifted.

Let's not forget Labor's record of decline. When the coalition was last in government, there were 415,000 apprentices and trainees in training. Today, under Labor, that number has collapsed to just 311,000. That's a reduction of more than 100,000, a whopping 25 per cent reduction. Despite the $1.5 billion being poured into fee-free TAFE, fewer people are actually in training. And, even when young people do sign up, too many drop out—three-quarters. Why? Because there's not enough support to help them complete their training. Fee-free TAFE doesn't fix completion rates. You can waive fees, but, if apprentices and trainees aren't mentored, supported or connected to real job opportunities, they won't finish their courses. The result is churn—lots of enrolments, very few completions, a bigger burden on the taxpayer and no solutions to the skills shortage.

If only one in four TAFE apprentices are finishing their courses and we have a skills shortage, the commonsense solution is to fix what we've got, not add more places. Let me put it this way: if you're struggling to pump water to your local community and, after inspection, you find a gaping hole in the pipeline, do you (a) fix the pipe or (b) build a bigger pump and pump more water through it? The government is buying a bigger pump and putting it on the taxpayers' credit card, which is already maxed out.

Labor's skills crisis isn't just a policy problem; it's an economic handbrake. More than one in three occupations across Australia are assessed as being in national shortage. That's 36 per cent of all occupations. Every day that Labor ignores this, costs go up for families, businesses and communities. When Labor talks, you pay. The longer Anthony Albanese and Labor ignore their skills crisis, the bigger the bill will be for our country. What we actually need is investment in outcomes. The construction industry does not need slogans. It needs serious investment in apprenticeships, training equipment and quality trainers and proper incentives for employers to take apprentices on. We need targeted funding for high-demand trades and skills. We need a stronger link between TAFE and employers. We need more apprentices gaining hands-on experience on real worksites. That is how you build a pipeline of skilled workers.

Fee-free TAFE as it stands is not meeting the needs of industry, it is not fixings workforce shortages and it is not helping young people build lasting careers. Unless there is a shift towards genuine workforce planning, stronger support for apprentices and policies that match training with actual jobs, Australia will keep falling further behind. 'Fee-free TAFE' is a slogan, not a solution. It hasn't delivered the skilled trades our nation needs. Under Labor, apprentice and trainee numbers have collapsed, shortages are worsening and projects are stalling. The coalition will continue to call for real investment in apprenticeships, real pathways to work and policies that will genuinely fix the skills gap facing Australia because, at the end of the day, this is about our young people, our economy and our nation's future.

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

Today marks the beginning of National Skills Week. I rise to recognise the critical role that vocational education and training continues to play in shaping the future of our workforce not just across the country but in my electorate of Spence. In the north, we are proudly home to two TAFE campuses in Elizabeth and Salisbury. Both are eligible to service the people of Spence and South Australia with fee-free TAFE courses, because skills training isn't just an economic strategy; it's a nation-building one. It's how we make sure that Australians, young and not so young, get the training they need to build a life they can be proud of. For too long, vocational education was treated as the poor cousin of our education system, but this government is changing that. We're putting TAFE back at the heart of our VET sector, where it always belonged.

Through the free TAFE program, more than 650,000 enrolments have already been made across the country. Over 170,000 free TAFE courses have been completed. That's 170,000 Australians with new qualifications, new skills and new confidence. In Spence, we're seeing this transformation happen every day. We know our region has some of the highest levels of need when it comes to education. In One Tree Hill, Munno Para, Smithfield and across our northern suburbs, we've seen far too many people locked out of education and training because of cost, geography or lack of opportunity. But free TAFE is opening doors and even training the people to fix those doors. Local campuses are buzzing with activity. People are training in aged care, nursing, construction, hospitality and early childhood education—fields where we desperately need more skilled workers. I might invite the member for Grey to come and pay a visit to my electorate. I'll show you some of the fine young people working to get ahead in my community.

Let me say this. It is working. When you complete a TAFE qualification, you can graduate with the skills and confidence to walk into workplaces ready to go, ready to contribute and ready to fill the critical workforce shortages that have held Spence and other regions back for too long. The Free TAFE Bill 2024, passed by this government, wasn't just a piece of legislation. It was a commitment to every person in Spence who has ever thought, 'How can I afford to study?' or, 'I would love to change my career path, but I can't afford it.' It was a commitment to fairness, to opportunity and to rebuilding our training system from the ground up, because we know where the future jobs are. They're in housing construction as we work to deliver 1.2 million new homes, including right here in the north. They're in nursing and aged care to meet the needs of our ageing population. They're in sectors like renewables, disability support and digital tech, where demand is only growing.

While free TAFE is a national program, it's impact is felt most powerfully at the local level. In Spence, this means people can study close to home. Parents can study while raising kids and don't have to worry about a 30-minute drive, on a good day, into Adelaide. Older workers can retrain without having to start from scratch, and school leavers can find pathways that don't require a university degree but still lead to a great job. This is how we build an economy that works for everyone. We train Australians in Australia for jobs in Australia. We do it by respecting skills training as being every bit as vital as a university education, because, whether you're laying bricks in Blakeview, working in aged care in Andrews Farm or studying to become a nurse in Elizabeth Vale at Lyell McEwin Hospital, your work matters, and your training should, too.

The days of cutting funding to TAFE, of neglecting our public training system and of treating skills as optional are over. This government is rebuilding TAFE with purpose and pride. We're investing in TAFE infrastructure, teaching quality and student support so that people in Spence aren't left behind, because, when we invest in skills, we invest in an Australia fit for the next generation to inherit. We know that Spence has done it tough, but we also know that talent is everywhere; it just needs a chance. Free TAFE is that chance. So, during this National Skills Week, let's acknowledge the incredible work of our local TAFE teachers, staff, students, apprentices and graduates. Let's celebrate the sparkies, the carers, the coders and the chefs building their lives and building our region. Let's keep investing in people, in training and in the future of Spence. I'm proud to be part of a government that backs skills, backs workers and backs Spence.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak proudly in relation to this motion. This week is National Skills Week, but every week should be National Skills Week. Before coming to this place, I was a barrister. Before being a barrister, I was a carpenter, which meant I had to go to trade school. So I'm TAFE educated, and I am a big supporter of technical and further education. It is a vital link to our prosperity not just as a nation but as individuals—the ability to get out, learn a trade and then go anywhere in the world and be respected for it.

But there are some very significant problems in this country. I want to take you on a bit of a history lesson, because this goes all the way back to the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government. There was an onset in those years of a philosophy that said, 'If you want to be someone, you need to go to university. Everybody should go to university.' So we saw a massive drop-off in kids doing trades, and what we're experiencing today is a knock-on effect of that philosophy—parents sitting around the kitchen table talking to their kids, asking, 'What are you thinking of doing when you leave school, dear?' 'I wouldn't mind becoming a carpenter.' 'No, you don't want to become a carpenter; you want to become a lawyer.' It's that rationale, it's that philosophy, that has seeped into this country and is causing us untold grief, because we have a massive skills shortage in this country now—absolutely massive.

I would pose this question: if the government's policy on fee-free TAFE is working so well, why have apprenticeship numbers dropped by 103,000 apprentices? When we left government, there were 415,240 apprentices; there are just 311,760 today. It's a drop of 103,000. Something is not working. We talk about a skills crisis. We talk about a housing crisis. The two go hand in hand. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, as a carpenter and as a licensed builder—still a licensed builder—the skills shortage in Australia is dire.

Just because you offer someone a fee-free place at TAFE does not mean that they will go on and take an apprenticeship. It does not mean that the courses in many different areas that fee-free TAFE is offering are closely aligned to the skills shortage that industry needs to fill today. There are many courses that young people and old people alike can do at TAFE, but many of them are not what Australian employers are looking for. If we don't marry the two, if we don't work with employers and ask them about the types of skills that they are needing and the shortages that they're experiencing—the member for Grey just gave a great analogy about investing in buying a bigger pump; all you're doing is pumping water out that cracked pipe. It's a very apt analogy.

But the skills shortage works in conjunction with the housing crisis that's driven by this government. They talk about building 1.2 million new homes; they have not got a snowball's chance in hell of building 1.2 million homes. Everybody knows it. One of the main reasons they can't do it is the skills shortage that the building industry is experiencing. I'll tell you why else: young girls, in particular, do not want to get a trade in the building industry because they see the appalling behaviour by the CFMEU on building sites every day, and they say, 'Well, why would I want to expose myself to that misogyny?' The Labor Party pride themselves on looking after women, and they— (Time expired)

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next day of sitting.