National Centre for Vocational Education Research

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:14): Earlier in question time this week the skills minister put on the record matters relating to a press release, which he had earlier put out into the public domain, highlighting what he thought was a most pressing use of his time, that being to do a parsing, an analysis, of NCVER data from the time of the previous government in which he and his office found, he claims, that the former Liberal government—when we delivered more than 20,000 extra apprenticeships and traineeships over a period of time, as judged by the NCVER data, and was in fact not the full story—delivered 15,000 extra apprenticeships and traineeships over and above what the former Labor government had been delivering over the period of our government.

Notwithstanding that that former Labor government had created a skills crisis in South Australia, coupled with a catastrophic quality and reputational crisis for the TAFE SA brand, he claims that that increase of 15,000 apprentices and trainees over and above what the former Labor government were delivering was not good enough. I would say that if that was the case not only would it have been 15,000 extra but it would have fallen short of our promise of 20,000.

The good news for South Australians is that we did achieve 20,000, so said the NCVER, so said the federal government, whose analysis also backs up our claims. But more than that, the minister claimed that we had done a deal with the federal government in areas of skills that was not in the best interests of the people of South Australia, using these manipulated figures to do so.

I would make two points. Firstly, he has missed the main game. His job is to deliver skills for South Australia and that is now. Secondly, it beggars belief that in the midst of a skills crisis, with ever-widening gaps between our workforce need and the workforce that we have, our skills minister feels that it is appropriate for him and his office to spend time manipulating spreadsheets, shuffling data, from seven years ago in order to have a go at the former government.

I would say, despite the so-called analysis that the minister's office has cooked up, the NCVER is a source of truth on which Australians rely in this area. It is judging the current and the former governments by the same rules. What the data shows is crystal clear, that ever since the Labor Party took office in March 2022 in South Australia and May 2022 in Australia there has been a dramatic decline in apprenticeships and traineeships, in commencements and in training numbers. While the completions are improving as a result of the commencements that started four years ago, that too is set to decline in the years ahead when those who commenced in smaller numbers since his office took power become the ones completing.

Labor's criticism, in my view, shows a complete lack of understanding of what is required to build a skilled workforce here in South Australia. The Liberal approach encouraged businesses to take on apprentices and trainees, encouraged them to meet skills shortages with training that paid. The Labor government spends a lot of time talking about fee-free TAFE places. I tell you what: do you know what is better than the fee-free TAFE place? It is an apprenticeship, which not only, as far as the apprentice is concerned, is fee-free for the training, but they will even pay you while you are doing the training. It is the original fee-free TAFE place, and it is better than that.

But, of course, this government decided to move the emphasis away from apprenticeships and traineeships and on-the-job training and towards this free-fee TAFE model that requires so many of the people doing the courses to attend the bricks-and-mortar TAFE organisation, not working potentially for those hours, not gaining an income for those hours, and then hope that there is a job for them at the end, as opposed to an apprenticeship when they are already in a job. That is what is sucking all of the energy out of the apprenticeship growth that we had had year on year throughout the former government.

The minister, in the last sitting week, boasted a 45 per cent completion rate for those fee-free TAFE places. Imagine, sir, if all of those people, rather than being encouraged into one of those fee-free TAFE places, had instead been encouraged directly into an apprenticeship or traineeship, where they would be doing a job that needed doing, where they would be paid to do it and, indeed, where they would be making a significant impact on our skills needs into the future. Labor's dramatic decline in apprenticeships and traineeships over the two years is a disgrace. This government should learn from it and re-emphasise the importance of apprenticeships and traineeships instead of the marketing exercise they have preferred.