HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Member Index
Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-11-17 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Skill Shortages

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:51): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills questions about skill shortages.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Reported by the Australian Tourism Labour Force Report, it was noted that job opportunities abound in the South Australian tourism sector but its growth is being hampered by the most poorly skilled workforce in the nation. The report found that 75 per cent of South Australian businesses identified skill deficiencies among their employees, a higher proportion than any other state or territory. The biggest shortcoming was a mismatch of skills with job requirements, followed by lack of experience.

Restaurant and Catering Australia deputy chief executive, Sally Neville, said South Australia had a dire shortage of chefs, cooks and restaurant managers. In addition to this information, it was confirmed that job vacancies within the sector are about 9 per cent in South Australia, above the national average and amounting to more than 2,700 positions. My questions to the minister are:

1. With 75 per cent of South Australian businesses identifying skill deficiencies among their employees, why has the government not addressed this problem earlier?

2. What recent consultation has the minister undertaken with industry regarding training policies that will meet the expectations of the tourism sector?

3. What measures will the minister put in place to address the 9 per cent unemployment rate in the tourism sector?

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) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. Indeed, Deloitte Access Economics was recently commissioned by Austrade to produce the Australian Tourism Labour Force Report for 2015 to 2020, which provides a picture of the current state of the tourism labour force and future skills demand and shortages. The report discusses a number of positives for the South Australian tourism sector.

I note that the Hon. Jing Lee did not refer to any of the positives that were in the report, only the negatives. That is how the Liberal opposition operates. All they do is talk the state down, always putting the state down. They talk down the state, they talk down South Australians, they talk down jobs.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: They talk down jobs, because talking down our state means that consumers and businesses—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The minister will sit down. The honourable minister was asked a question; no-one spoke while the question was being asked so at least allow the minister to answer that question in silence. Minister.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Thank you, Mr President. We know that talking down the state affects not only consumer confidence but also business confidence, and that is why the Liberal opposition's continual talking down of this state is so damaging. Before I go on to talk about—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: While I have this opportunity I will mention, given that the Hon. Jee Ling failed to mention any of the positives, the fact that—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: What did I say? Sorry, the Hon. Jing Lee. We are the second lowest in the nation for retention difficulties, the third lowest in the nation for recruitment difficulties, our turnover rate is below the national average, and we are in the third strongest position in the nation to meet future demand for skilled workers. They are all positives in relation to the South Australian tourism sector and, as I said, it is incredibly disappointing that the Hon. Jing Lee failed to make reference to any of those positives. What she has done is latch on to the negative.

An honourable member: Shame!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Yes, shame. The report indicates that South Australia was ranked the highest in the nation for skill deficiencies, with 75 per cent of businesses reporting skill deficiencies in their workers. To ensure appropriate targeting of government investment in training, the Training and Skills Commission has been consulting with industry to identify their key qualifications, and the information gathered through this process will inform the streamlining of the subsidised training list and be the focus of government investing under WorkReady.

According to the ABS census, almost half of the workers in the tourism sector did not have post-school qualifications, and this indicates that formal VET qualifications may not necessarily be a barrier to workers entering the sector or performing their duties. As I said, this is the important information that TASC is doing at the moment, working with key stakeholders and key industry representatives to work through those issues.

The state government, through its Jobs First approach, supports employment-specific projects that provide unemployed and underemployed people with the skills needed to gain work. Jobs First connects training directly to jobs, and submissions can be made to the department to support training for labour market needs.

We believe that WorkReady is a far more flexible training model that allows for the Jobs First employment programs which, as I said, can provide accredited or non-accredited training or a bit of both. It is a training model that allows industry to specifically identify its needs and ensure that the training is actually able to deliver the outcomes it needs to run successful businesses. We believe the WorkReady model is a far more flexible and suitable model to ensure that these things do not happen again.

For those who do require formal VET qualifications, in 2015-16 around 2,600 new training places relating to the tourism sector are being supported, in addition to continuing students. Based on Training and Skills Commission projections, this level of investment will more than adequately support the skill needs of the tourism sector in the coming years.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT