Skills Training

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is supporting the skills training sector?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:35): I thank the member for Heysen for his question and his interest in vocational education and training here in South Australia. Of course, the Marshall government has successfully strengthened vocational education here in South Australia in the two years since it has come to office. Under Skilling South Australia, we achieved a nation-leading growth in apprenticeship and traineeship commencements. Our reforms are ensuring South Australia has the skilled workforce necessary to modernise and grow our economy, particularly in the vital transitioning economy areas.

To help hold that position and to come back stronger than before, I announced in April our $16 million VET market support package in response to COVID-19. This new funding is supporting non-government training providers to continue to deliver skills needed for South Australia's recovery and to assist them to adapt and remain viable during the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, over $4 million in stimulus payments to training providers have been made, $3.5 million one-off payments to training providers to support new delivery and technology to support training, and $600,000 in top-up payments to 52 training providers has been paid in the first round of subsidy payments at pre COVID-19 levels.

Recently, I signed off on further targeted support measures under the Skilling South Australia program, offering businesses impacted by COVID-19 extra support to continue their skills training: $1.5 million for Skilling South Australia workforce projects. These help businesses retain and transition workers across industries, upskill and reskill displaced workers to help them find new careers in industries in demand and support group training organisations to reduce the charge-out rate to host employers for new apprentices and trainees for six months for eligible commencements from 2 March this year.

Under our Equipped for Work, businesses will be reimbursed up to $1,500 for equipment and services, including online training and working from home expenses when they hire an apprentice. Building capacity projects have also been expanded to make them more flexible to respond to the changing COVID-19 environment. That is a key measure and a key success story of the Skilling South Australia program: we have always been flexible to support industry in whatever circumstances they are in.

These initiatives will ensure the delivery of skills will continue to almost 48,000 students across the state, as well as new students who have signed up since the pandemic. This is part of the Marshall government's strong plan to come back stronger than before.