Page 1338 - Week 04 - Thursday, 30 March 2017
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Female apprentices in the traditional trades are also well supported at CIT. CIT has some great success stories of women who have graduated in traditional trades such as carpentry, automotive, plumbing and electrical areas. CIT has led a range of initiatives to showcase the career opportunities for women in traditional trades. For example, CIT has the women in trades ambassador program, which celebrates the achievements of female apprentices and tradespeople and encourages women to consider the qualities they have to be successful in a trade.
I would like to speak again on the national partnership on skills reform. The Australian government, through the national partnership agreement, committed $1.75 billion between 2012 and 2017 to provide a national framework to drive reform of the national training system. The ACT received $28 million through that national partnership. Funding ends at the end of this financial year, and, as per the minister’s motion, I support the call on the ACT government to write to the federal government to urgently get them to recommit to a new national partnership agreement to come into effect following the end of our current arrangements.
Investing in TAFE is an investment in the future. Labor does not view training and skills as a burden to outsource or an efficiency best left to the invisible hand of the free market. It does need government support. Our quality RTOs and our CIT are skills focused and attract a wide range of trainees, and our Labor government will continue to support them because they contribute to the ACT’s strength in higher education and our economy.
I support the call for the ACT government to write to the federal government, and I certainly support the call to get them to urgently recommit to this important national partnership. I thank Minister Fitzharris and commend the motion to the Assembly.
MS CODY (Murrumbidgee) (12.11): I would also like to thank Minister Fitzharris for bringing on this very important motion. The importance of a properly funded VET system that delivers an adequate workforce is vitally contributing to the ACT’s economic future and enables all working age Canberrans to develop the skills they need to participate effectively in the labour market.
As Mr Wall has already mentioned, yes, I am a proud product of the CIT Reid campus, where I did my hairdressing apprenticeship, and I continue to support hairdressers and apprentices across Canberra. Like thousands of Canberrans, I benefit every day from the skills and experiences I gained during my time at CIT.
A well-funded VET system targets funding to training that increases the level of workforce participation. It provides the support individuals experiencing disadvantage or disengagement need so as to gain skills that lead to employment or improved employment conditions. This includes funding strategies that ensure that the needs of people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women returning to work after long absences, mature age and older Canberrans, youth at risk, the unemployed and the underemployed are all addressed.
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