Apprenticeships

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding apprenticeships. Can the minister please outline to the council how a new apprenticeships pilot will boost housing in South Australia?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for her question. Indeed, as she has outlined in her question, we do need people to be working in the trades in greater numbers in South Australia. The Treasurer has outlined several times on this record and also in the media about how the building industry is going gangbusters and the great take-up of the grants which are on offer to enable people to build new properties or to build homes or to renovate, I should say. There are also programs being run through the South Australian Housing Authority that support new builds in the affordable housing space, as well as our own renewal programs.

The trade organisation peak bodies, particularly, often state that there is a shortage of skilled trades in South Australia, so we need to support additional apprenticeships and traineeships to enable the pipeline of workers to come on board to join this exciting area. The Minister for Innovation and Skills, Minister Pisoni, who I understand got his first job in life through the trade sector, is a great enthusiast of apprenticeships and traineeships in South Australia.

It is very exciting that we have been able to launch a new pilot to assist more people into the apprenticeship sector. We are particularly interested in expanding the diversity of people who enter this program to include social housing customers, more women, more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and a range of people who may not have considered this as a career opportunity in the past.

We have committed $5 million towards a pilot project. There is already on offer a range of grants through the skills area that support apprenticeships and traineeships. This additional funding will make sure the administration is managed so that group training organisations can put on additional traineeships. What the building sector, that is the private companies who are in the building and construction industry, tells us is that it just wants to build houses. The administration is something that is an extra burden.

This funding is particularly going to assist to facilitate that. We are hoping for an additional 250 trainees through this program. We look forward to assisting in that skill shortage, which includes areas such as bricklaying, carpentry, painting, plastering, electrical and wall and floor tiling, so that people can get into the industry.

At our media event, Georgia, who was the apprentice we interviewed, was interested in starting her own business once she has completed her traineeship, particularly encouraging more women into the industry through her own business as part of her vision. We think it's an exciting time for jobs in South Australia and this is just one way in which we are supporting this.