Regional Youth Traineeship Program

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Regional Development. Can the minister inform the house on the progress of the Regional Youth Traineeship Program?

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome—Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Local Government) (14:53): I thank the member for Giles for the question. Good news, just recently, when the Treasurer announced the $50 million towards Arrium for the new owners there. I am very pleased to inform the house that young trainees from the Limestone Coast councils will, next Wednesday, attend a networking and professional development event as part of the $2 million Regional Youth Traineeship Program.

Members of the house, particularly those representing our regions, will be pleased to hear that there has been a strong response to this excellent program which is helping young people in our regions to enter the workforce full-time with a two-year traineeship in local government and local governance. Participating regional governance bodies will receive $14,500 per year towards employing each trainee. The program is fully subscribed with all 57 traineeships on offer taken up by 36 regional councils, the Yalata Aboriginal community and the Outback Communities Authority. There has been a very positive response from councils, some of which are now employing up to three trainees.

I was pleased to meet two of the Mount Gambier council's very capable young trainees, Ashlee and Ebony, when I was in Mount Gambier for the Regional Summit last week. Both Ashlee and Ebony were very thrilled to be able to start their careers in their local area, and I can see that Ashlee and Ebony will be great assets to their community. We know that for regional communities to stay strong we need to keep young people in our regions. That is why these traineeships are specifically aimed at people aged between 17 and 24 living in the regions who are unemployed or don't have a full-time job.

The traineeships cover a range of skills, with positions in administrative services, IT, horticulture, civil works, library assistance, waste management, community services and also tourism. In addition to employment, these young people will be receiving valuable on and off-the-job training, and will be able to receive certificate level qualifications to further boost their future employment prospects.

Part of this training is attendance at a Welcome to Local Government induction. The theme of the induction workshops is to 'educate, inspire, inform, network and share'. Participants will meet face to face with other trainees from their own regions and hear from local role models to encourage thoughts about future career possibilities. I look forward to meeting more trainees when I attend some of these induction sessions across the state over the next couple of months.

Through the Regional Youth Traineeship, the state government is giving young people the opportunity to stay in their community while doing work that interests them. They are getting valuable experience and skills that they can put on their CV for a head start in their careers. In closing, I would like to thank the Local Government Association for successfully delivering the program on behalf of the state government.