Matters of Interest

PEER VEET

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:21): Recently I represented the Premier at the PEER VEET annual graduation awards evening. The Master of Ceremonies for the awards evening was well-known media personality, Mark Aiston. Distinguished guests included the Governor His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, who officially opened the awards evening; Senator Penny Wong, who was guest speaker for the evening; Mark Butler, federal member for Port Adelaide; and, David Pisoni, member for Unley in the other place.

Over 400 people attended the evening, which was a great success. The night saw 130 apprentices graduate in electrical, plumbing, data communications, and refrigeration and air-conditioning trades, as well as trainees in security installation and the business field. In addition, the awards were presented to high achievers in various trades and categories for their significant effort.

PEER VEET was originally established in 1986 and is managed through a bipartite board of employer and union representatives. PEER VEET is a registered training organisation and a group training organisation which employs over 500 trainees and apprentices and provided training to over 3,000 industry participants last year. In fact, PEER VEET was awarded the Large Training Provider of the Year Award in 2013 at the South Australian Training Awards. This is arguably the highest achievement award an industry organisation can achieve in the South Australian training industry. PEER VEET previously won the Small Training Provider of the Year Award in 2007.

In his opening address, the Governor His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce acknowledged on behalf of PEER VEET the support it receives from both state and federal governments, as well as the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). Without this support PEER VEET would not be able to offer the level of assistance that apprentices and trainee students deserve and receive. This valuable industry assistance allowed PEER VEET to employ and train apprentices and trainees to the highest standards, which ensures that graduates have the support, confidence and knowledge they need to successfully enter the building and construction industry.

Senator Wong's speech applauded and encouraged students as they move towards their future career. Her speech highlighted the importance of education, telling her personal and family story to demonstrate a real-life example of resilience and optimism. Senator Wong highlighted the limited education of her Malaysian grandmother, who had little formal education. She then went on to talk about the opportunities that opened up for her father as a result of his winning a scholarship through the Colombo Plan. This saw him gain a degree from the University of Adelaide, where Senator Wong herself was later to graduate. Senator Wong told how this had opened up opportunities for her father that she and her family ultimately benefited from. She also pointed out that education never stops and that it will be important for graduates to continue to upgrade their skills and knowledge throughout their lives.

Like all other educational pursuits and undertakings, completing an apprenticeship and traineeship involves hardship, dedication and sacrifice. Apprentices and trainees receive a significant amount of help from a great number of people, including trainers, field officers, behind-the-scenes staff members, host employers and, most importantly, supportive family members and friends. I congratulate each and every one of them for their efforts.

As I have mentioned, over the past few years PEER VEET and its students have had considerable success in other external industry awards at both state and national level. Credit for this, in no short order, is the result of the encouragement and dedication of PEER VEET staff and also of the motivation of students to continually achieve excellence. I congratulate all of the PEER VEET graduates and winners and I wish them well for the next stage of their lives.