House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Apprentices and Trainees APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Norwood Leader of the Opposition APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills. Can the minister confirm that there is currently a backlog of over 2,500 apprenticeships awaiting registration with Traineeship and Apprenticeship Services? The Hon. G. PORTOLESI House of Assembly Hartley Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills Minister for Science and Information Economy APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:37): I'm very happy to bring back an accurate response for the leader; I don't have that information. What I can tell you— Mr Pisoni House of Assembly Mr Pisoni: Why don't you tell us how wonderful Skills for All is? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned for the second and the last time. The Hon. G. PORTOLESI House of Assembly The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: What I can tell you is that in relation to training, as there are so many other success stories in this government, this is what the independent National Centre for Vocational Education Research says about South Australia: in the number of course enrolments, six times the national growth rate; the number of— Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Mr MARSHALL: Point of order: 98: relevance. I'm only interested in the backlog. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Well, the question was about apprenticeships. I'll hear anything on apprenticeships. Mr PISONI House of Assembly Mr PISONI: Point of order, sir, the question was about apprenticeship registration. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Yes; I've got ears. The minister. The Hon. G. PORTOLESI House of Assembly The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: The number of vocational education training students is five times the national average. The number of qualifications completed has shown a 41 per cent increase, more than double the national growth rate—the most cost-effective system in the country—and for trade occupation completions we have the highest in the nation for those that commenced training in 2008. So I am happy to bring back a response to the very specific question asked by the leader. However, I am very, very proud of the training offering and education offering that we have in South Australia.