Limestone Coast

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:13): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question about her recent trip to regional South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA: South Australia's regional areas are such important assets for our state and I know that the government understands the value of maintaining a relationship with these communities and the businesses that support them. Minister, will you advise the chamber of your most recent regional visit?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for his most important question and his ongoing interest in regional South Australia. The government is strongly committed to regions, and I was very pleased to be able to travel last week to the Limestone Coast.

My visit had a strong focus on the employment, higher education and skills portfolios and while in Mount Gambier I took the opportunity to visit the TAFE SA Mount Gambier campus. During this visit it was clear to me that staff at this campus had a real passion for their students and their community, and I take this opportunity to congratulate them for their commitment and acknowledge their hard work and efforts.

The Simulated Business Community is a key part of TAFE SA's blended course delivery model. Students learn in the classroom, in industry, online and in simulated industry settings. While touring the Mount Gambier TAFE campus, I was introduced to students studying business administration in the simulated business community. Regardless of their location, these students are able to learn and experience how real businesses operate, in a no-risk virtual environment, developing products and brands and marketing and selling goods and services.

Another highlight of my visit was viewing the solar and domestic wind turbine installation and grid connect training centre. Harnessing wind power in the South-East by installing wind turbines at our Mount Gambier campuses has pushed TAFE SA into the renewable energy and sustainable training front. I understand that major companies such as Vestas and Repower have since contracted TAFE SA to provide on-site delivery of wind turbine installation. This is a great example of training that is being developed as a result of industry need, and I understand that the feedback from industry, community and the students has been very positive indeed.

I was also pleased to meet with Group Training Employment in Mount Gambier. While visiting the offices there, I met with two of their trainees and GTE's general manager, Mr Brenton Lewis. GTE currently employs more than 170 apprentices and trainees, working with over 100 host employers. The Group Training business model of employing apprentices and trainees in the region and rotating them to different host employers helps students gain a broader range of competencies and higher completion rates. In fact, the GTO, like GTE, plays a very important role in South Australia's training market, employing around 22 per cent of trade apprentices in the state.

During my meeting with Mr Lewis, he raised with me the devastating effect of the federal government's decision to cease funding to the joint group training program from 2015-16. Not content with ripping out almost $154 million from our VET funding in South Australia, the federal government has now advised that they will be ripping funding from group training organisations like GTE who have a proven track record of seeing trainees and apprentices complete their training.

Recently commissioned NCVER data confirms that the completion rate for apprentices in trade occupations employed by GTOs are 5.7 percentage points higher than non-GTO employers in the state and 7.8 percentage points higher than for GTOs nationally. This decision is a disgraceful attack on a very successful model of group training providers in South Australia, and I call on the federal government to reverse its decision.

Finally, during my visit I was able to experience firsthand the work of the Limestone Coast Domestic Violence Service, and I acknowledge the important work that they do and the high level of commitment and passion for their work there. I also enjoyed a fairly lengthy discussion with the chief executive and mayor of the District Council of Grant.