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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-06-14 Daily Xml
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SKILLS FOR ALL

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (14:43): My question is to the Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade. Can the minister inform of the house about state government programs to improve the skills level for business, industry and individuals involved in the advanced manufacturing and mining sectors in South Australia?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:43): I thank the member for his question and his keen interest in manufacturing, given his background. The continue economic success of South Australia is linked with the future growth of the advanced manufacturing and mining sectors. That is why both the advanced manufacturing and mining sectors are recognised as part of the seven strategic priorities pursued by the state government. South Australia already has many advanced manufacturing firms supporting the development of high-value products and services, but it is important that those firms continue to transform.

The state government's Skills for All initiatives provide a range of opportunities to assist the transformation of advanced manufacturing. Under the Skills for All reforms, subsidised training will be offered in approximately 80 advanced manufacturing-related qualifications. Of those, more than 20 per cent will be fee free, and that means exactly that: students will not be required to pay course fees. Fee-free courses will include science, technology, engineering and mathematics qualifications that have been recognised as being particularly important to the advanced manufacturing industry.

The state government will also, in partnership with industry, help raise industry skills levels through the Skills in the Workplace program. This program will provide between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of the training costs of eligible employers to raise the skills of existing employees in industry-critical skills and specialised occupations. Realising the benefits of the mining boom for all South Australians is a key priority of this government.

Mineral exports have already reached about $4.2 billion—four times more than when Labor first came to office—and the industry is poised for very significant growth. It is vitally important that South Australians are appropriately qualified and skilled to take advantage of the job opportunities that are available as a result of this dramatic expansion of the resource sector. That is why the state government Skills for All initiative will provide the opportunity for more South Australians to share in the benefits of the mining boom.

Skills for All will offer subsidised training for approximately 90 mining-related qualifications, and one quarter of these will be fee free—that means, of course, that students will not be required to pay for courses. The Skills in the Workplace program will also assist in training the mining sector, providing between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of training costs in industry critical skills and specialised occupations. I also remind the house of the recently announced $38.3 million mining and engineering centre at Regency TAFE, which will provide South Australia with a centre for training excellence in the mining, engineering, advanced manufacturing, defence and transport industries.

The state government's Skills for All initiative provides opportunities for all South Australians to undertake training in advanced manufacturing and mining sectors in our state. These training opportunities will continue to raise the skills levels of advanced manufacturing and mining sectors, and will assist businesses, industries, individuals and of course all South Australians. I commend this program to the house.

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