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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-05-26 Daily Xml
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Employment Opportunities, Women

Mrs POWER (Elder) (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is creating jobs and increasing opportunities for women?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:50): I thank the member for Elder for her question, as well as for her interest in supporting women, particularly those who are victims of domestic violence.

The ABS job figures were released last Thursday, and they were very good news for jobs here in South Australia and for women in particular. We saw an increase of 15,300 jobs in South Australia to a total now of 864,200—an all-time record for the number of people working here in South Australia. More good news, when you dig more deeply into those figures, is that you learn there were 7,300 women in that 15,300 number of jobs created in the previous month.

What is not mentioned in the ABS figures is the fact that on 31 March there were 48,000 South Australians receiving the JobKeeper payment, but on 1 April there were no South Australians receiving the JobKeeper payment, yet they all stayed in the workforce and 15,300 joined them in April.

We know that many of the jobs that were receiving the JobKeeper payment were in industries that were feminised, such as the hospitality sector. We have seen dramatic improvements: there is now the second highest number of women in the workforce in South Australia's history, and our significant investment in skills training is providing more opportunities for all South Australians to work in a skilled career through our $200 million Skilling South Australia program, our JobTrainer program and our extended Subsidised Training List, which is now up to 809 courses. It was just over 300 courses when we came to office, and it is now over 809 courses.

Further, the latest NCVER data reports that South Australia had an increase over the year of 8 per cent of women commencing an apprenticeship or traineeship here in South Australia—nation-leading. A recent example of a success story here is that of a female plumbing apprentice changing careers. Amber Shelton, a plumbing apprentice who worked on the new Adelaide Oval Hotel, is now a site manager. She loves her career, particularly the learning opportunities and the challenges that come with such an integral role.

It is not just moving women into apprenticeships in masculine areas; it is actually bringing paid training programs into areas that are heavily feminised, such as the care sector. Until this government came to office, women were expected to achieve their Cert III in Individual Support in their own time in the classroom and then work for free for up to eight weeks in order to get their on-the-job training. We have developed a paid pathway here in South Australia where it is a 12-month traineeship and they are paid to learn that. This is real career advancement for women, and South Australia is leading, delivering more career opportunities, more training opportunities for women.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hurtle Vale!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: It is the same for enrolled nursing. We have been working with the nurses union in delivering more paid opportunities here in South Australia for learning in the care sector. We are 100 per cent committed to making sure there are more career opportunities for women in the workforce, making sure more women have the skills they need for higher salaries for the jobs they are doing in the South Australian community. We are committed, and we will continue to roll out that program.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for West Torrens, I warn the member for Hurtle Vale and the member for Wright for a second time. I warn the member for Playford for a second time.

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