Datacom Training Facility

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:49): My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister update the chamber about the recent launch of Datacom's facilities at the Tea Tree Gully TAFE campus, alongside federal Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Alan Tudge?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest in the facilities that have been opened at Tea Tree Gully yesterday at the TAFE campus. Yesterday, I was delighted to be a part of the official opening of Datacom's customer care and IT hub at TAFE SA's Tea Tree Gully campus, which includes a new home affairs global service centre, with the honourable Alan Tudge MP, federal Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.

I want to congratulate the Datacom team on this important occasion. The establishment of the centre is an important milestone in Datacom's expansion, providing training and over 400 full-time equivalent opportunities in the ICT sector for South Australians. Furthermore, Datacom is expected to exceed its target of 684 jobs to be created by the end of 2018—that's six months earlier than anticipated.

The home affairs office that is part of the larger Datacom facility is expected to receive approximately 1.5 million basic inquiries a year. Staff at the home affairs centre will focus on high-value complex decision-making across immigration, citizenship and trade facilitation programs. Our new government is proactively engaging in new partnerships with non-government training providers, working together to deliver better training outcomes for TAFE SA graduates. It is a great opportunity for the unemployed in this state to be offered training opportunities that lead to well-paying careers with companies like Datacom.

By partnering with TAFE SA, Datacom provides a clear training-to-job pathway for potential new employees. Mr Greg Davidson, the chief executive of Datacom, recently said to me that there is an unprecedented success rate of unemployed people finding places at Datacom after training at Tea Tree Gully. Whilst there are over 400 already employed, hundreds will soon be sharing in this bright future.

It was a lovely ceremony yesterday. We obviously had the federal minister there. There were also a number of local MPs. Of course, Dr Richard Harvey, the new member for the seat of Newland, Ms Fran Bedford, the ongoing member for Florey—members would understand, the Tea Tree Gully TAFE campus does jump in and out of electorates, depending on boundaries—and also the member for Wright, Mr Blair Boyer, was there. His electorate is a little bit further away, but I think it was an indication, in that we had a Liberal member of parliament, an Independent member of parliament and a Labor member of parliament there, that there is keen interest in what is happening and it is supported by all sides of politics.

South Australia, as we know, has a combination of low business costs, a knowledge-based economy, and a world-class education system, all supported by an exceptional quality of life. This investment in highly skilled, high-value investments like this help us to continue building interest in our state for potential future investors. South Australia's ICT capabilities are well-established and respected, with 2,500 ICT graduates graduating from higher education institutions in South Australia annually. In this rapidly changing world, government investment in training must be connected to the needs of the broader community to lead to real jobs and better investment outcomes.

I congratulate the team from Datacom and also the team from Trade and Investment and thank Datacom and the federal government also for their commitment to South Australia and the investment they have made.