Page 156 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 February 2016
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MS FITZHARRIS: I thank Ms Burch for the question. I would also like to acknowledge her leadership of and passion for in particular the vocational education sector as the previous minister. As we all know, the ACT has one of the most educated populations in Australia, indeed the world. Equally, the ACT economy is a strong and vibrant economy. It is an economy that is constantly adapting and evolving, thanks largely to this ACT Labor government that is working hard to diversify our economy and to ensure that it is diverse, resilient and generating secure, well-paid jobs.
Our impressive higher education and vocational education and training sectors are crucial elements of the strong economy. These sectors provide the skills Canberrans need to work in the jobs of the future and to have fulfilling careers that help them to get ahead while also ensuring our terrific ACT economy continues to grow.
A comprehensive connection between education skills, the workforce and our economic partners will better enable our economy to seize the opportunities available to our smart city. The ACT government is committed to strengthening this relationship as per the recommendation of the second national workforce development strategy of 2013.
We are focused on continuing to create the right business environment and using our competitive strengths to accelerate innovation and investment. A key to this is working with the business community and the university sector to create a city with its own distinct economic identity. Part of this is the creation of the CBR innovation network—a first for Australia—bringing together five nationally and internationally renowned higher education and research institutions to work with the ACT government and the private sector to grow Canberra’s innovation ecosystem.
We are lucky enough to have nationally and internationally recognised research and education institutions right here in the ACT. The ANU is Australia’s highest ranked university and sits amongst the world’s top research universities. Along with the University of Canberra, the University of New South Wales Canberra, the Australian Catholic University, Charles Sturt University and the Canberra Institute of Technology, these institutions give Canberra an edge as a world-class knowledge economy.
The ACT government will continue its commitment to strengthening our higher education and VET sectors. As the new Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research, I am very pleased to see how strong these sectors are, and they are only getting stronger.
The strength of our universities is recognised nationally and internationally. The vast numbers of international students being drawn to Canberra’s universities is impressive. We can be proud that our universities attract students of such diverse backgrounds. The direct result of this is showcased in the $2.75 billion in value the ACT’s higher education and research institutions bring to our economy each year. We benefit from university researchers at the ANU and UC and the research work of organisations such as CSIRO. They are on our doorstep and their successes only serve to strengthen our economy, and our partnerships will help us grow.
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