House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2) 54 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Skills Training Skills Training Mr TEAGUE House of Assembly Heysen Skills Training Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:14): My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Can the minister update the house how the Marshall Liberal government is supporting South Australians through ongoing skills training and workforce support in response to COVID-19? The Hon. D.G. PISONI House of Assembly Unley Minister for Innovation and Skills Skills Training The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (15:15): I thank the member for Heysen for his question and his interest in young people who are starting their careers and those who are transitioning into new careers. Of course, this is a very important question because we have been very successful since the signing of the national partnership with the federal government in September 2018 in changing the way we do skills training here in South Australia. One of the things we have identified is the fact there is a significant cost to business for the on-the-job component of vocational training around the world. At some institutions, particularly those in Germany come to mind, it is recognised that there is a significant cost to business for on-the-job training in the vocational education system. Our Skilling South Australia program saw $100 million of state funding and $100 million of federal funding come together for our Skilling South Australia program. We have used that money to bespoke design programs to support employers and apprentices and trainees to move into their training system. I think it is fair to say, because we have released that program without a one size fits all, we have had some significant success over that period compared to the national results and the results of other states. For example, the latest figures that were released on NCVER showed that for the first three quarters of 2019 there was a 17.1 per cent increase in the number of apprentices and trainees here in South Australia compared to a national increase of 2.7 per cent. If we look at the September quarter for last year and we compare that to the September quarter for the year earlier, it is a 20.6 per cent increase here in South Australia. They are nation-leading figures, and they have happened because we have recognised the cost of on-the-job training. We released last week a program that we started working on earlier in the year to again recognise that there are these costs for employers. There is our Equipped for Growth, where employees will receive up to $5,000. That is on top of the subsidised training list that we have expanded from 350 skills to 800 skills and opened up to all training providers and not just accessed through TAFE. Of course, there is our Skilling South Australia support that is already enabling barriers to be removed for businesses and enablers to be brought in. This is an extra enabler for businesses to continue on their training program. Of course, there would be a number of people who would be saying, 'But we've seen a lot of people put off, particularly since midday yesterday.' Yes, that is predominantly in the tourism and hospitality sector, which has had some good growth, but there are other areas where there is significant growth and significant shortages. In the care sector in South Australia, through the NDIS system and through the aged-care system, we are looking at about 6,000 vacancies over the next five years in that space. We have been working, since we have had the Skilling South Australia program, in delivering for the first time in the nation traineeships where people are actually paid to learn. We have matched up an industrial instrument with a certificate III in individual support, where an employee is paid to learn a traineeship and a skill in that area. We will be expanding that program through this new incentive.