Apprenticeships

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:13): My question is to the Minister for Education, Training and Skills. Can the minister explain why apprenticeships in shipbuilding-related pathways have dropped since Labor came to government? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: NCVER data shows that since Labor came to government there has been a 69 per cent drop in commencements for engineering apprenticeships and a 47 per cent drop in commencements for 15 to 19 year olds. These results are in stark contrast to the significant year-on-year growth in the previous years. Labor's commitment to the engineering pathway at Findon will see 20—just 20—students going into those jobs at BAE around the end of 2025 or early 2026.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (15:14): I thank the member for Morialta for his question. I think if I could cut to the chase around the reason for why there has been any drop in apprenticeship numbers, we saw during COVID a large amount of stimulus money put in by the former federal government—

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: Worst in Australia. The worst drop in Australia.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Unley!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: This was your big opportunity this week, but you're still here. You're still here, like the Ghost of Christmas Past, lurking around. A great deal of money was given—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: A large deal of apprenticeship wage subsidy was given by the former Liberal federal government, and that can play a role in increasing apprenticeship numbers, but of course you have to ask the question around whether that is sustainable or not. What we are seeing now, post that stimulus ending, is more organic growth through all the things that we are doing in South Australia but also the things that the federal Albanese Labor government is doing as well to actually grow those numbers outside of offering those subsidies for apprentices. The technical college is certainly an important part of that. I would remind both the member for Morialta and this place, though, that the Findon Technical College is just one of five that we are building. It is the first.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Florey, member for Newland!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: I would also point out that what we are building here with these five technical colleges—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Florey is on a final warning.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: I might politely remind the member for Morialta—and we are normally pretty good at being bipartisan on issues around education—that these are also five brand new public schools that we are building.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: They're not new schools: they're new buildings.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: I think they are new schools. They are five new public schools.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: We are splitting hairs now. The point I am seeking to make is that when those—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morialta, your exchange with the member for West Torrens must cease. I am going to grant the minister an additional 15 seconds if required.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: The point I was trying respectfully to make was that when those opposite finished some of those new public school buildings that were announced by the Deputy Premier, we gave plaudits to those opposite. We gave plaudits for building—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Morialta!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: Which you claim is yours but is clearly not. We are building here five new public schools. If you do indeed seek to be bipartisan in how you approach issues around education and public education—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Badcoe, member for Schubert!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: —here is a fantastic opportunity for you to get behind not just Findon technical school but the other four that will be open by 2026 as well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley is warned for a final time.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: If I could circle back perhaps to the member for Morialta's question, indeed there was a laser-like focus from those opposite when they were in government around commencements—very important. The member for Unley only spoke about commencements, though. He very rarely liked to talk about completions.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: It might come as a surprise to those in this place that if we look nationally at the training system in Australia—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is on a final warning.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: —it is about one in two who make it through from commencement to completion. It is an exceptionally inefficient system, and we are focused here on not just trying to increase the number of young South Australian people—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Badcoe!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: —and mature South Australian people who are in training but making sure they get all the way through from starting that training or apprenticeship to actually finishing, which is not something that those opposite were very focused on in the four years that they had on this side of the chamber.