Skills for All

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing questions to the Leader of the Government on the subject of training.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: As indicated earlier, the then chief executive of the department then known as DFEEST, I think was the acronym (further education, employment, science and technology), wrote to the Budget and Finance Committee in May 2013. That was in response to a series of questions which he took on notice in the Budget and Finance Committee in April 2013. A series of questions was put to him; very briefly, the one which was most important was:

Will you provide to the committee, on notice, what the original schedule was—

that is, the Skills for All—

and how you are ahead of it, and how you will be ahead of it in terms of the forward years. I think the plan was a six-year plan, was it not? Was it from 2010-16?

Mr Garrand says:

Six, yes; we were due in 2016 for the 100,000. As I said, at this stage, we are probably a couple of years ahead of it.

I seek leave to have incorporated into Hansard without my reading it a purely statistical table based on the advice provided by Mr Ray Garrand, then CEO, to the Budget and Finance Committee in May 2013.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Without going through all the detail, that answer from Mr Garrand indicates that the pre Skills for All baseline figure of training places was 86,561, and then details for each calendar year through to 2016 the actual and the estimated number of training places. Very quickly, I note that for 2015 he estimates the number of training places for calendar year 2015 will be 100,965 and for calendar year 2016, 93,904, as I say, compared to the baseline figure of 86,561 and compared to the figure the government has indicated of 81,000 training places.

My question to the minister is: given her claims in the house today that the pre Skills for All figure was in the order of 64,000 training places, and this factual evidence from the chief executive officer of one of the government's departments at the time, will she now provide information as to what the actual number of training places was for calendar year 2013 and calendar year 2014 and what the estimated number of training places for calendar year 2015 and calendar year 2016 are so that the gaps in this table can be filled out and compared?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:57): I thank the member for his questions. I'm happy to take those on notice and bring back a response. But, as I have indicated in my answer to the previous question, the advice I have is that for the financial year 2011-12, pre Skills for All, it was 65.4 and for 2015-16 it was just under 81,000, 80.4. As I said, for calendar years, I would have to take that on notice.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Kandelaars.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Kandelaars has the floor.