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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-24 Daily Xml
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SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Ms BREUER (Giles) (14:36): My question is for the Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education.

Mr Hamilton-Smith: You're a leader in waiting over there.

Ms BREUER: Me? Thank you, Leader of the Opposition. Leader in waiting—I have been promoted. Thank you, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms BREUER: You can come over to my side and be a minister when I get there.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms BREUER: I am all excited and flushed now; I have gone all funny. My question is for the Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education. What is the government doing to assist young people to access skills development programs, particularly in regional areas? Perhaps one day they may become leaders as well.

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:37): I thank the member for Giles for her question and acknowledge her support of employment programs in her electorate. I also acknowledge the support of the member for Schubert for employment programs in his electorate; he knows that a lot is being done.

I am pleased to inform members that South Australia will receive $673,400 in funding from the commonwealth government for three initiatives that specifically target the skills needs of our young people. The state government has, in fact, been very successful in obtaining approximately 20 per cent of the total $3.4 million allocation through the commonwealth Targeting Skills Needs in Regions program. The successful South Australian projects involve a variety of partnership arrangements between industry, government and industry skills boards. I am very pleased to inform the house that the Office for Youth has had significant involvement in two of these projects.

The first project that I would like to mention is called Ignite. It is an entrepreneur program that will help 40 young people to establish innovative agribusiness and enterprises—wait for this, Ivan—in the Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island regions, which are expected to be commercially and environmentally sustainable. The participants will be mentored by business owners, coached by industry representatives, and involved in peer-to-peer industry networking, and they will receive training in business fundamental workshops.

The state government will contribute $294,000 to this project, to which the commonwealth is adding a further $262,000. Ignite will involve a partnership between the Office for Youth, Primary Industries and Resources SA, Conservation Volunteers Australia and the Primary Industries Skills Council.

The second project that I will briefly talk about aims to support young people to successfully participate in the seafood industry on Eyre Peninsula. Commonwealth support for this project will be $276,000, to complement the $1.4 million of state government support provided through, and to, the Seafood Training Centre of Excellence, which coordinates and brokers accredited training for the seafood industry. This project will target 36 school leavers and young unemployed people, including young Aboriginal people, and provide them with relevant training to help them gain employment with local seafood enterprises operating on Eyre Peninsula.

The final project that I would like to mention is called Southern Edge. Over two years, this program will provide 50 young unemployed people with skills designed to help them move into employment or further education and training within Adelaide's southern suburbs. A particular focus will be on better positioning the participants for jobs in manufacturing, community services and the health sector. This program will be delivered through a partnership between the Office for Youth, the Manufacturing Industry Skills Advisory Council and the SA Health and Community Services Board. The commonwealth will contribute $134,800, with the state government and industry combining to contribute a further $102,500.

The participants of this program will be provided with relevant industry training, access to youth development activities and exposure to employment opportunities. In addition, participating employers will be supported to better understand the needs of young people and to develop appropriate recruitment and retention strategies so that they can become an employer of choice for young people.

The government—and I know certainly Ivan and the opposition—recognises the economic and social importance of encouraging the participation of young people in the workforce and also acknowledges the critical role that industry and employers must play in working with government to achieve our common goals.

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