House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Ministerial Statement Ministerial Statement Training Opportunities TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly Colton Minister for Industrial Relations Minister for Employment Minister for Science and Information Economy Minister for Youth Minister for Volunteers The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement. Leave granted. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: The inaugural application round of the joint South Australian and Australian Government Productivity Places Program for Existing Workers was launched on 9 September 2008 and closed on 17 October 2008. This round is a pilot for the implementation of the joint Productivity Places Program for Existing Workers in South Australia. The response from South Australian industry has been outstanding. The demand for existing worker places has been exceptionally high from across a wide range of industry sectors, including areas of high skill demand. Under the Memorandum of Agreement with the Australian government, South Australia agreed—under this pilot—to allocate a minimum of 1,880 qualifications worth $14.1 million. The number of qualifications applied for was far in excess of this and totalled 6,601. Under the arrangements for the pilot program, 752 qualifications were to be targeted at certificate IV level training, 752 at diploma level, 188 at advanced diploma level and 188 at certificate III level. I am pleased to announce that the program has greatly exceeded these targets. In total, the program will fund 2,780 qualifications of which 1,206 qualifications will be allocated at the certificate IV level, 1,018 at the diploma level, 193 at the advanced diploma level and 363 at the certificate III. All these qualifications will contribute to meeting the skills demands of industry across our state. This comprehensive spread of qualifications will be distributed across a wide range of industry sectors, across regional areas and across identified target sectors. The health, indigenous and disability sectors are major beneficiaries of this program. Also, 744 qualifications have been allocated to various health proponents, 294 of which are at diploma and advanced diploma levels. Indigenous workers stand to benefit from a total of 136 qualifications, 86 of which are at the Certificate IV level and above. All proponents will be notified in writing of the outcome of the assessment process. The enthusiastic response received for this program vindicates the recognition by the Australian state governments of training and skills as a critical priority that underpins our economic and social developments. The state government will continue to work closely with the Australian government to build on this exceptional response to this pilot program.