Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Skills and Training. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to boost apprenticeships, including to build more homes for Australians? What obstacles are there?

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the member for Hasluck for her question, and I recognise her deep commitment to the people she represents so well in this place, particularly in ensuring that they can get the skills they want to do the jobs that we need. In the Albanese Labor government, we are building Australia's future and boosting the workforce we need to deliver it so that we can deliver on our national priorities.

But, when we came to government just over three years ago, Australia was facing the worst skills crisis in more than half a century. This didn't come about by accident; it followed a decade of neglect from those opposite, underlined by their failure to land a national skills agreement in a decade and by billions of dollars in cuts. Apprenticeship numbers fell away. It's very clear that they still haven't learnt. It was in this House that the now leader of the opposition, in opposing the Free TAFE Bill, said:

… if you don't pay for something, you don't value it.

The more than 47,000 free-TAFE students in construction courses demonstrate that Australians disagree.

On this side of the House, we're backing the next generation of tradies. We've upped the living-away-from-home allowance for the first time in 20 years, and we've doubled the amount we provide to employers to take on an apprentice living with a disability. The most recent data shows us that construction industry apprenticeships are up 11 per cent compared to pre the pandemic, but we are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to boosting apprenticeships so we can build more homes for Australians. That's why we are supporting new housing construction apprentices and tradies through $10,000 incentives, and we're already seeing promising results after just a month.

We know these incentives, which are also really important cost-of-living relief, are encouraging more Australians to pick up the tools and to become tradies—to gain skills, make a contribution and build a career. I think about people like Blake and Calvin—pre-apprenticeship carpentry students at Victoria University's Sunshine campus. Calvin wants to one day start his own carpentry business, and it's free TAFE that's opening that pathway, together with our incentive program. This incentive program builds on the very successful new energy stream as well, which has already seen more than 11,000 Australians take up training and jobs in clean energy, electrical and automotive fields.

While I'm on my feet, I want to recognise that, in the gallery today, we're joined by Ausgrid electrical apprentices from New South Wales. It's great to see them here. It was so great to visit one of their sites earlier this year with my friend the member for Reid and meet 50 new apprentices starting that week. We are pulling every lever to help Australians get secure, well-paid jobs in nation-building industries. This government, unlike members opposite, will always back Australian apprentices to build Australia's future.