Skilling South Australia

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (14:23): My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Can the minister update the house on how the state government's Skilling South Australia program is supporting businesses and creating jobs for more South Australians?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:23): I can do that, and I thank the member for Finniss for his question and his interest in job opportunities and skills in his electorate. Our first year of Skilling South Australia has delivered much-needed reforms to rebuild South Australia's training system. We were the first state to sign a national partnership agreement with Canberra in the Skilling Australians program. Skilling South Australia is a $200 million current investment, in addition to the state government's increased vocational education investment, boosting both TAFE SA and non-government service providers here in South Australia.

As a matter of fact, this government, in its first two budgets, has spent $91 million more on skills training than the previous government did in its last two budgets. In our first year of Skilling South Australia, we have achieved over 13,000 new apprenticeship and traineeship commencements, which is within 96 per cent of our first-year target agreed with the federal government. The Marshall government continues to turn the system around.

Skilling South Australia is getting results. Preliminary NCVER figures show South Australia experiencing a significant increase in apprentices and trainees—almost a 30 per cent increase this year, from January to June this year, compared to the same period last year. Of course, that is the largest percentage increase in Australia.

South Australia has also experienced an increase of more than 22 per cent in government-funded vocational education and training activity, when compared to the same period. So not only are we seeing more people in apprenticeships and traineeships but we are also seeing more using the VET system here in South Australia—more South Australians hearing the government message about the job opportunities that VET delivers here in South Australia.

These figures are encouraging and show that our Skilling South Australia reforms are having a positive impact. Seven hundred businesses in South Australia took on an apprentice for the first time over the last 12 months. Our eight Industry Skills Councils have strengthened the industry's influence over skills and workforce development here in South Australia. This is ensuring that funding for our skills training is directly aligned to industry priorities.

We have developed and rolled out new apprenticeships and traineeships in industries that have not traditionally used them, such as cybersecurity, applied technologies (which is an apprenticeship pathway to a diploma and which would take the first year off a university degree if you decided to do an engineering degree after completing that apprenticeship), Microsoft apprenticeships and Aboriginal health and individual support paid traineeships—the first time that such a program has been used here in South Australia.

Last year, we exceeded training growth targets across many industries, including construction, mining and energy, the education and service sector, food, wine, tourism and hospitality, and transport and manufacturing. In March, I launched the Building Capability framework in the VET sector. This is of course to lift the capacity of those in the training sector, those who are delivering the vocational education we need here in South Australia.

The state government's $1 million investment is building the capability of vocational education and training here in South Australia, which is an important expanding market. We are working directly with industry and training providers to restore confidence and quality across the vocational education system in South Australia to build the capability of our trainers and raise awareness about the value of skilled careers here in South Australia. Our work continues to ensure that South Australians have access to the right training now so that they are ready to step into jobs today and enjoy rewarding careers in the future.