House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Employment Figures EMPLOYMENT FIGURES The Hon. I.F. EVANS House of Assembly Davenport EMPLOYMENT FIGURES The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:40): Again to the Minister for Employment, will the minister confirm that South Australia must create jobs at a rate 50 times the rate that it currently is since it made its promise to create 100,000 jobs by 2016? The Hon. G. PORTOLESI House of Assembly Hartley Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills Minister for Science and Information Economy EMPLOYMENT FIGURES The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:40): We have always acknowledged, the Premier has acknowledged, I have certainly acknowledged, that this is an ambitious target. This is an ambitious target. We absolutely acknowledge that, and everybody in this place acknowledges that there have been minor matters, like global financial uncertainty and a high Australian dollar and commodity prices, all of which have had an enormous impact on the state of our affairs here, not only in South Australia but in our nation. However, we remain as focused on jobs creation as we ever have been. Recently, as members would know, we released a jobs and skills strategy, which is about positioning us for the future and keeping people working. This initiative will reach about 40,000 South Australians and specifically will do the following. It will target: 14,000 people to be supported to find a job in their local community through Skills for Jobs in Regions; 20,000 unemployed South Australians and those without qualifications will be able to gain a qualification through a Skills for Jobs entitlement; and up to 8,000 workers in industries affected by restructuring—and we are not alone here in South Australia—will be supported to gain new skills as they prepare to transition to give them the best chance of securing work in other industries. So, we do remain committed to that target. It was an ambitious target at the time. Clearly, it remains ambitious, but we will remain as steadfast as ever in our commitment to South Australians.