Skills Training

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (14:32): My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is creating jobs through skills training?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:33): I thank the member for Finniss. As a country MP, he knows how difficult it is at times to get the right skills in regional South Australia, and we know as a government that skills will be crucial to get us back out of the economic crisis that we are in at the moment through COVID-19. Over the past two years, the Marshall Liberal government has rebuilt South Australia's training system—and what a mess it was in when we came to office. We have done that in partnership with industry and we have done that in partnership with the training system.

We are meeting our targets. There have been almost 25,000 commencements over the last two years and over 130 Skilling South Australia projects developed in partnership with industry and developed in partnership with business. More than a thousand employers have hired their very first apprentice since September 2018. These are people who hadn't participated in the system before coming on board the government's training program.

The most recent NCVER data shows that South Australia is the only state recording growth in apprenticeship and traineeship numbers: 13.8 per cent over 2019 compared with a negative 3.6 per cent nationally, including increases in mature age apprenticeships (114 per cent) and in female apprenticeships and traineeships (22 per cent). Despite the COVID impacts that have happened since March, we are finishing the year with more sign-ups of new apprentices than we finished with last year. I congratulate my department and the industry on the work they have done in staying on board the program during this very difficult time.

How good is the Prime Minister? When was the last time you heard a prime minister talk about apprenticeships and traineeships? I didn't hear about it when I was training or for the 22 years of running my business. I didn't hear it for the last 15 years I have been in this place. I haven't heard vocational education lifted to this level, to the level of a prime minister. We are very excited to work with the Prime Minister on the JobTrainer package. The Marshall Liberal government has always recognised—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —the critical importance of skills. We took a strong policy to the state election and we have acted on that policy. Contrast that with those opposite, who had no policy and left skills training in a mess. They didn't want to talk about skills training or TAFE when they were in office, when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was running the place over there.

In the face of COVID, we announced a $16 million market VET package, and 98 per cent of those in non-government RTOs took up the package. We took swift action to ensure that our local training market was maintained and best positioned to continue to deliver quality training and hold onto the growth that we had worked with them to achieve over the last two years—a 20 per cent growth in non-government delivery of training with the contracts of training.

The COVID response included things such as a boost for Group Training and extra funding for Group Training so they could offer their employees to host employers for a discount to make it more attractive for them to be employed. Of course, we have also offered $5,000 bonuses for employers to take on new apprentices in direct contracts because we recognise as a government that there is a cost to the on-the-job training, and we are in partnership with business to make sure that training happens.

Fifty-five per cent of providers are at or above their pre-COVID activity level, which is a terrific success for the program we have put in place to support them during this difficult time. New training sign-ups across the non-government training sector are at higher levels than at this time last year. New training activity for those RTOs participating in the VET market support arrangements that we set up had a 5.9 per cent increase, or 2,900 new training accounts compared with the same period last year. This indicates that the VET market in South Australia is performing better than anticipated before COVID-19.

Mr Speaker, PEER are looking for 16 apprentices at the moment. You might like to share with your friend—Anthony, I think it was—on Sunday that there are jobs for 16 apprentices—

The SPEAKER: My friend?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —and VET applications that he may very well be able to apply for.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: I spoke to Peter this morning and they are very happy to take his application.

The SPEAKER: The minister's time has expired. I take it you were talking about the Leader of the Opposition's friend Anthony, not mine, minister.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Lee, I am not going to ask you to repeat that, but I am going to warn you for a second and final time. You are lucky not to be leaving.