ABILITIES FOR ALL INITIATIVE

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:14): My question is for the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills. Can the minister inform the house about the recent graduation ceremony for students with disability as part of the Abilities for All program?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (15:14): I thank and acknowledge the work of the member for Reynell in this regard. I was very pleased to attend the Abilities for All Graduation Ceremony at the Convention Centre along with His Excellency, the Governor.

The Abilities for All initiative is run by the Bedford Group, as many members opposite would know, with the support of half a million dollars of funding by the state government. And we know that Bedford has a great track record of working to improve opportunities for people with disability. Bedford does this by providing unemployed South Australians with disability with a mix of accredited and non-accredited training which assists them to gain employment.

This program has been operating since 2005 and this year's graduation event recognised the achievement of around 200 people who took part in the program over the last year. I can report that 134 people completed a certificate II level qualification as part of a pathway into employment. I was pleased to learn that 30 of those have already gained employment as a result, and that is fantastic.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the men and women from communities across South Australia who have taken up this challenge. Some have gained training in landscaping while others have learned new skills in the areas of business, digital media, retail disability work, and community service. The Abilities for All initiative typically achieves an 80 per cent qualification completion rate for its participants, with 30 per cent of those going on to find employment as a result of their improved confidence and skills.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work done by Bedford. I would, in particular, like to acknowledge the chair, Colin Dunsford—he was there, of course—and Sally Powell and her entire team at Bedford. They do a great job.