Apprentices and Trainees

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:34): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question regarding apprentices.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: Previously the minister has talked about the importance of apprenticeships in South Australia, and indeed they are very important. Can the minister advise the chamber about the recent TAPS awards of excellence and graduation ceremony?

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) (14:34): Last night it gave me great pleasure to speak at the TAPS awards of excellence and graduation ceremony for 2015. I felt particularly honoured to be part of that graduation and award night. There were hundreds of people in attendance: graduates, staff members, friends and family of the graduands. It was an incredibly vibrant and wonderful occasion, and of course it was rewarding some of the state's best and brightest upcoming apprentices.

I would particularly like to congratulate all the graduates from last night. There were 51 graduates who successfully completed a Certificate III in Plumbing and Roof Plumbing, and there were also two graduates who successfully completed a Certificate III in Business. I would like to congratulate all the finalists for the different award categories and finally, but not least, the winners of the various TAPS awards. There were some 17 categories. I will not go through each of those here today, but I do congratulate each of those winners.

I particularly wanted to acknowledge the dedication and support of the TAPS organisation—the GTO—and its staff. In the years since it was established in 1997, TAPS has employed more than 1,200 apprentices and trainees. In the plumbing and roofing industries alone, TAPS currently employs over 210 apprentices, who are hosted across more than 100 host businesses. Of course, we have to acknowledge the commitment of those host employers. If they were not prepared to supervise on-the-job training, this would all fall apart, so we thank them for their contribution.

TAPS has shone in both quantity and quality. Its apprentices have been recognised at a national level for high achievements in their chosen field. In 2014, a TAPS apprentice won the gold medal in the regional World Skills competition and went on to compete in the national World Skills competition in Perth.

The state government is pleased to support TAPS and the plumbing industry more broadly. TAPS is a fantastic organisation and it produces quality training outcomes year in and year out. Of course, that does not happen by accident; it happens because this organisation and its staff are very committed and dedicated professionals who are prepared to go the extra distance year in, year out.

As those in the chamber would be aware, Work Ready focuses our current training skills and employment investment to better target the connections between training and jobs as well as improved completion rates. These are two areas where the group training organisations, GTOs such as TAPS, perform exceptionally well. Additionally, the state budget will deliver $985 million in a stimulus package including major tax reforms and targeted investment in growth industries to boost the economy and create jobs.

We will also continue to support job growth through the numerous construction and infrastructure projects which have been announced. The ones that are in the pipeline include the Port Adelaide development, SAHMRI 2, the Riverbank Precinct redevelopment and the $20 million investment in refurbishment of our Housing Trust properties. These projects and others will help stimulate the South Australian economy and provide job opportunities into the future for these graduating apprentices and many others.

Unfortunately, the national decline in the number of apprentices enrolling and completing training has not been assisted by the federal Liberal government's budget cuts. As I have said in this place before, the federal government has abandoned numerous skills and training programs such as the Australian Apprenticeships Access program and the Joint Group Training program, and replaced the Tools for Your Trade funding for apprentices with a loan scheme.

I was talking to an apprentice who said to me when he lost his tool allowance that he cannot afford to take out another loan for his tools. He already has a loan; he needed to take out a loan for his car so he was able to get to and from work. He said he is just simply not able to take out a second mortgage. It does have a profound effect on these people's lives. That is estimated to fund and support less than 50 per cent of previous expenditure levels.

The most recent federal budget is again a missed opportunity. It did not reverse the $97.2 million in cuts to apprentices and trainees made by the federal Liberal government nationally through the midyear economic and fiscal outlook. In the three years to 2017-18, some $66.1 million will be removed from the support for the adult Australian apprentices incentive and $31.1 million to be removed from the Australian apprentices support services. This continues the widespread cuts to apprenticeship and traineeship incentives since 2012, and this is in addition to the commonwealth government's decision to withdraw entirely from the very successful Joint Group Training Program 2015-16.

Unlike those opposite, the state government remains committed to supporting employers to employ and train apprentices, particularly where training is linked to areas of economic and social priority and, more importantly, we remain committed to providing South Australian jobs. I again take this opportunity to congratulate the 2015 apprentices and trainees (TAPS) on their wonderful achievement, and I wish them all the very best in all their future endeavours.