Legislative Council Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2) 53 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Murray Bridge Employment Opportunities Murray Bridge Employment Opportunities The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS Legislative Council Murray Bridge Employment Opportunities The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:39): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question about the support provided to residents of Murray Bridge. Leave granted. The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS Legislative Council The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: Murray Bridge has a significant number of residents facing barriers to employment. Can the minister inform the chamber as to what initiatives there are in the region to provide greater employment opportunities to the residents of Murray Bridge? The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council 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 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) (14:40): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. We are keenly aware of the need to support people seeking employment, particularly those facing barriers to employment. This is especially important in regional areas that may be showing higher unemployment levels. I was very pleased to visit Murray Bridge last week to see firsthand the benefits of some of the programs being delivered there to connect job seekers to training that is tailored to industry needs and to support industry to employ local people. Through the regional employment grants the Department of State Development provides Regional Development Australia Murraylands and Riverland with around $380,000 for employment and career services projects across the Murraylands and Riverland regions. This funding was provided as part of transitioning Skills for Jobs in Regions to WorkReady. The projects in the Murraylands and Riverland are designed to be responsive to industry and community needs in the area. I was interested to note, particularly when I was visiting, the indication of high rates of job vacancies. There were a number of local organisations that indicated their inability to meet their job demands, particularly from the local community. This funding will be used to help develop and deliver tailor-made solutions to industry needs and to assist jobseekers to overcome barriers to gaining and maintaining employment. Whilst in Murray Bridge I visited the Australian Portable Camps (APC) which provides an incredibly innovative approach to camp facilities and infrastructure solutions across Australia and is based in Murray Bridge. It is very deceptive from the road and looks like quite a small facility but when you go in there are numerous large workshops and warehouses with the most amazing equipment relating to a whole range of functions. APC designs and builds each camp module specifically to suit the project and tailored to meet the needs of the client. There are currently 150 people employed in a range of occupations including manufacturing, construction, logistics and transport. APC is focused on improving standards for camps to ensure that the latest innovations are being included in camp solutions. I was pleased to hear that APC will look to source suitable local workers where possible for these positions, which will be in a range of occupations such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders, sheet metal fabricators, painters, plant operators, labourers and heavy vehicle drivers. They were one of the organisations that indicated some problems in the past in being able to recruit locally. We had a long discussion about that. Another organisation I visited whilst in Murray Bridge was Murraylands Training and Employment, a group training organisation that currently employs over 40 apprentices and 15 trainees. The support provided to apprentices and trainees that it provides plays a very significant role in the success of their apprentices and trainees. The apprentice locksmith in the Murraylands, Jason Sarpa, recently won apprentice of the year in the 2015 Manufacturing and Engineering Institute of Australia Engineering Trades Apprentice of the Year Award. Group training organisations make an extremely valuable contribution to the traineeship and apprenticeship system in South Australia, employing 22 per cent of South Australia's trade apprentices and having a completion rate that is almost 6 per cent greater than other employers. Their completion rates are incredibly impressive. Until this year, GTOs received funding jointly from the commonwealth and state governments through the Joint Group Training Program. However, most unfortunately, the commonwealth Liberal government has cut funding to the program in 2014-15 and has indicated that it will entirely cease funding to GTOs in 2015-16. This funding is vital to support the pastoral care model that group training organisations use and plays an important role in increasing completion rates. I also had a productive discussion with the recently appointed chief executive of the RDA who shared her vision for the Murray Bridge region and discussed a number of future opportunities. She is a very impressive person and I look forward to continuing to work with her. I also visited the Victim Support Service where I discussed with them the recent federal government initiatives and ways that we could work to ensure that they linked in with existing state programs. As I said, the Murray Bridge region is a strong example of where there is ample potential opportunity in employment outcomes with the right leadership and supported initiatives.