Page 1147 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 4 May 2022
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Education and training—Skilled to Succeed agenda
Ministerial statement
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for Skills, Minister for Transport and City Services and Special Minister of State) (10.36): On 29 April it was my pleasure to launch Skilled to Succeed, the ACT’s skills and workforce agenda for the Canberra Institute of Technology. Today I would like to update the Assembly on this important strategy to deliver a highly skilled workforce for the ACT.
The ACT government is ambitious for Canberra: for the growth of our economy, the wellbeing of our community, the capability of our workforce and the great jobs that thriving local industries can offer. A highly skilled workforce is the cornerstone for a strong and growing economy.
Our ambition for the ACT is reflected in our target to grow the territory’s workforce to 250,000 by 2025. It can also be seen in our own billion-dollar investments in local infrastructure, services and innovation, where we are leading by example in strengthening the economy in delivering quality jobs.
As we cautiously begin to emerge from the challenging couple of years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also optimistic about the ACT’s potential. Since 2016 our population has grown by over 29,000 people. Our economy has grown by 20 per cent. Unemployment is lower than before the pandemic and 22,900 jobs have been created locally. This gives us a really strong foundation to launch into the next phase of Canberra’s growth.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr recently released Canberra Switched On, a strategic document which sets out the government’s economic development priorities for the ACT. This strategy highlighted the importance of developing and retaining talent locally to match the best and brightest globally so that we can capitalise on our opportunities for knowledge-based economic growth.
Skilled to Succeed supports this agenda by outlining our plans for harnessing the ambition and optimism that thrives in our community among local students and workers who are ambitious for their futures and optimistic about what these hold, among employers who are ambitious and optimistic for the growth of their businesses and among training providers who are ambitious about the quality, diversity and accessibility of their offerings, as well as optimistic about the future of the sector that they work within.
Skills shortages and accelerated change in the world of work have put a spotlight on skills and workforce development like never before. We want to turn that spotlight into a beacon for attracting new students to the ACT’s training system and encouraging skilled workers to apply their talents in Canberra. Skilled to Succeed maps out the ACT government’s key priorities and the focus of these efforts.
This document has been informed by feedback and input from many local stakeholders. I would like to acknowledge the ACT skills industry advisory group
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